Tacoma City Business Preview - Week of December 9, 2014

It's going to be another action-packed Tacoma City Council meeting this week. There will be final votes on quite a few budget-related items, and first readings of a few new ones, along with changes relating to local businesses, City priorities and lobbyists for Olympia and D.C., some cleanup to the City code, and more - not to mention another Citizens' Forum. 'Tis the season...

2015 Comprehensive Plan Update

Tacoma's Comprehensive Plan identifies goals, policies, and strategies for maintaining the health, welfare, and quality of life for Tacoma's residents, while accommodating future growth anticipated to include 127,000 new citizens and 97,000 new jobs by 2040. 

In order to keep up with that growth and outline a clear and current vision for that future, the plan is updated annually. Some of those updates come from changes in the Growth Management Act, County-wide Planning Policies, and the Puget Sound Regional Council's Vision 2040 and its population and employment growth targets. Other updates come from public requests, and from City staff recommendations.

Requests and recommendations for next year's updates were submitted last summer, and City staff have been reviewing them. There are 11 proposed amendments at this point, coming from various sources including the City Council, the State, a private developer, and a neighborhood group.

1. 2015 Growth Management Act Update (State - GMA)
2. Mixed-Use Centers Review (City Council)
3. McKinley Mixed-Use Center Boundary Expansion (MC Real Estate Consultant, LLC)
4. Land Use Designations (City Council)
5. Critical Areas Preservation Code Update (State - GMA)
6. Transportation Master Plan (City Council)
7. Open Space Habitat & Recreation Element State - RCO) 
8. Affordable Housing Planning Work Program (City Council)
9. Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (City Council)
10. Code Cleanup (Various)
11. West Slope Neighborhood Conservation District (West Slope Neighborhood Coalition)

These proposals encompass various updates to the Comprehensive Plan and Municipal Code. They will get a lot more discussion before the Council decides whether or not to adopt them sometime next summer. An early discussion will happen at this Tuesday's City Council study session, with discussion from Planning and Development Services staff, including project timelines, public outreach strategies and key issues for the proposals.

Paid Sick Leave

A special City Council Committee of the Whole meeting will be held this Tuesday to discuss a proposal to require Tacoma employers to provide earned paid sick leave to employees. A draft ordinance, sponsored by Mayor Strickland, suggests a minimum of three days allowed to be used per year, earned at a rate of one hour leave per 40 hours worked. Read more previously from Exit133 here, and stay tuned for new developments.

Budget

As the clock ticks down on 2014, we're also in the countdown to the final 2015-2016 budget, which means a lot of budget-related ordinances and resolutions on the agenda for the last few meetings of the year. 

Several budget-related ordinances that got a first reading at last week's Council meeting will get their final reading this week. Among those are one that would amend the current biennium's budget to account for unanticipated revenues, contract obligations, transfers, and other adjustments; and the ordinance that would adopt the impending biennium's budget and authorize the use of $128,000 in Council Contingency funds to cover a few extra projects.

• $90,000 for the Equity and Empowerment Capacity Building Pilot Program to strengthen and build the infrastructure of small non-profits serving underrepresented or marginalized community members.
• $25,000 for the Center for Working Families Financial Opportunity Center, which focuses on low- to moderate-income individuals, assisting them in changing financial behaviors and encouraging long-term commitments toward increased monthly net income, building credit, and acquiring assets.
• $13,500 for the Eastside Farmers' market to provide healthy foods, readily available and affordable to Eastside residents.

Six other budget-related ordinances that got a first reading last week are up for a final reading this week.

• Adjusting rates and charges for Wastewater and Surface Water Management services for 2015 and 2016.
• Adjusting rates and charges for Solid Waste, Recycling, and Hazardous Waste services for 2015 and 2016; granting certain customer requests for changes in Solid Waste services; and authorizing Call-2-Haul services for commercial customers.
• Authorizing charges for non-transport-related emergency medical advanced life support services; and establishing the 2015 base rate for those services.
• Authorizing fees related to code enforcement for inspections of buildings of various industrial, commercial, and multi-family uses, effective June 1, 2015.
• Reallocating and applying $3 million in unspent bond proceeds remaining in accounts from the City’s 2009 Bonds and the 2010 Bonds to finance capital costs of the Lincoln Streetscape Improvement Project.
• Adopting the 2015-2020 Capital Facilities Program.

Read more on these in our notes from last week's meeting.

One new minor item related to the budget this week will be a resolution to approve the General Government Fee Schedule for special and miscellaneous services to include charges to the public for various departmental services. The adjustments come out of a periodic review of the fee schedule, and include wording changes, and adjustments to certain fees, recommended based on increased costs for service. The recommended changes apply to TPD range fees and Public Works deed and easement fees.

Local Businesses

Last week we heard the first reading of an ordinance exempting businesses with an annual gross income of less than $250,000 from filing a City Business and Occupation tax return in Tacoma. Those businesses are already exempt from paying the tax, but currently are still required to file the form. This ordinance would remove the additional paperwork, saving businesses and the City time and money involved in filing. That ordinance gets its final reading this week.

Also on this week's agenda is a resolution designating the "Fair and Equitable Collection of Business License Fees and Taxes Project" as a special project of limited duration; and designating general salary classifications and benefits for persons employed on the project. The City estimates that there are more than 5,000 businesses operating in Tacoma without a license, and more than 2,000 delinquent businesses. The City wants to establish this special project to reach out to these businesses, including those that operate on non-standard hours. The project would have three Tax & License Compliance Officers and one Customer Service Representative providing education and outreach to the businesses on their licensing and tax requirements, and licensing and collecting taxes and fees to bring these businesses into line with their counterparts who have been playing by the rules.

