Seattle Forward

2010 Budget: Round One

The Council this morning started its formal process of adopting a City budget for 2010.  The Mayor has proposed a general fund budget of $905 million.  Today's day-long Council session includes budget review of five City departments:

• Office of Economic Development
• Seattle Public Utilities
• Office of Sustainability and Environment
• the Human Services Department
• Police Department

There are 31 budget issues/questions related to these five department. 

Round One sessions are designed to identify questions and gain insight into how council members view these issues.  Round Two follows in two weeks and that's where we will vote on dozens of individual additions or cuts to the Mayor's proposed budget. 

Public Safety Risk

Budget cutbacks at the state level will create some serious challenges on the sidewalks of our cities, including here in Seattle.  This article posted today at SeattlePI.com frames the issue well.  Back in August, Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and I organized regional leaders to speak with a unified voice to urge restoration of the Neighborhood Corrections Initiative officer cutbacks.  Read a copy of our letter to the Governor and Secretary Vail at the Department of Corrections:  Download Gregoire-Vail_2009-08-24.

Budget Hearing Starts

Advocates for various interests--parks, libraries, housing, human services--are making their case to the Council tonight.

Barcelona Lessons

Neal Peirce has an interesting piece on city planning well worth reading.  Check it out here.  Could Seattle pull off what Barcelona has done?  Yes, if we really want to. 

I can think of several areas of Seattle that could use some Barcelona-type innovation:

• the Aurora Avenue North corridor
• Interbay
• Georgetown
• the Rainier Avenue South corridor

and perhaps other areas, too.  What I like most about what Peirce writes about is how Barcelona has apparently integrated development with historic preservation, protection of homes for current residents, affordable housing incentives, and shared costs for infrastructure improvements. 

Closely related to urban development is the need for strong public school education.  David Brooks continues the discussion about education reform in this piece.  Brooks gives kudos to President Obama's insistence on education reform. (Read my post about education reform and transformation I witnessed during a recent visit to Mercer Middle School in Seattle.) 

Video Budget Clips

OK, this is a bit self-serving, I guess, but here are some video clips about our city budget that are running on the Seattle Channel.  Click on the link and they will run.  Be the first on your block to watch all seven clips.  (Clips featuring Councilmembers Conlin and Licata will run after the November 3rd election.)

Tunnel, Fire Station, Museum

Three important votes at City Council this afternoon. All votes were 9-0.

1. Council voted (yet again) that city policy supports the State's decision to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep-bore tunnel under downtown.
2. We voted to support relocation of the Museum of History and Industry to Lake Union Park.
3. We ended a four-year ordeal and voted to site Fire Station 20 at 15th Ave and West Armour St.

The Future: Mercer Middle School and Metropolitan Seattle

Tuesday afternoon and evening was another one of those special times I frequently experience in my work as a member of the City Council.  Seeing all the good that’s happening in our city is encouraging and

Limited Victory, Strange Sentence

Read this story at Seattlepi.com.  It details an ongoing case involving a street gang in West Seattle that forced young, underage girls into prostitution.  As typically happens, these individuals used coercion and violence to control and intimidate the girls they prostituted.  A companion trial resumes next week in King County Superior Court.

Note how the second defendant was sentenced, despite the fact that the prosecutor and defense attorney agreed to a stiffer sentence.  Very strange. I wonder if the judge clearly understands how the children who were forced into street prostitution were treated and how long it will take them to recover from their trauma?  What a shame!

Looking Forward Past November 3

Jon Talton has an interesting piece in today''s Seattle Times about out economic future.  Worth reading. Talton suggests that the future will be very different from what we're used to; I think he's right. 

Talton references the Brookings Institute and their work on the power of metropolitan areas.  One of Brookings' scholars, Bruce Katz, is coming back to Seattle on October 13 for a series of meetings and a public lecture at the University of Washington.  Katz is a thought leader on the importance of metro areas.  (One of my earlier posts about Katz is here.)

In his piece, Talton urges innovation coupled with savvy thinking about what might be.  It won't be easy. 

Sleeping on the Grass Wrap

The sleep-out protest in front of my home ended Friday morning after three days.  It wasn't a problem for me, but I was uncomfortable that my position in city government brought discomfort and anxiety to my neighbors.  I really regret that imposition. 

No matter what one thinks about the efficacy of this type of protest, nothing about it was pleasant for