CNC Recommendations for the 2011-2012 Seattle Budget

City Neighborhood Council

c/o 700 Fifth Ave, Suite 1700, PO Box 94649, Seattle WA 98124-4649

Telephone:  (206) 684-0719    Fax:  (206) 233-5142    TDD:  (206) 684-0446

October 29, 2010

Seattle City Council
P. O. Box 34025
Seattle, WA 98124-4025

CNC Recommendations for the 2011-2012 Seattle Budget

Dear City Council member:

City legislation assigns to the City Neighborhood Council and the thirteen District Councils that comprise it an important role in the budget process.  CNC has reviewed the Mayor’s budget proposals, and finds that they are significantly at variance from our July 2 budget letter to the Mayor. [1] We summarize below the key disparities and their relation to our priorities of community-building, public services, stewardship, equity, efficiency, and sustainability.  

Community-building and public services: 

CNC’s recommendation was not to reduce public services or community-building programs.  While welcoming the Mayor’s funding of human services, we cannot accept his deep cuts in other public services.  Building community is among the highest missions of government, never more important than when other programs are being cut.  A well-organized community, through volunteer action and mutual aid, can do what government cannot afford or could not do as well as what people do for themselves if they have the tools.  Yet five of the City’s 26 Parks Department community centers are proposed to be closed or severely cut--eliminating safe community focal points, especially for youth.  And the crime prevention staff (once with 20 full-time equivalents and now withered to six) is proposed in the Mayor’s budget for only four FTEs, and through an uncertain Federal grant rather than City funds.  The crime prevention coordinators advise and organize citizens and businesses to help police officers deter and catch perpetrators.  CNC is concerned that closing community centers and reducing crime prevention staff will increase crime and unravel communities.  

DoN among hardest hit by cuts:

The Department of Neighborhoods is among the City’s smallest departments, but would suffer proportionately more cuts than much larger departments.   DON’s community-building role cannot survive these cuts.  The Neighborhood Matching Fund brings people together on projects that benefit all of Seattle.  By leveraging private dollars and volunteer hours, it returns double value or more for each City dollar.  The Neighborhood Matching Fund hasn’t recovered from past cuts, yet the Mayor proposes a further cut of 22 percent--a grievous blow to a nationally acclaimed success in community-building, with last year's cuts, this budget would provide only 55 percent of the NMF funds that were available in 2008.

Another grievous blow to community-building as well as to public services is the Mayor’s proposal to eliminate seven of the thirteen Neighborhood Service Centers (Beacon Hill, Capitol Hill, Downtown, Fremont, Greenwood, Queen Anne, and West Seattle) and six of the thirteen District Coordinators.  The Coordinators and their field offices long predated DON, and are inherent in Seattle’s success in bringing government closer to the people and producing results not achievable top-down.  Departments that lack field offices depend on the District Coordinators and their offices as “feet on the street” and a link to residents and businesses.  

While reassured by the City Budget Office that there is no consideration of reducing District Councils from the existing 13, CNC feels strongly that the public services the District Coordinators provide, including to the District Councils, cannot be accomplished from DON’s downtown headquarters or from offices not located within each District Council boundary  The District Coordinators uniquely have the trust of the grassroots and of City Hall alike.  The proposed cuts would be a historic setback for  40 years of success in decentralizing government.

Stewardship: 

CNC's  July 2 letter also urged that the City no longer lag in maintaining parks, trees, community centers, piers, streets, walkways, and other physical investments.  The proposed budget places the City farther behind, allowing further deterioration that eventually costs more to repair—a burden passed along to our youth once they become taxpayers.  Cuts in Parks Department maintenance (such as painting, carpentry, metal work, plumbing, electrical repair, tree pruning, water maintenance, cleaning and trash pickup) place our already deteriorating park system in unprecedented jeopardy.  The proposed budget also allows further growth in the backlog of repairs needed in non-arterial (neighborhood and industrial) streets, which receive few funds from the transportation levy.  In 2006, City Council Central Staff estimated the cost of rebuilding non-arterial streets at 40 percent of the total arterial and non-arterial backlog, a proportion now growing as arterials continue to be rebuilt while  non-arterials remain ignored.

