By Alia Sinclair

The SeaTac City Council voted Tuesday night (July 28) in a special council meeting to direct the City Manager to engage with the state of Washington regarding an expanded scope and slashed budget for the Washington Migrant and Asylum-Seeker Support (WAMASS) program.

WAMASS began in 2024 as a state-funded pilot program in partnership with the Congolese Integration Network to deliver emergency housing, case management, and legal aid services to asylum seekers with the goal of sheltering 65 households for up to 90 days.

As of May 31st, 20206, this goal has been achieved. All 65 households in the program have been housed.

While the State renewed the program for state fiscal year (SFY)27, total funding was reduced from $750,000 to $500,000, impacting direct housing assistance, operations, and administrative support.

The expected program impact was also reduced from the goal of an additional 65 households to 34 households, in addition to a reduction in grant-supported staffing from a full-time Human Services Coordinator to approximately 31.8 hours per week.

The program’s scope has also been altered with the expectation that program participants will not only be granted emergency housing, but permanent housing (defined as a stable residence for at least 6 months).

Councilmember Peter Kwon expressed his concern with the reduced state budget and additional scope of the WAMASS program, stating,

“We are looking at a budget short fall. We’re looking at a potential tax increase by implementing a B&O tax now, providing a potential additional burden on our local business owners. [The current state budget for WAMASS] is unsustainable funding. The state [and SeaTac] used one-time relief money to build, what looks like now, a permanent program, without a plan to pay for [it] once the temporary funds ran out. […] In this particular case, the state is actually offloading the state’s own financial burden onto our city and our residents.”

The council voted to direct the City Manager to engage with the state to either increase program funding or reduce the scope of the WAMASS program, so it remains sustainable for the city to maintain.

The motion passed 3-1 with Mayor Egal dissenting. Councilmembers Lovell and Abdullahi, and Deputy-Mayor Negusse, were absent.