[nfbwatlk] Fw: Positive Focus E-Newsletter: Jan. 2009

[Jacob Struiksma]

Seattle Councilmember Bruce A. Harrell: Positive Focus
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Councilmember Bruce Harrell 
To: jacobstruiksma at gmail.com 
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 8:27 PM
Subject: Positive Focus E-Newsletter: Jan. 2009


     
     
      Jan. 2009

      Dear Neighbor,

      I hope this message finds you in good health after the holiday season!

      Now that 2008 has come to an end and 2009 has begun, I want to give you an update on some of the issues and initiatives I have been working on this year. It has been absolutely my pleasure to serve you in 2008. Let's do everything possible to make 2009 a phenomenal year.



      Stay connected online at www.BruceHarrell.org

      Join the discussion and share your views. The postings are moderated. The blog is updated daily.


      Seattle City Council News: 

        a.. Electric Rates will not increase in 2009! 
        a.. Strategic Partnership 
        a.. Looking Out for the Less Fortunate 
        a.. Citizen Engagement Portal Initiative 
        a.. Youth Mentoring Initiative 
        a.. Funding For Seattle Flood Areas 

      Electric Rates will not increase in 2009!

      As chair of the Energy & Technology Committee, I have direct oversight of Seattle City Light, with the goal of ensuring low, stable rates, excellent customer care and the highest standards of reliability. 

      I have implemented policies that ensure your rates remain the lowest among comparably sized cities. My most recent action was leading the Council's work on City Light's proposed 2009-2010 budget. I believe City Light can be the best public utility in the nation and my policy decisions are made with the intent to see that goal fulfilled. In July 2008, J.D. Power and Associates showed that City Light is ranked number five among midsize west coast public power utilities. The entire department must be commended, from the Executive Team on down to the invaluable employees, for their work on making City Light an industry leader. Taking this into consideration, the Utility's budget presented me with some tough decisions. The Council identified approximately $18 million in capital expenses and operating costs that we did not approve. I advocated for these reductions without jeopardizing the Utility's execution of its strategic plan or its 5-year conservation plan. For example, I am pleased to announce that in 2008 we exceeded our energy savings goal by saving enough energy to power 8,500 homes for one year. We recently secured a long term contract with the Bonneville Power Administration to maintain our ability to acquire 40 percent of City Light's energy load with clean, low-cost hydroelectric power for the next two decades. We are working hard to keep rates low, conserve resources and maintain reliable service to your homes.

      In addition to being strategically and fiscally responsible with City Light's proposed budget, I advocated for the aforementioned 5-Year Conservation Plan and the Integrated Resource Plan which emphasizes accelerated conservation as its main element. The goal of these plans is to increase conservation efforts and emphasize the utilization of renewable and alternative forms of energy. Both of these plans are designed to reduce customer energy bills and promote environmental sustainability. 

      The conservation efforts underway at the Utility will save customers nearly $5 million per year. In the next 5 years, City Light will invest $185 million to help customers double their energy savings. This investment is seven times the national per capita average and will save customers at least $310 million over the duration of the programs and create approximately 1,000 green jobs. 

      Strategic Partnership

      At the September 17th meeting of the Energy and Technology Committee, the Committee took BOLD action to vote down the passage of Seattle City Light's "Strategic Partnership policy." Legislation was proposed to the Committee which would have authorized City Light to execute a contract with an Indiana-based company to perform significant elements of its surplus or wholesale energy trading functions. This trading activity can result in over $125 million of City Light's revenue. City Light currently performs these functions in-house. However, Committee members Richard Conlin, Jean Godden, and Richard McIver and I expressed significant reservations with the proposal and this became very evident as the meeting progressed. As Committee Chair, I advocated that the Utility and its customers would be better served by building this function in-house with its own employees and thus owning the institutional knowledge and systems that will result from this investment. This "think-long" approach, I believe, is critical to sustaining a high-performance organization.

      You may be asking why does City Light engage in the activity of power trading? By the very nature of its power portfolio, City Light has no choice but to be an active participant in the wholesale power market. Revenue from that activity typically accounts for 20 to 25 percent of its total revenue annually and offsets revenue that would otherwise have to come from ratepayers. Read more...

      Looking Out for the Less Fortunate

      You may know of a Seattle City Light program called Project Share. I will explain the program to you and describe why I took action to ensure a greater awareness of it.

