[nfbwatlk] FW: Seattle View from Sally Clark: Budget Season

Thu Oct 8 03:12:57 UTC 2009

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Councilmember Sally Clark
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Councilmember Sally Clark
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Councilmember Sally Clark
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Seattle View
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October 2009 E-News 

2010 Budget Edition
Archives
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Add together the annual budgets of the city's Office for Arts & Culture, the
Office of Economic Development, the Office of Housing, and the Department of
Neighborhoods (not including the Neighborhood Matching Fund) and you still
would not have chopped off enough city spending to fill the $72 million
budget gap projected for 2010. (You'd be $4 million short.) You could lop
off all city support to the public libraries, but you'd still be $22 million
short.

Welcome to budget season.

As of last week all Council committees (except the action-rich Planning,
Land Use & Neighborhoods Committee and the Energy & Technology Committee)
cease work on regular legislation. City Council as a whole turns our
attention to the spending plan for 2010. The goal normally is to determine
how we can best balance priorities and use tax dollars most effectively.
Personally, I'll be looking to keep Seattleites safe and helping the most
vulnerable people stay above water.  That means keeping our multi-year
commitment to hiring new police officers, renovating fire stations, stocking
food banks, providing effective alternatives to youth violence, and keeping
shelter beds open.

There will also be tough cuts, and while I'll strive to minimize the impacts
Seattleites feel, we will notice. When we have hundreds of good priorities
to balance, not everything can get the funding it needs.  

Mayor Greg Nickels delivered his proposed spending plan
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and it's a good base from which the Council can work. His proposal (his
final budget plan and one that echoes his first budgets when he started
eight years ago in the dot-com-bust recession) combines furloughs, layoffs,
one-time project savings and cuts, and a $25 million infusion from the
city's "rainy day fund" in order to balance revenue and spending for the end
of 2009 and through 2010. 

Furloughs - The cuts and layoffs could have been much more severe, but due
to the commitment of many city unions, thousands of workers will take
voluntary unpaid days off (furloughs) to save the city $11.6 million ($6.5
million of that in General Subfund costs).  While the Legislative Department
isn't a big department that can save big money through furloughs, I will
personally advocate for Council and department staff to take furloughs.  If,
by taking furloughs, we can stretch safety net services further, then we
should do it. Since elected officials aren't allowed to change their own
salary it means I'll write a check back to the city. Workers throughout the
city have made the sacrifice, and I think we should as well.

Layoffs - There's a lot of political rhetoric about how the city should
slash all the upper-level managers in order to slim down and save money.
That's a valid place to look for savings, but it doesn't make a lay-off any
easier. No matter the position, you, us as the people the corporation
serves, have incredibly smart, talented people working at all levels. If the
Council accepts the Mayor's proposal, 310 positions could be cut (out of a
total workforce of about 11,000). As of today, 116 of those slots are
occupied by someone and the others are vacant. Many of the vacant slots are
in the utilities where we have had trouble filling positions with skilled
people.

One-time project savings and cuts - We'll scoop up any savings left over in
department budgets from this year's work. The good news is several
construction contracts for streets and parks have come in under budget.
However, there will be projects in parks, on streets and sidewalks, around
community centers and at Seattle Center that will be delayed, cut or scaled
back.

Tapping the "rainy day" fund - It's definitely raining, but the transfer
amount proposed by the Mayor ($25.4 million) leaves just $5 million in the
account for 2011 when it will still be raining. The projected budget deficit
for 2011 hovers presently at $35 million. To leave more than $5 million in
the rainy day fund means we have to hack more from the budget - more people,
projects and programs. Maybe the question is should we cut more now or cut
more later?

I mentioned a few personal priorities above - adding police officers,
continuing to upgrade fire stations, stemming youth violence through
effective interventions, keeping food banks open, and shelter beds
available. The Mayor's proposal does a good job of maintaining spending in
these areas at the 2009 levels. 

