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Mayor Katie Wilson Orders New Task Force to Strengthen Seattle's Fragile Economy

Mayor Katie Wilson signed an executive order creating a new task force to help businesses start, stay, and grow within Seattle. The order follows an independent economic assessment that identified the city's economy as increasingly fragile despite its history of growth. The task force will recommend ways to build a resilient economy, specifically addressing issues such as high costs of living, office vacancies, and the difficulty of retaining startups as they expand. To support these goals, the administration announced a plan to create a "Seattle Strategic Initiatives Fund" to deploy flexible capital for key industries, such as clean tech. The effort also aims to reduce barriers for businesses by fast-tracking permitting and lowering the cost of childcare. While the report praised Seattle as an innovation hub, business leaders noted that the city's job growth has been sluggish compared to other regions. Jon Scholes of the Downtown Seattle Association expressed that the city needs more businesses to pay taxes rather than new taxes on existing businesses. The task force will begin meeting next month, with initial recommendations expected in February.

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