Equity and efficiency:

Economies are best achieved if all programs are subject to collaborative savings efforts.  The proposed cuts fall especially heavily on the very public services and community-building and stewardship efforts that CNC’s July 2 letter sought to defend.  Some cuts are necessary, but CNC urges that they not be considered without looking at the entire City budget.  Uniformed police and fire services absorb more than 48 percent of the General Subfund, yet the proposed budget yields few savings there

To exempt some programs from budgetary scrutiny isn’t an efficient use of tax dollars, and reduces the incentive for agencies’ self-examination and disclosure of possible savings.  Only if all programs are scrubbed thoroughly looking for alternative savings will the 2011-2012 budget be equitable and efficient.  Revenues must remain in the picture.  In the Mayor’s proposed budget, two-thirds of the gap between spending and revenues is addressed by spending cuts and one-third by revenue increases.  This ratio should be reconsidered.

Sustainability and fairness:

The City Neighborhood Council is concerned that, because of its harsh impacts on public services, community-building, stewardship, and maintenance and its hands-off approach on large segments of City spending, the Mayor’s proposed 2011-2012 budget is not sustainable, equitable, or efficient.  We urge the City Council to take a fresh and hard look at the proposals and adopt different priorities.  

Thanks for your consideration of our recommendations.  This letter was authorized by unanimous vote at the October 25, 2010 City Neighborhood Council meeting.  

Chas Redmond, Chair City Neighborhood Council

Sincerely,

cc: Mayor, City Budget Office, Department of Neighborhoods, District Councils

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[1] Access this at http://seattle.gov/neighborhoodcouncil/documents/CNC2010budgetletteronletterhead.doc

Tonight: Discuss City Budget Crisis With Councilmember Jean Godden and Central Staff Director

HURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2010

We recieved this notice from Seattle Community Council Federation Treasurer, Chris Leman:

The Seattle Community Council Federation invites you to attend its monthly meeting tonightfrom 7-9pm at NOAA's Pacific Marine Center on Lake Union, 1801 Fairview Avenue East. Guest speakers will be during the first hour.

Councilmember Jean Godden, Chair of the City Council Budget Committee, and Dr. Ben Noble, Director of the City Council Central Staff, will update you about the city budget process and answer questions.

How will the City Council close the $67+ million budget shortfall? Will the Council agree with the Mayor's proposed tax and fee increases and cuts to essential services? Is there logic to the Mayor's proposed budget? Will the City lose neighborhood service centers and their District Coordinators? How can the City's neighborhood policing program function with the loss of crime prevention coordinators? Is it fair to target five of the City's 26 community centers for major cuts and closure? Are the cuts to the highly cost-effective Neighborhood Matching Fund reasonable? Will planned sidewalks go on the chopping block?

The budget that the City Council will adopt in November may be the most important for City government in a generation. Several statewide ballot measures on the November ballot could further reduce the available revenues, so City Council decisions are not yet solidified andYOU can make a difference.

Find out the latest and bring your issues and questions. Help decide what recommendations should go into the Federation's budget letter. See our blog for latest developments.

NOTE: As a federal facility on high security alert, NOAA requires that all attendees be on a list that we provide them beforehand Attendees must enter by the security gate (near the corner of Fairview Ave. E. and E. Blaine Street). Please also bring a photo ID. If you haven't attended a recent Federation meeting, please send your name, contact information, and address to rickbarrett@gmail.com to be added to the entry list. No e-mail? Call 206-365-1267. The building is ADA compliant, with ample parking in front.

The Seattle Community Council Federation is one of the nation's most active coalitions of neighborhood groups. Yearly dues for member groups are $50. SCCF welcomes new member groups, and encourages early renewal by existing member groups. Individual donations are also welcome and tax deductible, and go very far, as SCCF is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) organization. Mail your check to SCCF, 2370 Yale Avenue East, Seattle, WA 98102-3310. For questions, contact SCCF Treasurer Chris Leman, (206) 322-5463, cleman@oo.net.

Federation meets Thursday, October 28, 7:00 p.m. - Seattle Budget Crisis

SEATTLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FEDERATION

Regular Meeting

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency), Pacific Marine Center on Lake Union

1801 Fairview Avenue East

http://seattlefederation.blogspot.com/

Thursday, October 28, 2010

AGENDA

Seattle’s Budget Crisis—Preserving Essential Services in the Economic Downturn

featuring Councilmember Jean Godden and Dr. Ben Noble

Councilmember Jean Godden, Chair of the City Council Budget Committee, and Dr. Ben Noble, Director of Council Central Staff, will update you about the city budget process and answer questions.  How will the City Council close the $67 million budget shortfall?  Will the Council agree with the Mayor’s proposed tax and fee increases and cuts to essential services?  Is there logic to the Mayor’s proposed budget?

