Governance and Utilities Committee

Executive Summary

The Seattle City Council's Governance and Utilities Committee conducted two public hearings and approved both measures unanimously during its March 12, 2026 meeting. The committee authorized Seattle Public Utilities to sell a 28,900-square-foot property in SeaTac to King County Water District 125 for $280,200, facilitating the district's plans to build a new pump station and water service infrastructure. The committee also approved a seven-year extension to the city's cable franchise agreement with Comcast, raising franchise fees from 4.4% to 5% and PEG fees from 0.4% to 0.6% of gross revenues. In the meeting's highlight presentation, Seattle IT presented a comprehensive overview of its strategic transformation under Chief Technology Officer Rob Lloyd, who was conducting his final committee presentation before departing March 27. Lloyd detailed significant performance improvements including a jump in project success rates from roughly 10% to 78%, reduced priority-one outages by 41%, and maintained customer satisfaction at 67% despite a $21 million budget reduction and loss of 61 staff positions. The department unveiled a new dashboard-driven work plan system designed to align IT operations directly with mayor and council priorities, emphasizing accountability, metrics, and strategic focus over ad-hoc project responses. The session marked a transition point for Seattle IT, with Assistant CTO Tracye Cantrell set to become acting CTO following Lloyd's departure to lead the Center for Digital Government.

Key Decisions & Actions

**CB 121166 - SPU Property Sale** - **Action:** Committee recommends passage (3-0 vote) - **Item:** Surplus declaration and sale authorization for Glacier Well property in SeaTac - **Purchase Price:** $280,200 to King County Water District 125 - **Staff Recommendation:** Approve sale - **Key Details:** 28,900 square feet, unused well site with water quality concerns, purchaser will decommission well within one year, existing school access permits will transfer **CB 121163 - Comcast Franchise Amendment** - **Action:** Committee recommends passage (3-0 vote) - **Item:** Seven-year extension of cable television franchise agreement through January 2033 - **Franchise Fee Increase:** From 4.4% to 5% of gross revenues (estimated $400,000 additional revenue) - **PEG Fee Increase:** From 0.4% to 0.6% of gross revenues - **Staff Recommendation:** Approve amendment - **Key Details:** Maintains Access for All program, upgrades educational channels to HD, aligns Seattle with federal maximum and peer city standards

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Notable Quotes

**Joy Hollingsworth, on rapid public hearings:** "That is the second fastest public hearing that we've ever done." **Rob Lloyd, on IT mission transformation:** "We are here to make sure that we unleash the brilliance of our people and service to community through technology, and that's it." **Rob Lloyd, on stakeholder feedback:** "We heard clearly from our city employees, leaders, heard from you, public -- the public and partners, and we are rebuilding I.T. to meet the call that you gave us." **Jon Morrison Winters, on Seattle's unique program:** "The access for all program, I would say that's where our franchise stands out. That is a program that provides free internet connections for nonprofits in the cities." **Robert Kettle, on AI policy:** "I appreciate you saying it out loud that you're looking to augment versus displace." **Rob Lloyd, on AI approach:** "The AI plan says two things very clearly. One for our AI, it is augment, not displace." **Robert Kettle, praising IT support:** "The work that you did in San Jose and the Bay Area, I knew we had the right person for this job." **Joy Hollingsworth, on performance standards:** "I want us to get the best as always. So it's good to see how we're matching up."