Tacoma City Business Preview - Week of December 16, 2014

Charter Amendment Next Steps

A discussion of the next steps for Charter amendments approved by the voters in November is on the agenda for this week's City Council study session and Government Performance and Finance Committee meeting. 10 of the 12 amendments sent to the voters were approved.

1. Election provisions 
2. Gender neutral language
3. Anti-discrimination provisions
4. Effective date of emergency ordinances
5. City Council authority to confirm appointment of department heads
6. City Council confirmation and reappointment of Director of Utilities
7. Adding requirements for the Landmarks Preservation Commission
8. Citizen Commission on Elected Salaries
9. Deleting prohibition of new cemeteries
10. City employee participation in conservation, environmental, and other programs 

Some of the amendments (1-4 and 9-10) can be implemented by updating Charter language and providing notification and training to impacted departments. The others (amendments 5 - 8) will require implementation actions by the City Council. The Council will need to discuss process and standards for confirmation of department directors, the Director of Utilities, and Landmarks Preservation Commission members; and for Mayoral appointment and Council confirmation of positions for the newly created Citizen Commission on Elected Salaries.

Paid Sick Leave

Following much discussion and public comment, an ordinance establishing a requirement that employers provide paid leave appears on this week's Council meeting agenda for a first reading. The ordinance, as proposed by Mayor Strickland, would require employers to provide employees with three days of paid leave for various situations related to health and safety needs for the employee and his/her family members. As written at this point, the requirement would apply to employers of all sizes, but not to employees currently covered by collective bargaining agreements. Employees would earn sick leave at the rate of one hour per 40 hours worked, and employers would be required to allow employees to take up to three days off per year.

A fiscal note attached to the ordinance estimates the cost to the City for implementation to fall somewhere between $400,000 and $825,000 over the next biennium. Those numbers include start-up costs associated with getting the program up and running, and "caseload" costs associated with enforcement.

Several questions have come up from the public as well as the Council around the specifics of the ordinance, so it is possible we could see some amendments proposed this week...

Transportation Benefit District

Once again a special meeting of the Transportation Benefit District Governing Board has been scheduled to coincide with the City Council meeting. This week the Board is scheduled to hear the final reading of an ordinance approving the 2015-2016 Transportation Benefit District Budget and Spending Plan, which got a first reading last week.

UWT Projects

There's construction going on, or about to start in a couple places around the University of Washington Tacoma campus. Two resolutions on this week's Council meeting consent agenda would set January  15, 2015 at 9 a.m. as the date for public hearings related to the construction of the new UWT YMCA facility on Market and the realignment of South 17th down the hill between Broadway and Pacific Avenue.

The first of the public hearings relates to a request to vacate Court C and Court D between South 17th and South 19th streets. The vacation would allow the University to make improvements to street function, pedestrian and bicycle safety, landscaping, traffic management, parking and vehicle access to the campus, Court 17 Apartments, and the new UWT-YMCA between Market and Court D. The focus of improvements will be on fostering pedestrian and other non-motorized activity in the area. UWT plans initially to use the vacated right-of-ways for enhanced pedestrian and bike safety, routing, and parking; and local vehicle access. In the longer term the university might incorporate some of the vacated area into future campus building development. UWT is asking that the City waive payment for the street vacation in light of what the request describes as "substantial public benefits that campus activities and improvements bring to the community," specifically the $1.25 million South 17th Street Realignment project the University is funding.

Speaking of that South 17th realignment project, the second public hearing will be on the request to vacate portions of Jefferson Avenue just south of 17th Street related to that project. The realignment will straighten out South 17th Street, eliminating the little jog it currently takes just uphill from Tollefson Plaza. With that realignment, paid for by UWT, a section of Jefferson that runs by campus will no longer be the connector to 17th. That leaves a wedge of City-owned right-of-way that the University is asking the City to vacate to allow it to improve street function, streetscaping, and pedestrian and bike safety. In the short-term UWT plans to use the vacated right-of-way to provide open space and enhanced pedestrian safety. Similar to the other request, in the long-term the University may incorporate some of the space into future campus building development, and has requested that the City waive payment in consideration of the investments the University is making in the area, specifically that $1.25 million for the 17th Street realignment.