Will the City lose neighborhood service center coordinators?  How can the City’s neighborhood policing program function with the loss of crime prevention coordinators?  Is it fair to target five of the City’s 26 community centers for major cuts and closure?  Are the cuts to the highly cost-effective Neighborhood Matching Fund reasonable?  Will Linden Avenue really get its planned sidewalks or will that long-awaited project go on the chopping block? 

The budget that the City Council will adopt in November may be the most important for City government in a generation.  Several statewide ballot measures on the November ballot could further reduce the available revenues, so City Council decisions are not yet solidified and YOU can make a difference. 

Find out the latest and bring your issues and questions.  Help decide what recommendations should go into the Federation’s budget letter. 

7:00                 Call to Order and Introductions

                        Administration

1.     Changes to the agenda

2.     Treasurer’s report

3.     President’s report

7:15                 Seattle’s Budget Crisis:  Councilmember Jean Godden and Dr. Ben Noble

8:30                 Round Robin:  Bring your issues and budget priorities

9:00                 Adjourn

NOAA is a federal facility on high security alert, so attendees must enter by the security gate and may need to present photo ID. If you haven't attended a recent Federation meeting, please send your name, contact information, and address to rickbarrett@gmail.com  to be added to the entry list. No e-mail? Call 206-365-1267. The building is ADA compliant, with ample parking in front.

Folke Nyberg, Noted Seattle architect, activist dies at 76

Noted Seattle architect, activist Folke Nyberg dies at 76

Folke Nyberg, architect and professor, author and visionary, world traveler and civic activist, died at his Seattle home Aug. 15 after a two-year battle with prostate cancer. He was 76.

By Jack Broom

Seattle Times staff reporter

A good architect may have many talents: artist, planner, builder, craftsman.

Folke Nyberg, of Seattle, had all of those, and another that served as a foundation for the rest, said longtime friend John Fox, a Seattle housing advocate.

"He had a strong commitment to social justice," Fox said, "a sense that social responsibility should be a key element in planning and architecture."

Mr. Nyberg, architect and professor, author and visionary, world traveler and civic activist, died at his home Aug. 15 after a two-year battle with prostate cancer. He was 76.

He was a staunch advocate for affordable housing, public open space and neighborhood preservation, and has been credited with helping another Seattle architect, Victor Steinbrueck, preserve and maintain the Pike Place Market and Pioneer Square.

"He was a delight, a tremendous role model and a tremendous mentor," said preservation consultant Art Skolnik, of Tacoma. "Thousands of people he has taught are out there preaching his goodness."

Skolnik and Mr. Nyberg met in 1969 when Skolnik was hired by the Seattle city architect's office and Mr. Nyberg headed the urban-design section of the city's planning department.

Skolnik said that in getting Pioneer Square listed as the state's first site on the National Register of Historic Places, Mr. Nyberg and Steinbrueck helped save the area from business interests seeking to level many buildings and replace them with parking garages.

Born in Sweden on Aug. 20, 1934, Mr. Nyberg immigrated to Seattle with his family in 1947. At Lincoln High School, he played football and was co-valedictorian of his graduating class.

On an academic scholarship, he attended Yale University, where he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture, doing his graduate thesis on the Pike Place Market.

After college, he worked for several noted West Coast architects, including Paul Thiry, Joseph Esherick and Henry Klein, before establishing his own firm.

In the 1970s, Mr. Nyberg and Steinbrueck compiled an inventory of significant buildings and other features in a half-dozen Seattle neighborhoods, a document that led to the designation of several city landmarks and is still referred to today.

He served on the University of Washington faculty from 1969 to 1999, teaching primarily in the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, but holding an adjunct position in Scandinavian Studies for the last several years of his tenure. Upon retirement, he became a professor emeritus.

Fox met Mr. Nyberg in the early 1980s, when the two joined the Downtown Neighborhood Alliance, formed to raise concern about the loss of housing and a neighborhood character downtown. The group successfully sought to have development projects help relocate small businesses they displaced, and contribute to the creation of low-income housing.

