Tacoma City Business - Week of August 28, 2012

Public Hearing: Land Use Code Changes
The topic of changes proposed to streamline Tacoma’s Land Use Code to reduce barriers to infill development and to the reuse of existing buildings appears on the agenda as an item of discussion at this week’s regular City Council study session, and for a public hearing at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. The proposed amendments include three code changes: raising SEPA thresholds; expanding the flexibility inherent in a “home occupation” type of use to include “live-work” and “work-live”; and, a parking exemption for existing buildings in commercial districts.

Wages and Benefits (Revisited)
We once again see a pair of resolutions and a related first reading of an ordinance pertaining to collective bargaining agreements. These items first appeared on the August 7 meeting agenda, then were held over to the August 14 meeting, and again were postponed to an unstated future date to allow Council time for further consideration in light of the bigger budget picture.

We also see a new item authorizing the execution of a collective bargaining agreement and three related memoranda of agreement with a Tacoma Police Management Association unit consisting of approximately 19 full-time positions. The agreement would provide in part for a 1.6% wage increase this year to be delayed until January 2013, and for increases in the next biennium to be determined by an “indexing/parity process between certain identified classifications in the Tacoma Police Union, Local 6, collective bargaining agreement.” The proposed agreement would also establish a Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (“VEBA”) retirement incentive program for employees meeting specific eligibility criteria and program terms, effective January 1, 2013, which contains a proviso for a 1 percent wage reduction to fund the program; and it would mitigate the impacts of potential layoffs or demotions during the term of the CBA for employees, as related to class, promotional lists, and seniority.

Libraries
This week the City Council and Tacoma Library Board will hold a joint study session, where they will hear a presentation on Tacoma Public Library System services, past, present, and future.

Drinking Water Loan
Another resolution on this week’s agenda would authorize the City to enter into a low-interest loan agreement with the Washington State Public Works Board. The $12,120,000 loan would finance the construction of a water filtration plant capable of removing cryptosporidium from the Green River water supply in compliance with federal surface water treatment rules.

Purchase Resolution
Two items on this week’s purchase resolution:

 
1. $296,791.15, plus sales tax, budgeted from the Department of Homeland Security and Enhanced Marine Services Unit Response Package, for a 31-foot Full-Cabin Patrol Vessel.

 
2. $1,221,206.00 budgeted from the Streets Special Revenue Fund and the 2010 LTGO Bond Fund, for design services to rehabilitate the Tacoma Avenue South Bridge.

It Takes a Village…
The final resolution on this week’s City Council meeting agenda reads as follows:

Calling on all people and entities in the community to commit to creating the expectation that all children in the City will be successful and encouraging those people and entities to proactively identify and deploy their unique capabilities in support of the delivery of meaningful, high-quality education, extracurricular activities, and support services for all children that are now or will be students in Tacoma Public Schools.

Can’t argue with that?

Poultry
We’ll hear the final reading of the ordinance amending TMC rules for the keeping of chickens and other poultry within city limits. At last week’s first reading of the ordinance a question was raised over the keeping of male birds other than roosters. We’re looking forward to hearing the answer to the question of exactly how much noise a tom turkey makes…

Meetings Cancelled
The Tacoma City Council study session and meetings scheduled for September 4, 2012 is cancelled. The next meeting will be on September 11, 2012. Happy Labor Day everyone.