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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/13/2011 13 Council General Information • 4110 ;;; a s is ;a"i BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON AGENDA STATEMENT Item No. I For Meeting of: December 13, 2011 ITEM TITLE: Council General Information SUBMITTED BY: CONTACT PERSON/TELEPHONE: SUMMARY EXPLANATION: * Weekly issue report * City meeting schedule December 12 -19, 2011 * Preliminary Future Activities Calendar as of December 12, 2011 * Letter to Debbie Blehart from City Manager Cooper * Newspaper /Magazine /Internet Articles: - "Tacoma budget victims may include gang unit, jobs, two fire stations," The News Tribune, December 7, 2011 Resolution Ordinance Other (specify) Contract: Mail to: • Contract Term: Amount: Expiration Date: • Insurance Required? No Funding Source: Phone: APPROVED FOR ®/ L ei2 SUBMITTAL: � [ F� City Manager STAFF RECOMMENDATION: BOARD /COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: ATTACHMENTS: Click to download • ❑ general information 411 MEMORANDUM December 8, 2011 TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Don Cooper, City Manager SUBJECT: Weekly Issues Report • CITY COUNCIL MEETING AND CHRISTMAS PARTY:. The City Council will meet on Tuesday, December 13 at 2 p.m., followed by the Council Christmas party at 6:30 p.m. at Maureen Adkison's house. • WATER AND SEWER BOND RATING: Standard and Poor's reviewed the City of Yakima water and sewer revenue bonds and after such review, they affirmed the "AA -" rating and stable outlook. S • SOUTHEAST COMMUNITY CENTER HOLIDAY DINNER: The Southeast Community Center is having its annual Christmas dinner on Friday, December 16 at 5:00 p.m. if you are interested in attending or serving dinner. FOR COUN IL NFORMATION DATE: la ,3/11 I • CITY MEETING SCHEDULE For the week of December 12, 2011 December 19, 2011 Please note: Meetings are subject to change Monday, December 12 8:30 a.m. Pension Board Meetings — Human Resources Conference Room 10:00 a.m. City Council Media Briefing — Council Chambers 6:00 p.m. Westside Merchants Association — CDY Offices Tuesday, December 13 10:00 a.m. Yakima County Commissioners Meeting — Council Chambers 1:30 p.m. City Council Executive Session — Council Chambers 2 :00 p.m. City Council Meeting — Council Chambers • Wednesday, December 14 11:00 a.m. Boundary Review Board — Council Chambers 3:30 p.m. Yakima Planning Commission — Council Chambers 5:30 p.m. Parks & Recreation Commission — Council Chambers Thursday, December 15 9:00 a.m. County Hearing Examiner — Council Chambers 3:30 p.m. Citizens for Safe Communities meeting — Chamber of Commerce 5:30 p.m. Historic Preservation Commission — Council Chambers Friday, December 16 9:00 a.m. County Hearing Examiner — Council Chambers • 5:00 p.m. Southeast Community Center Christmas Dinner — SE Community Center Monday, December 19 9:00 a.m. Emergency Services. Executive Board meeting — Yakima County 0 1:30 p.m. YVCOG Executive Board meeting — YVCOG Offices FOR COUN IL rFORMAT1ON DATE: t 13 I Office Of Mayor /City Council • Preliminary Future Activities Calendar Please Note: Meetings are subject to change rr � 45 . :$'b,:.- x :t' � �e�a.:.' , V .k., 'qn „, a k,a n„„ x' ,.., 'a' "� •• C: � :Y4i `,Qy..yr. � [� ;. , ., }; .: �ti"' .P ase ,p?-4,P Ii.§1 a nfs. =, „'', :;` - Meetiii„60cation'Og :+ Meetiri `:.:;:Organization., ;:':, >': s ,,.Me n`g;,. urp, i?, :,.,,.'..: ,', . 9:, :' x, �+`'E "; } �, � „k :^ ,Sts: ' � f.a;r ::,y� "�' {? ° x�' "�:''-r5. a". °�' ,.. q , ? 'Y� c � ., ";� tr. "A'v; :r- '�d'a'. '..<, 'a+a .. re f .h.- . "�, ..t.,`.�: ° i. rJ°.'•. .. *�., •,�':s' :,8� :f, ^ .'.�, ., 2: f.w :,, &,:. »`� wk. e. '4 - ,ti'r�; >" ::Cir' .,,,,w :. ,f.e.,. .. : :S ". >` .< ; ..,_,.. . >•....e., ., r .. ' ..: ...,,' .,, :..' ' 6:;..:. °'sir : ".a„ i' , { '.,... ,;P. �r -., '`.'-#.�t... „'• 'SsEe'�',t; ._ .... ,.....• „hs•::3:,,. . �. ......., .a. .. A.�.:t. "> ...,.. -,. x „,:., >',' ,. tiz _ s.