Seattle bets on resilience with new economic task force

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson signed an executive order creating a year‑long Economic Resilience Task Force to help local businesses start, stay and grow amid layoffs, office vacancies and a shifting regional growth picture. The panel will coordinate across city departments to streamline permitting, reduce startup barriers, fill vacant commercial spaces and expand housing and child care, with flexible capital via a new strategic initiatives fund. Funding sources and costs remain unclear, even as the city faces a projected $175 million deficit in 2027. The effort follows an independent economic assessment that praised Seattle as an innovation hub but warned the city must do more to capitalize on the moment; critics question potential new business taxes, while supporters call it a necessary first step.