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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/03/1996 Adjourned Meeting 3 234 CITY OF YAKIMA, WASHINGTON DECEMBER 3, 1996 ADJOURNED MEETING The City Council met on this date at 12:00 Noon at the Providence Medical Center Centennial Tower for the Yakima Valley Public Service Organizations Annual Legislative Priority Presentation. Council Members present were Mayor Lynn Buchanan, Henry Beauchamp, John Klingele, John Puccinelli, and Bernard Sims. Council Members Clarence Barnett and Ernie Berger absent and excused. Staff members present were City Manager Dick Zais, Assistant City Manager Glenn Rice, Marketa Oliver, Administrative Assistant to the City Manager, and Melynn Skovald, Deputy City Clerk. Mayor Buchanan welcomed the group and after everyone in attendance introduced themselves, discussion of each organization's legislative issues began. DISCUSSION WITH PUBLIC SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS REGARDING LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES Marketa Oliver identified Street and Road Maintenance and repair funding issues as the top priority for the City of Yakima. The City supports funding for this from a portion of the proposed State Gas Tax increase, or perhaps the local legislative authority to approve a local gas tax of up to five cents. The City's next priority is Criminal Justice Funding issues which include seeking additional State funding for, and reimbursement of, costs from unfunded mandates in SSE 6211. The City will request that State Legislators revisit this legislation. City Manager Zais indicated the City also supports a proposal to lift the lid on the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (MVET) funding formula scheduled to take effect in June. The lid changes the funding formula and will affect a number of areas, not just criminal justice funding, but potentially Transportation funding and Health District funding. As its third priority, the City of Yakima supports administrative regulations reform as part of their ongoing effort to deal with unfunded mandates. Jim Lewis, Yakima County Commissioner, directed attention to Yakima County's philosophy toward its priorities for 1997. He indicated the County supports legislation to reduce just the state's portion of the property tax with the local property tax remaining to support general government for local jurisdictions. In addition, the County feels legislation which reduces revenues to local government must be accompanied by corresponding legislation to reduce mandated services. In an effort to decrease the number of non - paying inmates in the criminal justice system, Yakima County identified their next priority to support the promotion of prevention strategies for youth at risk which focus on community wellness, particularly in the areas of teen pregnancy, illiteracy, and the lack of job skills. An example of this is a plan to increase the number of General Practitioners in Yakima County. Commissioner Lewis directed attention to the large land mass in Yakima County where less than 30 percent is taxable property. He reported Yakima County will ask the State Legislature and the Federal Government for relief in the payment of in- lieu -of taxes to help offset paying for programs that are mandated but are not funded. Bill Flower, Yakima County Commissioner, described the fourth priority of the County Adjourned Noon Meeting ��� Decemb4i 3, 1996 which is to try to develop some legislation which would encourage local economic development. Barbara Hood, Executive Director of Providence Health System, identified several concerns of their organization about access to health care, health care coverage, and services of health care. She urged the public service organizations to work together to support ways to address the impact of Welfare Reform; to develop a way to fund Major Medicaid programs and still limit spending as mandated under Initiative 601; and to address the problem with the Basic Health Plan where hospitals in this area pay more than $1 million a year in taxes toward the statewide health plan while an insufficient number of people from the local area participate in the plan. Rick Linneweh, Executive Director of Memorial Hospital, echoed the concerns about welfare reform and the special needs of the Yakima County area. This organization also supports removing the lid on the MVET funding formula which also affects discretionary funding. Gail Weaver, Yakima Health District, directed attention to public health issues such as the HIV /AIDS Omnibus funding which Senator Deccio sponsored. She supports the continuation of this program . along with HIV /AIDS prevention efforts, as well as continuation of funding for the AIDS prescription drug program. She requested support from Public Service Organizations on these issues. Ms. Weaver stressed the importance of implementation of the Public Health Improvement Plan in order to continue to receive funding in Yakima County, which will be even more important as Welfare Reform comes into play in Yakima County. She described a proposal for additional Public Health support to continue in the Public Health capacity, which included dedicated funds to Public Health from the County Sales Tax Equalization Fund once the sales tax is equalized throughout Yakima County. These funds would not be subject to the Initiative 601 lid. This would eliminate drawing from the Health Services Account from which the Basic Health Plan's funds come from. She is also concerned about the lid on the MVET and the percentage that goes into public health. She felt the overriding concern of the Health District is the Welfare. Reform impact on Yakima County and what to do about counties like Yakima which will be disproportionately affected. Dr. Larry Petry, Superintendent of the Yakima School District, explained that during the last legislative session, the legislature