Police Co-Responder Program

For two years the City's Neighborhood and Community Services Department has been working to develop and implement a "police co-responder program," which would provide mental health professionals embedded with the police department to respond in situations where officers identify the need for assistance by a mental health professional. The program comes out of an effort to reduce costly intervention by police and emergency services, including through jail and hospital diversion. The program would be launched using Tacoma's 0.1% mental health and chemical dependency sales tax. A resolution on this week's regular Council meeting agenda would approve an agreement with MultiCare Behavioral Health & Outreach Services for $319,462 for two mental health professionals and associated costs for the diversion program starting January 1, and continuing through the end of 2016.

Final Readings

This week the Council is scheduled to hear final readings of four ordinances that got first readings at last week's Council meeting. 

• Animal control amendments for adequate care and repealing the $100 appeal fee
• Amending the TMC to align appeal rights related to  public nuisance vehicles, public nuisances, noise enforcement, and the Minimum Building and Structures Code under the jurisdiction of the Hearing Examiner
• Amendments aligning the Compensation Plan with elements of the Affordable Care Act
• Amendments making updates to the City's Small Business Enterprise program

Purchase Resolution

Three purchase resolutions on this week's agenda:

• $1,100,000, plus sales tax, and a six-year technical support and next-day hardware replacement agreement, in the amount of $312,843, plus sales tax, for a cumulative total of $1,412,843, budgeted from the General Fund, to purchase City Net network electronic equipment and related services, replacing the current CityNet Electronics which are at the end of their useful life.
• A contract to the Tacoma Regional Convention & Visitor Bureau, in the amount of $1,551,632, sales tax not applicable, budgeted from the Convention Center Operating Fund, for marketing and promotion services to support travel and tourism development, and sales and promotion service to support the sales and marketing program for the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, for the period of January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2016, with one automatic two-year extension through December 31, 2018, for a projected contract total of $3,103,264.
• $2,196,740, plus sales tax, budgeted from the Information Systems Fund, to purchase Microsoft licensing and software assurance services, for a three-year period from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2017.

Canceled Council Meetings

This week's Council meeting will be the last one until 2015; the December 23 and 30 meetings have been canceled, with the next meeting on the calendar for January 6, 2015.

As for 2015, a resolution on this week's agenda cancels Council meetings scheduled for January 20, March 10, May 26, September 8, December 22, and December 29.

Other Items

A resolution on this week's consent agenda would authorize an agreement allowing Tacoma to continue using Fife's Electronic Home Monitoring Program through the next year, for $409,382. The arrangement, originally adopted in December of 2012, allows the Tacoma Municipal Court to contract for 24-7 monitoring of misdemeanor offenders by professional corrections officers, as an alternative to incarceration, decreasing jail costs.

December 31, 2014 will be proclaimed as First Night Tacoma Day. There will be a recognition of the City’s third place in the Digital Cities Survey Award, and a presentation of “Hallelujah Chorus” by the Tacoma Symphony Chorus.

Two individuals will be appointed to the Foss Waterway Development Authority, and Timothy Allen will be appointed as Tacoma Employees’ Retirement System Director.

In June the City Council authorized a construction contract for a natural gas fueling station at the City's Solid Waste Transfer Station. Puget Sound Energy has requested a permanent easement on City property to provide natural gas service to the fueling station, which is expected to cut costs by 20-30% and reduce truck particulate emissions by 70% and greenhouse gas emissions by 16% compared to B20 biodiesel fuel. A resolution on this week's agenda would grant a non-exclusive easement to PSE for the construction of the natural gas pipeline and connection to the fueling station.

Another resolution on this week's regular City Council meeting agenda would authorize a Liability Allocation Agreement with Amtrak, to set forth the apportionment of liability and risk of damage between Tacoma Rail and Amtrak, in connection with activities conducted on Sound Transit-owned track between Nisqually Junction and the Tacoma Dome segment. The agreement is in response to a request from Sound Transit that all parties jointly operating on its tracks enter into agreements addressing liability and indemnification responsibilities. Because Amtrak and Tacoma Rail will be operating jointly on the same tracks, it is more efficient to enter an agreement to apportion liability and indemnification responsibilities between the parties now to avoid costly litigation on these subjects in the future. The City currently has similar agreements in place with Sound Transit and BNSF.