Mayor Wilson’s 2027-2028 Proposed Budget: Seattle Parks and Recreation Highlights

Mayor Wilson’s 2027-2028 Proposed Budget focuses on providing responsible fiscal management of public funds for the people of Seattle. After years of unsustainable one-time fixes that did not address the deficit in future years, the mayor’s first budget begins the important, necessary work of stabilizing Seattle’s budget so that we can continue to provide essential services to the people of this city.

The people of Seattle deserve good government that delivers a city that is safe, affordable, and inclusive for all of Seattle’s residents. Mayor Wilson’s 2027-2028 Proposed Budget is structured to provide it. The decisions made in this proposed budget are not easy and come amidst a difficult backdrop of an inherited ongoing General Fund deficit that is compounded by actions taken at the federal level. Mayor Wilson’s budget is intended to help Seattle residents build a resilient city and create the conditions for lasting prosperity by making real progress towards closing the deficit and breaking the cycle of annual budget crises. 

For Seattle Parks and Recreation, key highlights include:

• SPR is looking forward to breaking ground on major improvements to the following community centers in the upcoming biennium: Lake City Community Center, Green Lake Community Center / Evans Pool, Queen Anne Community Center and Loyal Heights Community Center.
• Aligning debt service expenses with community center project schedules provides additional funding capacity in 2027 and 2028 to address the following priorities:
  • $9.6M to continue the Magnuson Field 12 turf conversion project despite the significant decrease in Real Estate Excise Tax revenues (see below for additional context). 
  • $1.8M including $600,000 of King County Levy funds, to build two new park restrooms – one at Cheryl Chow Park, as originally envisioned, and the other at a northeast Seattle park that will be identified in early 2027.
  • $1.6M to repair the Discovery Park Visitor Center, which was closed following significant flooding of its mechanical systems, without impacting other projects. 
  • $1.5M to supplement the Little Brook Park Renovation, allowing the community’s preferred design to move forward to the construction bidding phase. 
  • $1.3M to replace existing SPR security camera systems at recreation facilities to support safe and welcoming building operations. 
  • $700,000 to continue planning and design for the Camp Long Lodge, which was vandalized by arson, and to bring a GC/CM contractor on board and keep the project moving toward construction.
  • $570,000 to support inclusive play elements to the West Magnolia Playground renovation project underway. 
  • These reallocations are also supported by resources planned for the 8th and Mercer Community Center project, which has been delayed due to the developer’s timeline and will likely require a revised, longer-term strategy.
• Similarly, SPR will utilize one-time operating costs savings associated with these projects to supportprogram access by:
  • Nearly doubling scholarship funding for recreation programming, with an additional $400,000 annually.
  • Providing $1.6M in 2027 and 2028 to subsidize pool operations.  
• The proposed budget also reprioritizes existing funding to:
  • Continue the expandedLate Night Teen Program at High Point Community Center, which began as a pilot in 2026 utilizing one-time funding. 
  • Pilot a newCommunity Learning Center for high school students in collaboration with Rainier Beach High School and expand teen programming at Rainier Beach Community Center. 

The following is a list of Seattle Parks and Recreation’s other significant budget changes:

• Unfortunately, Real Estate Excise Taxes (REET) revenues are far below projections for 2026, requiring SPR to reduce $12M one-time in existing expenditure authority, aligning the budget to actual spending projections in 2026. To address this reduction while keeping numerous projects on track, SPR has identified one-time reductions to three capital budgets that are not needed in 2026 due to ongoing budget in the outyears and will not impact project delivery in the biennium. SPR is also removing contingency funds for a project that nears completion and budget that has been held to evaluate potential water re-use projects, a new effort SPR has not done before. The team has looked into this concept and given the potential costs, SPR is recommending we focus resources on other priority projects.
• Similarly, REET revenues are significantly constrained for the upcoming 2027 – 2032 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), resulting in an approximately $25M reduction in resources available for SPR projects over the six-year period. Changes include:
• Decreasing resources available for synthetic turf field replacements by $7.1M; about $30 million over the 6-year CIP is retained.
• Reducing funding for Gas Works Park remediation by $2.8M to align with the project’s current implementation timeline in coordination with Seattle Public Utilities and Puget Sound Energy.
• Transferring the $9.6M Magnuson Field 12 Turf Conversion project from REET to Park District funding.
• Removing $5.1M of REET funding supporting the planned conversion of the West Magnolia South Athletic Field to synthetic turf starting in 2029. This priority project remains in the CIP, with funding for the full project cost of $8.1M to be determined and prioritized to ensure no further delays. The field light replacement project is funded separately and not impacted by this change.
• SPR will also implement additional strategies to address General Fund constraints in 2027 and 2028, including:
  • Rightsizing program expenses and implementing administrative efficiencies including the reduction of 4.5 vacant FTE and non-personnel expenses to save approximately $3.5M.
  • Continuing the existing reallocation of Park District capital resources to support park and recreation operations, saving approximately $4.1M per year of General Fund resources, and expanding this reallocation in 2027 and 2028 to save another $3M per year.  
  • Continuing to fund the Teen Summer Musical, Center City Buskers and Arts in Parks grant program with Admission Tax revenues ($714,000), which are funds managed by the Office of Arts and Culture (OAC). 
• In 2027, the Executive will also be working to accept donated improvements to the city-owned portions of Elliott Bay Connections, including the new greenway and Myrtle Edwards Park. The Mayor’s proposed budget begins the process to assign and fund future operating and maintenance responsibilities to Seattle Center as an expansion to the current waterfront park agreements; in 2027 and 2028, these expenses are anticipated to be financed by Elliott Bay Connections Group donors.

For more information on the proposed budget, read the Mayor’s press release here: Office of the Mayor.

Over the next two months, the City Council will review Mayor Wilson’s 2027-2028 Proposed Budget. Public hearings are on October 6 and November 5. Final adoption of the budget is expected on November 20. Press questions may be directed to MOS_Comms@seattle.gov. 

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