NEWS GLEAMS | County Council Seeks Budget Feedback, Financial Assistance for Rent, Childcare, Student Loan Debts - South Seattle Emerald

A round-up of quality and announcements we don’t privation to get mislaid successful the fast-churning quality cycle!

curated by Vee Hua 華婷婷

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✨Gleaming This Week✨

• King County Budget Requests Constituency Feedback
• United Way of King County Offers Rental Assistance for King County Residents
• Best Starts for Kids Child Care Subsidy Program Applications Open
• Federal Student Loan Debt Relief Portal Launches

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King County Budget Requests Constituency Feedback

King County’s Biennial Budget — which totals astir $15.8 cardinal — establishes the County’s spending priorities from January 2023 done the extremity of 2024. King County Executive Dow Constantine has transferred his projected fund to the King County Council. The assembly volition present statement over, amend, and yet follow the fund earlier the extremity of the year. A timeline is arsenic follows:

Review the Executive’s proposals successful item and find opportunities for nationalist remark connected the King County Council’s 2023–24 Biennial Budget webpage.

Find a summary of the main items successful the Proposed Budget at Bit.ly/3DV8za0

WAYS TO OFFER PUBLIC COMMENT

The King County Council volition beryllium holding respective in-person and hybrid municipality halls to perceive straight from constituents regarding the projected King County Budget. They include:

• Wednesday, Oct. 19, 6–7 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 25, 9:30 a.m.–12 p.m. (est.)
• Wednesday, Oct. 26, 9:30 a.m.–12 p.m. (est.)
• Tuesday, Nov. 8, 9:30 a.m.–12 p.m. (est.)

COMMENT METHODS

• In-Person: At the King County Courthouse (10th Floor Council Chambers, 516 3rd Ave., Seattle WA 98104)
• Virtual, via Zoom: Virtual remark volition instrumentality spot via Zoom, utilizing the Webinar ID: 827 8941 9181
• Virtual, by phone: Call 1-253-215-8782
• E-mail: Send a connection to Budget.Council@KingCounty.gov. At the apical of your message, delight constitute (1) your sanction and (2) your implicit thoroughfare address. This accusation is recommended but not required.

For much accusation connected connecting virtually, delight sojourn King County Council’s website and notation to the conception titled “Connecting to the Webinar.”

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United Way of King County Offers Rental Assistance for King County Residents

United Way of King County is distributing rental assistance payments connected behalf of King County, and residents present person different accidental to registry to person rental payments. United Way is presently processing applications from its waiting database to disburse 12 months’ rent to households that qualify.

Thanks to an further circular of backing from King County, those who are not already connected the waiting database whitethorn presumption eligibility and motion up for rental assistance done United Way’s Get Help With Rent page. Information is connected the website successful aggregate languages. Please enactment that being placed connected the waiting database volition not warrant rental assistance, but is the archetypal measurement for imaginable consideration.

Rent Assistance Eligibility

• Your household MUST beryllium backmost rent to your landlord astatine your existent address. 
• Your CURRENT code indispensable beryllium successful King County, Washington. 
• Your household has NOT received rent assistance since June 1, 2021.

United Way is moving with 9 different agencies to get funds retired into the community, and organisation volition proceed done astatine slightest May 2023. The mean magnitude per household volition scope from $8,000 to $11,000 depending connected household size. Rental assistance payments volition spell straight to spot owners.

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Best Starts for Kids Child Care Subsidy Program Applications Open

A voter-approved initiative, Best Starts for Kids (BSK) aims to guarantee that each babe calved oregon kid raised successful King County volition scope adulthood happy, healthy, safe, and thriving. Starting successful 2022, these investments see $20 cardinal per twelvemonth for a caller childcare subsidy program.

Steps for imaginable information include:

1. Families who are funny successful the subsidy tin capable retired a five-minute eligibility form to spot if they whitethorn suffice for assistance paying for kid care. This is the archetypal measurement successful the exertion process.
2. BSK volition interaction families wrong two weeks of submitting the eligibility form, with an invitation to implicit the afloat exertion oregon with an update connected their status. There whitethorn beryllium much eligible families than the programme tin serve.
3. Families volition implicit a afloat exertion and verification process.
4. Families volition prime a childcare supplier and registry them to person payments.

Website and eligibility signifier disposable at BSKChildcare.org successful Amharic, English, Oromo Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Interpreters disposable for each different languages to implicit an exertion implicit the telephone astatine 206-208-6865.

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Federal Student Loan Debt Relief Portal Launches

Eligible pupil indebtedness borrowers tin present use for a afloat oregon partial discharge of their loans done the Federal Student Loan Debt Relief website.

Federal Pell Grant recipients whitethorn person indebtedness forgiveness of up to $20,00. Non-Pell Grant recipients whitethorn person indebtedness forgiveness of up to $10,000.

Borrowers who earned little than $125,000 arsenic an idiosyncratic oregon $250,000 arsenic a household successful 2020 oregon 2021 are eligible for relief.

Applications are disposable successful English and Spanish connected desktop and mobile devices.

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