Victor Steinbrueck's son, Peter Steinbrueck, an architect and former Seattle City Council member, said the hallmark of Mr. Nyberg's professionalism was that no matter what project he was involved with, "It was never about the buildings. It was always about people."

Never afraid to challenge local government or well-connected developers, Mr. Nyberg was in the forefront of the movement that helped get a public gathering space in the downtown Westlake development.

More recently, as officials debated the merits of a tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Mr. Nyberg argued that the existing viaduct not only be retained, but be embellished into a "linear city" with residences, shops and business.

He was an avid traveler and passionate book collector. A daughter, Thea Nyberg Burris, of Seattle, recalls that after each of her father's trips, a shipment of books he had purchased would arrive, sometimes outstripping the family's ability to find room for them.

For years, he started nearly every morning at Cafe Allegro in the University District, meeting some of his best friends and — his family said — doing some of his best work.

Mr. Nyberg's other survivors include his wife, Lisa Nyberg, son Carl Nyberg, and daughter Ingrid Nyberg, all of Seattle; a sister, Berit McAlister, of Kenmore; and two grandchildren.

Friends, colleagues and family members will gather for a celebration of Mr. Nyberg's life from 4-7 p.m. Oct. 24 at the University of Washington Club on campus.

Jack Broom: 206-464-2222 or jbroom@seattletimes.com

Testify to City Council, Monday, Oct. 25, and Tuesday, Oct. 26, about impacts of proposed budget cuts

On Monday, October 25, at 2:30 pm in City Council Chambers, the Full City Council will provide a 15-minute public comment period.

At 2:45 pm, there will be a one-hour presentation and discussion by Council staff about the impact of the proposed budget cuts on the Department of Parks and Recreation. 

At 3:45pm there will be a similar presentation about the budget cuts proposed for the Fire Department.

On Tuesday, there will be a Public Hearing about the proposed budget in whole (all segments of city government), see details below, from the City Council website.

Tuesday, October 26
Seattle City Hall
Council Chambers, 2nd floor
600 Fourth Avenue, 98104
5 p.m. Sign-in
5:30 p.m. Public Hearing

Download Agenda

Phone calls (206-684-0481) and e-mails to  Budget@seattle.gov are invited from 4:30 and 5 p.m. to be answered live in Council Chambers and broadcast on the Seattle Channel.

Pay parking is available in SeaPark garage between Cherry and James Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Those attending the budget public hearing receive a discounted rate of $3. Notify the garage cashier as you exit the garage that you attended a City Council public hearing and you will receive the special rate. Click for directions for visiting City Hall.

The City Neighborhood Council's Budget Committee invites you to its meeting this Monday, Oct. 18, 5-6 p.m. in City Hall room 370 (601 Fifth Avenue, third floor).

[I am forwarding to my e-mail list the following announcement that was sent out by the Department of Neighborhoods about a Monday meeting that I am organizing.  Please e-mail or phone me if you do not want to receive such messages in the future -- Chris Leman]

Decisions in the next three weeks on Seattle’s two-year budget may be the most important for City government in a generation.  Be a part of the process!  The City Neighborhood Council's Budget Committee invites you to its meeting this Monday, Oct. 18, 5-6 p.m. in City Hall room 370 (601 Fifth Avenue, third floor).  Hear the latest on discussions within the City Council, and between the Mayor and City Council, regarding where to make the needed severe budget cuts.  Help draft a comment letter to them, to be acted on by CNC later in the month.

In mid-November, the City Council will act, and without strong urging, they could go along with the Mayor's proposed cutbacks in crime prevention coordinators; the maintenance and hours of parks, community centers, and libraries; landmarks surveys; the Department of Neighborhoods district offices and coordinators; and the Neighborhood Matching Fund.  DON (already one of the smallest departments from past cuts) could receive proportionally larger cuts than any other department.

City Council resolution 28115 that designates CNC and the district councils as official advisory bodies, states that "The responsibility of the City Neighborhood Council shall include review and recommendations regarding City budget issues, including the general fund, capital and block grant budgets, and the Neighborhood Matching Fund."  The resolution also states that "The City Council shall consider the recommendations of the City Neighborhood Council and the comments of neighborhood organizations and District Councils in its review and actions on the City budget."

