Tacoma City Business Sneak Peek - Week of April 23, 2012
Q1 Financial Report
For those of you who have been waiting impatiently for some more budget talk, this looks like a good sign: item one at study session this week will be a first quarter 2012 budget report to the Council. That should give us a look at what impact cost-cutting measures to date have had, and a clearer idea of where the budget gap stands.
Public Hearings
This Tuesday’s City Council meeting is the date set for two public hearings, both relating to the Annual Action Plan for Housing and Community Development. One on the proposed substantial amendments to the 2011-12 Annual Action Plan, and the second on recommendations for the proposed 2012-13 Annual Action Plan.
LIDs
We see three resolutions on the City Council meeting agenda to allow the formation of three LIDs for various purposes, including paving and storm drainage, and the construction of a sanitary sewer. In all three cases, the rate of protest among affected property owners falls below the 50% standard required by Tacoma to give the City the authority to create the LIDs. One initially proposed segment of LID 8653 met a rate of protest from affected property owners of 65%, and so does not appear on this resolution.
Wastewater Pipes
A resolution on this week’s agenda requests authorization from the Council for the replacement of underground wastewater collection pipes in an area of North Tacoma. The 700 miles of underground pipe that make up Tacoma’s wastewater collection system are aging, and since the 90s the City has been rehabilitating a certain amount of the poorest condition pipes each year. The particular pipes in question are 90 years old, and deemed at risk of failure, which could result in the kinds of things you think the failure of a wastewater pipe in a residential neighborhood might result in.
Youth Building Tacoma
Also on the agenda is a resolution regarding funding for the Youth Building Tacoma Project. YBT trains, places, and supports young adults (18 to 24), helping them develop skills by extending the paid internships and providing additional in-demand training in construction and sustainable/green-related careers.
Other Items of Interest
We also see an ordinance calling for a change to the Tacoma Municipal Code relating to supervision of the Cable Communications and Franchise Services group. The proposed amendment would modify the reporting hierarchy, formalizing the reorganization proposed as a part of the 2011 Phase 1 Budget Reductions, to have the group report directly to the City Manager’s Office.
Filed under: City-Council, budget
4 comments
F fredo April 23, 2012
I don’t believe the council should be funding the YBT or any other discretionary projects until they are able to stabilize the budget. The city is supposed to be providing necessary services in a cost effective manner. Doubt if providing “paid internships and training in green-related careers” is a service that’s of any value to the general population in Tacoma.
J jd April 23, 2012
I’m very interested in seeing what the Q1 Financial Report shows. Are we still on the projected course toward financial Armageddon, is it worse than expected, or is it going to show that the economy’s on the rebound, and the third quarter projections (historically, always lower than the other three quarters) were misleading?
On another note, you may be surprised to find that I disagree with Fredo’s comment about YBT. He has mentioned several times that the city government needs to be run in a cost-effective manner, and that all discretionary spending must be put on hold. What he hasn’t done is give any viable options. I think that training Tacoma’s young adults in “construction and sustainable/green-related careers” is probably very cost-effective given the potential. Investing in our young people, especially with the end result being living-wage, tax-paying jobs, is a great example of bang for our buck. It seems that it would be an outstanding service of tremendous value to the entire population of Tacoma.
BTW, the last thing we need here is Disaster Jim “reporting live from Tacoma” on Poo-Storm 2012. We already get enough jokes about the smell! Having experienced a sewer ‘issue’ in my own house, I cringe at the thought of a sewage Tsunami (sewage-nami? Tsu-age?…) roaring down our streets.
J Jesse April 23, 2012
Oh crap.
F fredo April 23, 2012
“It seems that it would be an outstanding service of tremendous value to the entire population of Tacoma.” jd
So “job training” is now a function of the city government? Don’t we have a separately operated school district with career guidance for students and it’s own taxing authority? Do we have excess money for this low priority item?