Sneak Peek: Tacoma City Business - Week of March 25, 2012

Labor Negotiations, Etc.
Taking up the most space on this week’s City Council agenda are items relating to labor negotiations, compensation, etc. Two out of the five resolutions are “Authorizing the execution of a Letter of Agreement with the Washington State Council of County and City Employees, AFSCME” for changes in classifications of groups of employees. And the three ordinances up for first readings are proposed amendments to the Municipal Code making changes on rates of pay and compensation, and retirement and pensions. Proposed Ordinance No. 28061 may be of note, as it would amend the code as it pertains to retirement and pensions to “allow registered domestic partners to receive the same retirement benefits as spouses.”

Final Readings
Up for final readings on this week’s City Council meeting agenda are the two ordinances that got their first readings at last week’s meeting: one continuing the downtown BIA for its twenty-fifth year, and the other amending the definition of “solid waste.”

Tacoma Means Business
This week’s Tacoma City Council study session includes a preview of the City’s new business development website, TacomaMeansBusiness.com. Since it got a mention in Mayor Strickland’s 2012 State of the City address, we’ve been curious to see what form it will take. We caught a brief glimpse of it immediately after the speech back in January, but it has since then gone back under wraps. The site was originally announced to go live in February, but has been delayed, with a new date of March 30 for the launch. According to the Mayor’s speech, “This new site will offer a series of checklists for starting a business in Tacoma, along with tips and easy links to business resources in a simple, easy-to-use format.”

Also Rans, Including Robots…
Other resolutions on this week’s agenda include the official renaming of the 1900 block of South Cheyenne Street to Clay Huntington Way, an agreement with the Humane Society at a reduced amount, and a purchase resolution for “five RedZone Robotics SOLO Robots, software, support equipment, applicable licenses, and training for use in sewer collection system inspections.”

Also on this week’s study session agenda is a presentation from Community and Economic Development and Human Rights and Human Services staff on the 2012-2013 Annual Housing and Community Development Action Plan, with recommendations for how Community Development Block Grants, HOME Investment Partnership, and Emergency Shelter Grant funds should be used. CDBG funds are down significantly over the previous two years, and staff recommendations reflect that decrease.

The Council will also hear Economic Development District Public Works project recommendations. These local public works projects, ranked by City staff based on their economic development impact. The prioritized recommendations will then be forwarded to the U.S. Economic Development Administration to “help the most deserving local projects pursue federal funding.”