•^r Mon. Dec 12 8:30 a.m. Pension Board Meeting Board Meeting Coffey Human Resources Conference Room 10:00 a.m. Council Media Briefing Scheduled Meeting Coffey Council Chambers 6:00 p.m. Westside Merchants Scheduled Meeting Adkison CDY Offices • Association Meeting Tue. Dec 13 • 12:00 p.m. Miscellaneous Issues Scheduled Meeting Cawley, Coffey TBD 1:30 p.m. Council Executive Session Scheduled Meeting Council Council Chambers 2:00 p.m. City Council Meeting Scheduled Meeting Council Council Chambers Wed. Dec 14 • • 9:00 a.m. Leadership Yakima - Scheduled Event Cawley YPD Special Ops Training Room 9:30 a.m. YRBWEP Workgroup Scheduled Meeting Lover Yakima Arboretum Meeting .:30 p.m. Yakima Planning Scheduled Meeting Ensey Council Chambers Commission Public Hearing 5:30 p.m. Yakima Parks & Recreation Scheduled Meeting Adkison Council Chambers Commission Meeting • 6:30 p.m. YVCOG General Scheduled Meeting Ensey Wapato American Legion Membership Meeting Thur. Dec 15 3:30 p.m. CSC Board Meeting Board Meeting Adkison Chamber of Commerce 5 :30 p.m. Historic Preservation Scheduled Meeting Lover Council Chambers Commission Fri. Dec 16 5:00 p.m. Southeast Yakima Scheduled Event Open SECC Community Center • • Christmas Dinner Mon. Dec 19 9:00 a.m. Emergency Services Board Meeting Lover Yakima County Courthouse Executive Board Meeting 1:30 p.m. YVCOG Executive Board Board Meeting Ensey YVCOG Offices Meeting • • FOR COUN L I FORMATION • DATE: • Tue. Dec 20 • 8:00 a.m. Tourism Promotion Area Scheduled Meeting Coffey Yakima Convention Center Meeting Conf. Room 2 12:00 p.m. Miscellaneous Issues Scheduled Meeting Cawley, Coffey TBD 1:00 p.m. Yakima County Gang Scheduled Meeting Adkison Mabton School District Commission Meeting Building 5:00 p.m. Airport Board meeting and Scheduled Meeting Edler Yakima Airport Conference study session Room Wed. Dec 21 12:00 p.m. OIC Board Meeting Board Meeting Adkison OIC Offices 12:00 p.m. PAL Board Meeting Board Meeting Coffey PAL Center Mon. Dec 26 City Offices Closed for Christmas Holiday Tue. Dec 27 12:00 p.m. Miscellaneous Issues Scheduled Meeting Cawley, Coffey TBD Wed. Dec 28 p.m. Yakima Arts Commission Scheduled Meeting Adkison Planning Conference Room Meeting • 3:30 p.m. Yakima Planning Scheduled Meeting Ensey Council Chambers Commission Meeting Fri. Dec 30 9:00 a.m. Joint Board Meeting Board Meeting Lover Halverson Velikanje Mon. Jan 2 Chit r Offices Closed for New Years Holida Tue. Jan. 3 12:00 p.m. Miscellaneous Issues Scheduled Meeting Cawley, Coffey TBD Mon. Jan. 9 10:00 a.m. Council Media Briefing Scheduled Meeting Cawley Council Chambers , � :4 !!Impt Phone (509) 575 -6040 ■ t, x '1 C` pR,P I „ . _ December 5, 2011 Ms: Debbie Blehart Sunrise Outreach 221 E. MLK Jr. Blvd. Yakima, WA 98901 Dear Ms. Blehart, I am in receipt of your November 21, 2011 letter regarding some past due parking tickets you received that were sent to collection due to non payment. After discussing your letter with the Mayor, we agreed to have the tickets pulled from collection. We also agreed to have the parking ticket debt written off. This is not III something we would ordinarily do; however, under the circumstances we decided this would be the right thing to do. Please note that this is a one -time occurrence. In the future you will be responsible for moving your vehicle in a timely manner, parking in approved parking spaces, or paying any citations that might be received. Both the Mayor and I want to thank you and the volunteers for the services you provide to this community. Sincerely, i , / , ` / 1 i on Cooper City Manager c: Yakima City Council III Yakima FOR COUNIIL I FORMATION* * �a a� DATE: 13 11 1ilir 1994 1'he News Tribune - Tacoma budget victims may include gang unit, jobs, two fire stations (print) Page 1 of 3 The News Tribune . •m a budget victims may include gang unit, jobs, two fire stations • LEWIS KAMB LAST UPDATED: DECEMBER 7TH, 2011 06:30 AM (PST) Say goodbye