The CNC Budget Committee seeks to involve the district councils and other volunteers in these discussions, and also encourages the district councils and individuals to write their own budget letters.  The July 2 letter on budget priorities that the City Neighborhood Council sent to the Mayor and City Council is available at http://seattle.gov/neighborhoodcouncil/documents/CNC2010budgetletteronletterhead.doc  For background or to get involved, contact CNC Budget Committee chair Chris Leman, cleman@oo.net (206) 322-5463, and please send us your ideas.

Whether or not you can come to the CNC budget committee on Oct. 18 please let the City Councilmembers know your views by messages (their contacts are listed at http://seattle.gov/council/councilcontact.htm) and at a public hearing Tuesday, Oct. 26, 5-9 p.m. in the City Council chambers.  To see the Mayor's budget proposals, go to http://seattle.gov, and for more information on the hearings and the City Council process: www.seattle.gov/council/budget.

City Budget Cuts and Priorities - Your Ideas Wanted!

Dear Federation Reps, Attendees, and Concerned Citizens,

The focus of the October 28 Seattle Community Council Federation meeting will be on the City budget.  Could you please email us back or post on this blog, seattlefederation.blogspot.com your community’s budget priorities?  Are you concerned about library cuts, cuts to the Crime Prevention Coordinators, neighborhood service centers coordinators, community centers, the Neighborhood Matching Fund—or the many other perplexing cuts in the Mayor’s proposed budget?  What about the increase in the commercial parking tax that would devastate the UW’s U-pass program?  What about the increase in downtown parking fees?  If you have written letters or sent in comments, or just have views you would like to share, please forward them. 

Please share your insights on what you have learned about compromises made or proposed by city councilmembers.  Also, if you have ideas on where funding can come from to restore neighborhood priorities, please let us know. Maybe the City could figure out a way to collect the $52 million in outstanding parking tickets?  Maybe the six-figure salaries of some 300 city employees should be reviewed?  And probably you have other ideas?

We look forward to hearing back from you.

Please post your ideas and suggestions at

this Federation blog, seattlefederation.blogspot.com for others to see and build on.

Jeannie Hale

jeannieh@serv.net

206-525-5135

Find out the latest on proposed budget cuts and help develop recommendations at the City Neighborhood Council's budget committee on Thursday, Oct. 7, and Monday, Oct. 18--both 5-6:30 p.m. in room 370 of City Hall X

The City Neighborhood Council's Budget Committee invites you to its meetings this Thursday, Oct. 7 and Monday, Oct. 18, 5-6 p.m. in City Hall room 370 (601 Fifth Avenue, third floor).  Hear the latest on how the Mayor and City Council are approaching the severe budget cuts needed this year, and help draft a comment letter to be acted on by CNC later in the month.  In mid-November, the City Council will adopt the budget, and without strong urging, they could go along with the Mayor's proposed cutbacks in crime prevention coordinators; the maintenance and hours of parks, community centers, and libraries; landmarks surveys; the  Department of Neighborhoods district offices and coordinators; and the Neighborhood Matching Fund.  The Department of Neighborhoods (already one of the smallest departments from past cuts) could receive proportionally larger cuts than any other department.

City Council resolutions 27709 and 28115 that established CNC and the district councils as official advisory bodies, state in identical language that "The responsibility of the City Neighborhood Council shall include review and recommendations regarding City budget issues, including the general fund, capital and block grant budgets, and the Neighborhood Matching Fund."  These resolutions also state that "The City Council shall consider the recommendations of the City Neighborhood Council and the comments of neighborhood organizations and District Councils in its review and actions on the City budget." 

The CNC Budget Committee seeks to involve the district councils and other volunteers in these discussions, and also encourages the district councils and individuals to write their own budget letters.  The July 2 letter on budget priorities that the City Neighborhood Council sent to the Mayor and City Council is available at http://seattle.gov/neighborhoodcouncil/documents/CNC2010budgetletteronletterhead.doc  For background or to get involved, contact CNC Budget Committee chair Chris Leman,cleman@oo.net (206) 322-5463, and please send us your ideas.

Whether or not you can come to the CNC budget committee on Oct. 7 or 18, please let the City Councilmembers know your views by messages (their contacts are listed at http://seattle.gov/council/councilcontact.htm) and at two public hearings:  Wed., Oct. 13, 5 -9 p.m. at South Seattle Community College, and Tuesday, Oct. 26, 5-9 p.m. in the City Council chambers.  To see the Mayor's budget proposals, go to http://seattle.gov, and for more information on the hearings and the City Council process: www.seattle.gov/council/budget