In 2000 the City established a Historically Underutilized Business program to improve equality of opportunity for public works and improvements contracts. The HUB program has since been expanded to include supplies and services contracts, and last year was renamed the Small Business Enterprise Program. This week the City Council will hear the first reading of an ordinance adding a new definition, updating the certification process, and extending the SBE program through 2019.

Lobbying

A resolution on this week's Council meeting agenda would adopt the City of Tacoma's priority issues for the 2015 sessions of the United States Congress and Washington State Legislature. The priorities, as adopted annually, indicate City priorities related to issues that may come before Congress and the State Legislature. The agendas are drawn from the Council adopted Legislative Policy Statement, and this time around include priorities focused on economic development, the environment, fiscal control, neighborhoods, and transportation.

The documents give guidance to City staff and contracted lobbyists, directing the focus of time and resources. Two more resolutions on this week's agenda approve contracts with those appointed lobbyists who will be representing the interests of the City of Tacoma in Olympia and D.C. for the next two years. If approved, they would pay Simon and Company $160,701 to represent the City in Washington, D.C., and Gordon Thomas Honeywell $170,000 to do the same in Olympia.

Transportation Benefit District

A special meeting of Tacoma's Transportation Benefit District is once again scheduled for during the regular City Council meeting. This week the TBD Governing Board (a.k.a. the City Council) will hear the final reading of the ordinance approving the 2015-2016 Transportation Benefit District Budget and Spending Plan. At last week's Transportation Benefit District meeting we heard the first reading of the ordinance that will approve the City's plan to spend your $20 TBD car tab fee.

Public Nuisances, Animal Control, & Code Cleanup

A pair of ordinances scheduled for first readings at this week's Council meeting would cleanup the Municipal Code relating to various appeals processes, and definitions.

The first relates to the appeals process related to public nuisance vehicles, public nuisances, noise enforcement, and the Minimum Building and Structures Code. A part of the code compliance process is sending a Notice of Violation to the responsible party, outlining the specific code violations, and the right to appeal. Definitions of the Hearing Officer are outlined differently, or not at all under different sections of the code, leading to confusion. This ordinance would align all appeal rights under the jurisdiction of the Hearing Examiner related to these types of public nuisances.

The second ordinance relates to pet owners. Under the existing Tacoma Municipal Code, pet owners who have had their dogs declared dangerous or potentially dangerous, or who have been found to be problem pet owners are charged a $100 fee to appeal. An ordinance up for a first reading this week would eliminate this fee, in line with a court decision holding that charging a fee to obtain review of such a situation violates the dog owner's due process rights. The City has not been collecting the fee since that 2011 ruling. The same ordinance would clarify the standard of care needed for animals, cleaning up inconsistencies in language used.

Citizens' Forum

It's that time again! With continuing discussions around paid sick leave, we're guessing that will be among the topics covered, but anything over which the City Council has jurisdiction is open for comment...

Other Items

A resolution on this week's Council meeting consent agenda would set Monday, January 12, 2015, at 5:00 p.m., as the date for a hearing by the Hearing Examiner regarding a Local Improvement District to improve Bennett Street from North 35th to North 37th Streets. The improvements funded by the LID may include pervious asphalt concrete paving with a structural section and reservoir course, concrete banding along both sides of the pervious pavement, and city sidewalks along the proposed meandering street surface or other green infrastructure options. 

December 10, 2014 will be proclaimed as Human Rights Day in the City of Tacoma.

A motion may be considered at this week's Council meeting to authorize the City’s full and final settlement of all claims against the City in the matter of Rosemary Dowd, Ronald Dowd v. Metropolitan Development Council; City of Tacoma, Pierce County Superior Court Cause No. 14-2-05145-5, upon payment by the City in the amount of $65,000.

Three individuals will be reappointed to the Human Rights Commission, and three to the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

A resolution on this week's regular Council meeting agenda declares surplus and approves the sale of approximately 867 square feet of land owned by the Department of Public Utilities and located near the intersection of Bridgeport Way and 21st Street West in University Place, to the City of University Place in the amount of $11,900. TPU has no foreseeable need for the 8.5 foot-wide property, but will retain easement rights for overhead power lines. There was no public comment at a hearing held on the issue on November 4.

Another resolution on the agenda would authorize the execution of an amendment to the five-year lease agreement with Western Washington Railroad, LLC, to add 15 miles of railroad right-of-way, located between Maytown and Yelm in Thurston County, through January 17, 2019. Tacoma Rail Mountain Division owns the rail line and right-of-way between Tacoma and Chehalis. Last January the City Council approved a five-year lease under which WWR would operate and maintain 20 miles of railroad from Maytown to Chehalis. This proposed amendment would add 15 miles of railroad right-of-way to allow WWR to perform freight transportation services, railcar storage, and other uses, in exchange for which WWR will pay the original annual lease amount, while taking over maintenance responsibilities on the added right-of-way.

The City of Tacoma is required by state law to adopt standards for the delivery of public defense services. The standards were last updated in 2008, and it's time for another update. A resolution on this week's agenda would update provisions relating to Indigent Defense Services, implementing standards adopted by the state in 2012, which take full effect January 1, 2015.

An ordinance that got a first reading at last week's Council meeting, and which is up for a final reading this week would amend the Municipal Code, relating to the Compensation Plan, to implement rates of pay and compensation for represented and non-represented classifications, and changes in classifications to reflect the organizational structure. Another ordinance, scheduled for its first reading this week would make more changes relating to the Compensation Plan, providing for time periods for employee enrollment in benefit plans to meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.