to two fire stations and four neighborhood engine companies. • Sayonara to the gang unit, the school resources officers program and most community liaison cops. And so long to dozens of other city positions — from building inspectors to municipal court clerks, office assistants and accountants. • All are on the chopping block, and all could be gone by year's end. • For the first time Tuesday, interim City Manager Rey Arellano and his top department heads publicly detailed which city jobs, services and programs face elimination under a plan to close three - quarters of a projected $31 million general fund budget shortfall. • . "I wish I could tell you that we didn't have to lay offanyone," Arellano said. "However, given the magnitude of the shortfall were facing, it just wasn't possible." Some 167 city employees face layoffs — about 11 percent of the 1,503 city jobs paid for out of the general fund. Another 95 positions, mostly vacant, also would be eliminated by January as part of a first round of . cuts totaling about $23 million. Most of the proposed layoffs — 100 jobs in all — fall to the police and fire departments, with the bulk of cuts targeting front -line responders. 40 would see 56 layoffs — 52 of them among some of the department's least senior officers who now p of city streets. Forty -four fire employees, 42 of them firefighters, would be cut. . The plan would eliminate four engine companies, one - quarter of the 16 now in operation, leaving the remaining forces to pick up the slack for some 8,000 to 10,000 annual service calls now handled by the . targeted companies. It would also eliminate most specialized police squads, including a single dog officer, the six- member gang unit, the six- member schools resources team, an entire 10- officer traffic squad and 13 community liaison officers, shifting more senior officers in those roles back to the streets. "We'll have less officers on the street, less visible police presence in our community," Police Chief Don Ramsdell said. "We'll have ... slower response times — not only to 911 calls but also to citizen complaints. And there's a risk to our officers' safety, which is critical." Hours after Arellano revealed the budget details Tuesday, scores of the city's police officers, firefighters and supportive friends, relatives and citizens, packed City Council chambers late Tuesday to insist that the council look at alternatives to public safety cuts. Some warned the proposed cuts would set Tacoma back decades, to a time when gangs and drugs dominated the city's core. "We cannot allow our city to go back to the 1990s," said Julie Swenson, a Tacoma resident and business owner whose husband, Eric, is a city firefighter. "I cannot live in a downtown area filled with gangs, p Mutes and thugs." resentation, Arellano outlined the reasons for the proposed cuts, noting city revenues are $19 million below target and expenses more than $12 million higher than expected through 2011's third quarter. The result is a $31 million gap to the city's $399 million general fund budget for 2011 -12 — a shortfall he said FOR COUN IL I FORMATION needs to be reckoned with as soon as possible to avoid even deeper problems. DATE: !? f .1311 http : / /www.thenewstribune.com/2011 / 12 /06 /v- printerfriendly / 1935338 /tacoma- budget- victims - may - inclu... 12/7/2011 I'he News Tribune - Tacoma budget victims may include gang unit, jobs, two fire stations (print) Page 2 of 3 So as not to "overshoot" the necessary cuts, Arellano is pursuing a "75 percent strategy," aiming to start with a first round of cuts to close $23 million of the gap by year'end. Early next year, city officials will determine if even more cuts will be needed. The cuts proposed Tuesday are spread across most city departments, with a strategy to "front- load" 4 14 _ reductions onto non - police and fire employees, so as to spare as many of those jobs as possible, Arellano said. For instance, while police