City hall sources say that, in an effort to demonstrate concern for vulnerable community members during major budget cuts, Mayor Mike McGinn plans to hold not the usual one but two speeches announcing his council budget. The first will reportedly be somewhere in Southeast Seattle; the second will be in City Council chambers. Initially, McGinn had reportedly planned to hold a single speech in Southeast Seattle; however, the city charter requires that the mayor deliver his budget speech to the city council in council chambers.

The situation---a mayor who wants to take control of a speech to the council and the public, and a council that wants to keep that control for themselves---is reminiscent of a similar situation between the council and former mayor Greg Nickels, who held his State of the City speech outside council chambers in 2007, infuriating council members.

McGinn's budget will have to close an estimated $67 million budget shortfall. Some city departments, such as the department of transportation, will face cuts as high as 15 percent; others, such as police and fire, will be held relatively harmless at around 3 percent. (City attorney Pete Holmes, meanwhile, told me today that his office has been asked to find cuts of 9.5 percent). McGinn has reportedly already sent invitations out to department heads, a seeming response to his first state of the city speech, when council chambers were half-empty.

Mayoral spokesman Mark Matassa said the mayor would announce when he plans to hold his speech or speeches in the next day or two.