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What Seattle's council said, with the line that proves it.

Council Record turns City Council meetings into short, plain-language briefings. Every claim links to the exact line of the official caption transcript, so you can check it yourself in one click.

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cc.digseattle.org/seattle/x190629
The Council Record briefing for the Select Budget Committee meeting on September 29, 2026: headline, summary and key figures.
The briefing for the Select Budget Committee, September 29, 2026.
Caption lines
5,466
Words spoken
28,236
Records in the briefing
23
Citations matched
108 of 108

From the Select Budget Committee meeting on September 29, 2026 (3:04:11 of video).

Read the briefing, then check the source

Below are three findings from the latest briefing, next to the caption lines they cite. Briefing text is written by software. Source text is what the official captions recorded, word for word.

Briefing

$65 million pulled from Office of Housing JumpStart balance

The 2026 year-end supplemental budget makes a one-time $65 million reduction of Office of Housing fund balance in the JumpStart fund, which officials said preserves housing and other investments in the 2027-2028 budget. The housing director said an upcoming debt restructuring NOFA will shift to 2027 money and other strategies will be decided after the budget passes; Councilmember Lin called it borrowing from future payroll tax years.

Official captions at 20:39

…2026 year-end supplemental budget ordinance makes a one time reduction of $65 million of O fund balance in the JumpStart…
Read it in the transcript

Briefing

SDCI to cut 34 positions, with seven layoffs

SDCI proposes eliminating 34 fee-funded positions, most already vacant, resulting in seven layoffs, as land use permit applications run about 60% below 2019. The interim director said he expects no further cuts and no material impact on permit timelines, while Councilmember Rinck questioned that.

Official captions at 2:06:38

…fall of both. So for 2026, our master use permit application volumes are projected to be about 60% below the 2019 levels.…
Read it in the transcript

Briefing

Permit fees would rise 10.7% plus new rental fee

SDCI proposes a 10.7% building and land use fee increase, projected to raise about $6.3 million a year, with illustrative increases of $369 for a small ADU and $147 per unit for a large apartment building. A new rental regulation fee of $11 per unit every two years would fund enforcement of Ordinance 127497.

Official captions at 2:11:32

…increase or decrease. Last year, We indicated that we could be looking at a increase in the 17 to 18% range for 2027. Based on…
Read it in the transcript
We particularly see this in the South End, where a 60% studio rent is actually above market. It's not even at market. It is above market.
Director, Office of Housing · 30:28
Responding to a question about rising AMI, the housing director explained why some city-regulated rents no longer beat the market.

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Every record cites its lines

Each decision, presentation and question becomes a record with the people involved, the numbers that changed and why it matters. "Check source" opens the cited passages. Where a clip exists, you can watch the moment it was said.

See all 23 records
cc.digseattle.org/seattle/x190629#briefing
A record from the briefing: SDCI proposes higher permit fees, with the change in the fee rate, why it matters, a quoted passage and a link to check the source.
Records list the change, the reason it matters and the quote behind it.

Search every word that was said

Full-text search covers the whole caption transcript, not just the summary. Results show the matching passage with its timestamp, and "Read at this timestamp" opens the meeting at that exact line. Search links keep their filters, so you can share them.

Try a search for "JumpStart"
cc.digseattle.org/search?q=JumpStart
Search results for JumpStart: transcript passages with the term highlighted and links to read at each timestamp.
Search results quote the captions and link to the line.

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  • The full transcript, readable

    Captions are re-cased and punctuated for reading, then checked word for word against the original. You can download the original caption file (SRT).

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  • Watch the moment

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  • Open data for builders

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How a briefing is made

  1. Collect the official record

    We save the meeting video link and its caption transcript from Seattle Channel. Every caption line gets a permanent number and timestamp.

  2. Draft from the transcript only

    An AI model reads the full transcript and drafts records. Each record must cite the caption lines it relies on. It does not use outside reporting.

  3. Check the citations

    Before publishing, software matches every citation against the same version of the transcript we publish. If any record has no valid citation, or more than 2% of citations don't match, the briefing is withheld. The transcript stays available.

  4. You verify

    Every claim is one click from its source. The briefing also lists what it could not settle, such as garbled captions or unnamed speakers.

Read the full method and its limits

What's covered, and what isn't

Council Record currently publishes one Seattle meeting: the Select Budget Committee on September 29, 2026. Coverage is limited to this meeting. There is no schedule for adding more.

  • Captions are produced for broadcast and contain errors. We quote them as recorded.
  • A missing search result doesn't prove something wasn't said. Captions can mishear names and numbers.
  • Briefings are not legal or official records. The City Clerk's records are authoritative.

Open questions in this briefing

  • The Office of Planning and Community Development presentation is not included in these transcript lines, which end at the lunch recess.
  • The rental regulation fee is described as $11 per unit every two years, or the equivalent of '550 per year' in the captions, which likely means $5.50 but is not clear.
  • SDCI's statement that 'of the 34 positions that are vacant, seven are filled' is garbled; the transcript does support that seven layoffs are anticipated.

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Questions

Is this the official council record?

No. Council Record is an independent project by Seattle Digital Commons . The City Clerk's minutes and the official video are authoritative. We link to both.

Who writes the briefings?

An AI model drafts each briefing from the caption transcript alone, and software checks every citation before publishing. Because the source is always one click away, you don't have to take the summary on trust. The method page explains each step and names the tools.

How accurate is it?

Citations are checked against the caption transcript before publishing. That doesn't make the summary infallible: captions mishear words, and a summary can stress the wrong thing. Each briefing lists its open questions, and the transcript is there to settle them.

Which meetings are covered?

Right now, one Seattle meeting: the Select Budget Committee on September 29, 2026. There is no schedule for adding more. Any future briefing must pass our citation checks before publication.

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We use it only to sign you in and send the updates you chose. We don't sell it or share it for marketing. The privacy notice lists everything we store.

Can I reuse the data?

Yes. Transcripts are public records, and the briefings, citations and search are available through the public API . Please link back to the meeting page so readers can check the source. See the terms of use.