and fire make up 38 percent and 32 percent of the entire general fund respectively, they account for just 23 percent and 21 percent of all cuts, Arellano said. Other departments face proportionately higher cuts. For instance, the public works department — about 10 percent of the general fund — would take 16 percent of the prospective cuts. This is what the council has recommended — to try to make fewer cuts to police and fire by putting the brunt on the cuts on other departments," Councilwoman Lauren Walker said. But the city's rank - and -file police and fire unions aren't buying Arellano's figures. "We don't believe the numbers," said Det. Terry Krause, president of Tacoma Police Union Local 6. "All we've ever said is, don't base these cuts only on the 3rd quarter. Some officers and firefighters claim the city has time to wait until the latest revenue figures come in early next year before approving any cuts. "The sky isn't falling," said fire Lt. John McAuliffe. "We don't need to govern like our hair is on fire." But if the projections hold true, city officials have said, the longer you put off cuts, the deeper they must be. The cuts proposed Tuesday already are deep. Those proposed for the police department would lop off $4.9 million of a $59 million budget — about 8 percent, in all. The now three - bureau department would be streamlined into two, with investigations merging into administrative. In all, 82 commissioned officers would be lost. Along with the 56 layoffs, 23 vacant positions would be zapped and three other positions moved to another department. • To backfill for 43 frontline positions targeted for cuts means that most specialized police units and proactive programs must be eliminated. Among the programs targeted is the school resources officers program, begun after a student was killed in Foss High School in 2007. "We'll be moving away from community based, proactive model of policing to a more reactive model," Ramsdell said. The fire department would take $4.5 million in cuts from its $48.7 million budget. Stations No. 6, in • Tacoma's Tideflats, and No.13 — the beloved, more than a century-old stationhouse in the Proctor District, are slated for closure. The city's fire boat services, which operate out of Station No. 6, would be "eliminated, for all intents and purposes," said Fire Chief Ron Stephens, adding that the department's 70 -foot boat will remain moored there, but would be called into service only for major fires. • Two other Stations — No. 4 and No 11 — will lose their engine companies, but remain operating to provide emergency medical services. Stephens said he didn't come to his decisions until Monday night, basing them primarily on service calls, locations and other statistics. Some of the other cuts proposed Tuesday include 15 layoffs in public works, including six people who primarily respond to citizen complaints about code enforcement issues and nuisances; five employees in the economic development department's permit center, and seven jobs in Tacoma Municipal Court. 4110 Layoff numbers could change. Arellano said discussions continue with unions, and police and fire employees still have until Dec. 15 to take retirement offers. http : / /www.thenewstribune.com/2011 /12 /06 /v- printerfriendly / 1935338 /tacoma- budget- victims - may - inclu... 12/7/2011 1'he.Ne'ws Tribune - Tacoma budget victims may include gang unit, jobs, two fire stations (print) Page 3 of 3 The council, which is also considering several revenue - generating strategies, has set a special budget meeting for Dec. 20 to adopt a final plan. • h ere we can find $100,000,is another police or fire job saved," Mayor Marilyn Strickland said.. • amb: 253 - 597 -8542 . lewis. kamb@thenewstribune. com • Twitter: @Ikamb © Copyright 2011 Tacoma News, Inc. • • II • . . • • • • ID http : / /www.thenewstribune.com/2011 /12 /06 /v- printerfriendly / 1935338 /tacoma- budget- victims - may - inclu... 12/7/2011