      Project Share is a donation driven program designed to assist low income citizens with their electric bills. When City Light customers pay their bills, they can include a donation within the bill to assist low income citizens. During the peak season of 2008, the funds that had been donated to Project Share were not able to keep pace with the need for assistance. As of March 2008, the number of pledges was below normal levels. During the budget process, I took the action of adding $100,000 to City Light's budget to fund promotional activities that will garner awareness of Project Share and increase donations. During a cold winter, it will be critical to make funding available to citizens who, for one reason or another, are not able to meet their basic human needs. In the coming months, I will be exploring methods of promoting Project Share. I believe in tapping the power of citizens to help others less fortunate. 

      Citizen Engagement Portal Initiative

      In September of 2007, I announced the Citizen Engagement Portal initiative. With the Mayor and Council working together, I WAS SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING FUNDING for this initiative. I am driving this initiative under the premise that as a governing body we have not prioritized a communication strategy or policy that truly captures the preferences of our citizenry. This concerns me, because there are many citizens who do not participate in the process and therefore, their voices are not heard. Often, many initiatives are driven by a vocal minority. The Citizen Engagement Portal will cultivate a culture of greater transparency and get more people involved. With more than 83% of Seattle residents on the Internet, Seattle is one of the most wired cities in the U.S. We must maximize our ability to directly communicate with each citizen and better understand their opinions. This will give the Council a better understanding of where citizens stand on major policy issues affecting our city. Development of the project is on track by first implementing a 'single-sign-on' feature at Seattle.Gov. This will allow citizens of Seattle to create an online account and more easily access city services online. Expansion to an online-polling system and additional services will come later. Stay tuned. 

      Youth Mentoring Initiative

      The headline on the morning of Monday, November 24, 2008 read "11 shot, one stabbed; three dead, no arrests: Only thing in common is young age." Granted, a weekend this violent is not the norm, but it is indicative of a year where we have seen a significant rise in youth violence in our region. My concern does not end with stopping violence. I am also concerned for the kids who are labeled as "at risk" and for kids who are underperforming. I also believe kids have an absolute right to be safe at all times and in particular, when they are walking to and from school. So many Seattle kids are in danger of being undereducated, unemployable, or falling through the cracks, many walk in fear. They need help from city leaders. I am driving the Youth Mentoring Initiative, because I believe in the power of mentors and the effect of helping kids change their self-image and building their self-esteem. As city leaders, we will provide the framework for a city-wide, coordinated strategy to help these future adults increase their effectiveness and become productive members in Seattle. We will take blame out of the equation and our City's policies will rely on the strength of a city-wide mentoring community. 

      Our City's 2009-2010 budget allocates $8 million for the Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, of which, $264,000 is set aside for Youth Mentoring. Statistics show that kids who are involved in a Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentoring Program are 52 percent less likely to skip school, 46 percent less likely to start using illegal drugs, 33 percent less likely to use violence to solve problems, and 97 percent less likely to be involved with juvenile-justice authorities. If a solution is proven to be 97 percent effective, shouldn't it be widely supported? Along with Tina Podlodowski, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound, I am calling for the citizens of Seattle to work together to enhance the goal of reducing violence and to add the goal of producing empowered, responsible young men and women through mentoring. By taking a proactive approach, we can help ensure at risk youth are not exposed to the influence of the local drug dealer or gang member, but are given a greater opportunity to have positive influences in their lives. The high school graduation rate in our city is at approximately 67 percent, the national average is 70 percent. I believe that as a city, together we should set a goal to surpass the national average by 5 percent. With a strong mentoring program, I believe this is entirely possible. 

      Funding For Seattle Flood Areas 

      I am proud to represent the City of Seattle on the King County Flood Control Zone District Advisory Committee. This committee works on flooding issues in King County, of which, Seattle is included. I am pleased to announce that under my advocacy and leadership, the City of Seattle will receive approximately $5.3 million next year for flooding projects. The projects include $2.25 million for the South Park Pump Station; $2.35 million for the Thornton Creek confluence project; $700,000 for the mouth of the Tolt River. 



      Bruce A. Harrell
      Seattle City Councilmember
      206-684-8804


      Chair: Energy and Technology Committee
      Vice Chair: Public Safety, Human Services and Education
      Member: Housing and Economic Development
      Puget Sound Regional Council Executive Board
      Puget Sound Regional Council Transportation Policy Board
      King County Flood Control Zone District Advisory Committee

      Seattle City Council 
      PO Box 34025 
      Seattle, WA 98124-4025

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