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
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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
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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).
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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.
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