intended to fully fund school construction in the state of Washington; however, because of the timber sales in the state not being what was projected, about 15 school districts did not receive matching funds for their construction projects. Yakima was affected with two projects not funded. The Yakima School District supports legislation where those projects would be funded first before any more are added to the list. Gary Webster, General Manager of Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce, indicated they have several items which reflect the Central Washington Business Coalition's perspective to reinstitute legislation vetoed by the Governor. Their primary priorities deal with the business climate and include regulatory reform to address employer mandates to make sure federal standards are not exceeded. They support the continued roll back of Business and Occupation (B &O) Taxes and feel there needs to be a little more creativity for business start -ups and existing business renovation. Another priority of the Chamber is to increase public 2 236 Adjourned Noon Meeting December 3, 1996 enhancement activities to attract more businesses to the Valley. Other areas of support include property tax reform and the elimination of tax on intangibles. Ester Huey, Yakima County Substance Abuse Coalition /Gang Coalition, echoed all the concerns expressed by the group; however, their emphasis is in human services, particularly child and family services. She reported that funding from the State's General Fund and Federal Grants for substance abuse prevention is being cut. Although other funding sources are being sought, Ms. Huey indicated that without the intensive work in prevention, substance abuse and youth violence activities will increase. This organization also supports services to deal with the effects of welfare reform and the availability to assist with that problem. Mary Kowalsky, Assistant to the President for Community Relations and Marketing, Yakima Valley Community College (YVCC), identified four top priorities of this institution. Included in that was discussion about enrollment growth, job training, upgrades, and retraining for jobless workers which would intersect with Welfare Reform. Another priority of YVCC is implementing Student Success Initiatives and Adult Education which are contemporary programs for adults to transition to college. The College also supports the Legislature's continuing focus on Education Technology. This means improving access to higher education, improving learning and student progress, eliminating time to degree for students, and increasing efficiency. Michael Tracy, Business Development Manager at New Vision /Yakima Community Development Association (YCDA), directed attention to their priority which is to attract business and industry to the Yakima Valley. He stressed the importance of infrastructure and the necessity to maintain the Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) funding. Also important is a ready -to -go work force which requires the type of training programs to prepare workers for the particular type of industry coming in, as well as customized job training and retraining programs. YCDA /New Vision supports the idea of tax credits and tax incentives for manufacturers that are expanding or coming into the area. YCDA /New Vision also supports funding for their organization, specifically the Business and Job Retention Program. Mike Gregory, also with YCDA /New Vision, added that there needs to be a measurement process for people who have had training for employable skills. Mike Bernazzani, Education Services District #105, reported Welfare Reform is the issue they will follow closely. Schools are very concerned about how Welfare Reform will impact schools, particularly early intervention /prevention programs. Schools are also very concerned that Initiative 601 funding to Eastern Washington will change. Enrollment growth and additional work issues and the fact that a greater percentage of our children entering school are not ready to learn are also priority issues for schools. Phil Hoge, North Central Neighborhood Coalition, directed attention to the Dr. Don McGinness Park (formerly known as Swan Avenue Park) project. He requested support from the group to propose a stand -alone bill to fund this project, which was approved last year by the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation (IAC). 3 Adjourned Noon Meeting 237 December 3, 1996 Alex Deccio, Washington State Senator, explained the objective of the Welfare Reform Bill is to reduce the size of the Federal Budget, and as people leave the welfare rolls and go to work, the need for funding will go away. Some of the benefits currently in place may not be there any more. Olympia does not have much to say about the Federal Government cuts since Congress controls the money. Senator Deccio pointed out that the Welfare Reform Bill will probably hit Yakima the worst since there are many welfare recipients who live here, and the new bill specifically excludes immigrants from receiving public assistance. There was continued discussion about the many programs which will be affected by Welfare Reform and the challenging nature and the level of awareness of people -- both recipients and non - recipients -- who don't understand the depth of the Welfare Reform issue. Also discussed was the Initiative 601 revenue limiting mandate as it relates to MVET funding. There were comments and discussion about the disparity in the tax base between Eastern Washington and Western Washington, and the lack of understanding or empathy from Western Washington voters. Another priority issue discussed by the group was Child Labor Law reform to allow teenagers the opportunity to learn good work habits by working. The laws need to be changed. Senator Deccio urged the group to work together to bring their concerns to Olympia before the legislative committees. 4