We need your help! Email City Council to secure funding for Georgetown

This year, Georgetown has an opportunity to get several priorities met in the City Budget and WE NEED YOUR HELP! The easiest way you can help is by sending emails to all City Council members in support of three separate proposed budget amendments that will impact Georgetown.

The three budget amendments are:

1. $75,000 to support a Georgetown Climate Resiliency HUB & Neighborhood Center (specific support for Georgetown)

2. $200,000 to support outreach efforts for creation of Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) (amount would be shared with GT and several neighborhoods); more information on BIAs below!

3. $200,000 to support Farmers Markets, prioritizing neighborhoods that are Food Deserts (amount would be shared with GT and several neighborhoods) 

Councilmember Rob Saka met with representatives from the Georgetown Community Council and Georgetown Business Association last week, and is submitting the three amendments to the City Budget. Budget meetings are happening now, so send your letter of support as soon as possible, or before November 7th at the latest. Please share this widely with friends, neighbors, employees, and Georgetown fans! The more letters we send, the more impact we can make!

Tips:

• Your letter does not have to be long or complicated, but it should be UNIQUE! Council members are swamped with form letters, so any personal touch and a unique subject line is very impactful.

• You do not have to write in support of all the amendments, but they are each important to the sustainability of Georgetown.

• Sample letter is below. Copy and paste, and add a sentence or two about why these amendments are important, or write a totally unique letter. Anything helps!

Where to send your email:

• The BEST thing to do is to write an email to each of the Council members (it can be the same letter but personalized with their name).

• If you don’t have time to send individual emails, email the entire council at council@seattle.gov

• Emails for each City Council member: Sara.nelson@seattle.gov, Bob.kettle@seattle.gov, Maritza.rivera@seattle.gov, Joy.hollingsworth@seattle.gov, Alexismercedes.rinck@seattle.gov, Dan.strauss@seattle.gov, Debora.juarez@seattle.gov, Mark.solomon@seattle.gov 

What is a Business Improvement Area (BIA)?

• A BIA is an organization with a board made up of property owners, business owners, and community members from a specific neighborhood. The BIA advocates for the needs of the neighborhood and provides services like graffiti abatement, safety improvements, business district marketing and more. BIAs are generally funded by an assessment on commercial properties in the neighborhood. Money collected through the BIA goes directly to support the needs of the neighborhood, and is a sustainable, consistent source of funding that goes directly to the neighborhood.

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SAMPLE EMAIL: 

Dear Councilmember NAME,

I am writing to voice my support for three amendments proposed by Councilmember Saka that affect Georgetown.

[insert a sentence or two about your unique relationship to Georgetown and why you think the amendments (and the things they stand for) are important]

The amendments are:

• Georgetown Climate Resiliency Hub & Neighborhood Center

• Outreach efforts for creation of Business Improvement Areas (BIAs)

• Farmers Markets, prioritizing neighborhoods that are Food Deserts 

These budget amendments are extremely important to the resilience and sustainability of Georgetown, and I hope that you will support them because they are so valuable to our community. 

Sincerely,

Name

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Feeling stuck? Write things like:

• The Farmers Market pilot in Georgetown this fall was a huge win for the neighborhood, a known food desert. This funding would help it continue.

• As a person with a growing family I would love to see a Georgetown neighborhood center where I can gather with my neighbors and have a place that offers resources to the community. 

• A Georgetown Business Improvement Area would help support the unique needs and challenges of our neighborhood and create a consistent source of funding to meet our priorities. 

• I would love to have a neighborhood center in Georgetown that could help our neighbors in times of need. Warming and cooling centers are really important as the climate changes.

• Food access is a critical need in our neighborhood. If you live in Georgetown, you have to leave the neighborhood to get a fresh vegetable. Support for a Farmers Market could change that!

• As a neighborhood with many public safety issues, Georgetown would benefit from having a BIA so we can fund strategies that will work specifically for our business owners and residents.