Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson has scaled back her flagship pledge to move the city's homeless population into shelter, announcing on Monday that the plan would add 960 beds over two years rather than the 1,000 units per year she had originally promised. The reversal follows Wilson's admission that the scale of her initial commitment was financially and bureaucratically unworkable, though she maintains the ambitious figure served its purpose by forcing the city to confront the crisis seriously.

The revised scheme will cost around $37 million, funded largely through $18 million in "savings and efficiencies" from the Human Services Department budget and a further $9 million reallocated from within the department, including underspent money from the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. Wilson's office says the approach will prioritise connecting people to services and housing, support for those with complex needs, and roughly $11.2 million in 2027 for homelessness prevention. During her campaign, Wilson had criticised predecessor Bruce Harrell for delivering just 13 shelter units in office, contrasting it with her own goal of 4,000 beds over her term, a target now significantly reduced.