Finding cuts to work in other priorities won't be easy, but there are some
priorities underfunded or left out of the Mayor's proposal. For instance, I
don't think this is the time to stop investing what we can in the
Neighborhood Matching Fund and in updating neighborhood plans. These may not
seem as vital as police officers or feed to and shelter, but both leverage
enormous amounts of money and time. Both are great investments in the
health, safety and smart development of our communities throughout the city.
Unfortunately, the Mayor's proposed budget reduces spending for NMF and
updating neighborhood plans.

I also support continuing funding for neighborhood-based programs that lift
people out of crime and poverty. Get Off the Streets, Co-Stars (Court
Specialized Treatment and Access to Recovery Services) and Communities
Uniting Rainier Beach are changing lives in the Central Area, Downtown and
in Rainier Beach. The Mayor's budget does not include funding for these
programs, but I'll work to make sure the Council's final budget does.

In our first Budget Committee presentation last Wednesday, we were reminded
that for the nation this has been the worst recession since the 1930s. I've
heard on the radio that the recession is officially over, but it doesn't
feel too different around here yet.  The recovery will be slow and probably,
if we do this right, we will never build up to the same frenzied peak fueled
by the failed mortgage markets. 

To end on a slightly brighter note, the Wall Street Journal
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just listed Seattle and Washington DC tied for first place when it comes to
cities where young professionals want to live. Seattle has the great arts
and music, great "creative" jobs, and an unbeatable surrounding landscape. 

Now we just need to build a city budget that keeps Seattle a great place to
live, work and play for everyone in every neighborhood.

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ENGAGING IN THE BUDGET PROCESS

The city budget is hundreds of pages, but it's easily sortable by department
at the following website
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You'll likely hear more about the contents of the budget in the months
ahead, but if there are certain priorities you'd like to see funded, there
will be plenty of opportunity to weigh in.  My colleague, Councilmember
Godden, created a handy guide to help understand the budget process,
available here
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The City Council will also host three public hearings.

The public hearings will be: 

10/7, 5:30 p.m.
Whitman Middle School
9201 15th Ave NW

10/14, 5:30 p.m.
Northwest African American Museum
2300 S Massachusetts St

10/26, 5:30 p.m.
City Council Chambers
600 4th Ave

Our goal is to have the 2010 budget adopted the Monday before Thanksgiving.
It'll be a tough year, but I look forward to working together with you to
push through it.

SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL
Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee 

10/8, Thursday 
2 p.m.
Special Meeting

10/13, Tuesday 
10 a.m.
Off Site Meeting

10/14, Wednesday
9:30 a.m.
Regular Meeting

11/18, Wednesday 
9:30 a.m.
Special Meeting

For more information, please call us at (206) 684-8802

Upcoming Neighborhood Events:

Live Theater Week
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October 12-18
Several Venues throughout Seattle

Design for Livability: Sustainable
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Cities
October 15-16
University of Washington

TurkFest
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October 17-18
Seattle Center House

Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film
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Festival
October 16-25
Several Venues throughout Seattle

Dia de Muertos: A Mexican
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Remembrance
October 31 - November 1
Seattle Center House

Neighborhood District Council Meetings

North District
10/7, 7pm
Lake City Library Conference Rm
12501 28th Ave NE

Southwest District
10/7, 7pm
S Seattle Community College
6000 16th Ave SW

Downtown District
10/8, 8:30 a.m. 
Securities Building 
1904 Third Ave

Central District
10/8, 6 p.m. 
Douglass Truth Library 
2300 E Yesler Way

Queen Anne/Magnolia District
10/12, 7 p.m. 
QA/Magnolia Neighborhood Service Center
160 Roy St

Ballard District
10/14, 7 p.m. 
Ballard Library 
5614 22nd Ave NW

Delridge District
10/21, 7 p.m. 
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center 
4408 Delridge Way SW

City Neighborhood
10/26, 6:30 p.m.
W Precinct Conf. Rm.
810 Virginia St

Southeast District
10/28, 6:30 p.m. 
Rainier Community Center 
4600 38th Ave S

Greater Duwamish
10/28, 6:30 p.m.
Beacon Hill Neighborhood Service Center
2821 Beacon Ave S

Northwest District 
10/28, 7 p.m. 
Greenwood Neighborhood Service Center 
8515 Greenwood Ave N

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