| |
Dear Friends,
As I prepared to deliver my eighth and final budget to the City Council last week, I recalled January 2002 when I took the oath of office for the first time to serve as your mayor. Then we were facing a crisis -- the bursting dot-com bubble and the near collapse of the aerospace industry, costing 30,000 Boeing workers their jobs. City government reaped the consequences of undisciplined spending and priorities that promised too much with too little.
We had our work cut out for us. We rolled up our sleeves, and set a new course. We eliminated programs, trimmed payroll and cut city spending by $120 million. We were hit harder by that recession than virtually anywhere else. And we recovered.
Today, we face similar challenges: a global financial panic unseen since the 1930s, a Great Recession that has left businesses reeling and families hurting.
But because of the choices we made over the past eight years, we are well poised for a new era of prosperity. In a survey of major cities across the nation, Pew Charitable Trusts determined that Seattle was in the strongest fiscal situation. That's no accident or fluke, but the result of years of careful planning and prudent action. One part of the budget tells the story: when I took office, the Rainy Day fund was only $2.5 million. Now, it stands at more than $30 million. That will help us today, when the clouds of economic uncertainty are upon us.
We are staying true to the things that are important: we continue to focus on public safety, help our most vulnerable, solve transportation challenges and prepare to take back our waterfront. With this budget, we can make a positive difference in people's lives, just as we have for eight years.
The path to progress may not be even or straight. But we have walked this road together. And it has been a wonderful journey.
Thank you, and God bless our home, Seattle.
Sincerely,
GREG NICKELS
Mayor of Seattle |
 |
|
|
September 2009
|
Highlights of the Mayor’s Proposed 2010 Budget:
With the latest revenue forecasts projecting a $72 million revenue shortfall in the general fund's 2009-2010 biennial budget, I have proposed to balance the budget by cutting roughly 4.4 percent from the endorsed 2010 budget, or about $41 million. I also propose drawing $25.4 million from the Rainy Day Fund, leaving about $5 million for the future.
Here are some other highlights of my proposal:
- Eliminate approximately 310 positions citywide, including approximately 38 executive, management and supervisory positions, plus an additional 16 strategic advisors or similar positions.
 Add 20 new patrol officers in 2010, keeping Seattle on track with my plan to have 154 new officers on the streets by 2012. Preserve uniformed staffing in the Fire Department.
- Reduce the number of vehicles and equipment in the city's fleet by about 200.
- Members of 14 Coalition of City Unions agreed to 10-day unpaid furloughs for 2010, saving an estimated $6.5 million from the General Fund.
- Continue work on the Alaskan Way Seawall, some utility work, and additional planning to support the state's replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep-bore tunnel.
 Continue the city's commitment to Housing First and the 10-Year Plant to End Homelessness in King County.
- Continue funding for the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative to provide high-risk teens a better future.
- Raise the B&O tax threshold to $100,000 starting in 2010, to benefit small businesses.
 With funding from the voter-approved Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy and other city funds, continue to replace and remodel almost all of Seattle's fire stations. In 2010, nine neighborhood stations will be under construction and land will be purchased for a new site for Fire Station 20. Also in 2010, the "Chief Seattle" fireboat will be refitted.
Over the next couple of months, Council will hold public hearings and deliberate on the proposed budget. Council will adopt the 2010 budget by the end of November.
Find out more details
|
|
Upcoming Events:
- Weekday with Steve Scher -- Call in to Mayor Nickels on KUOW 94.9 FM -- Monday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m.
- Domestic Violence Awareness Month Recognition -- Columbia Tower, Third Floor Art Gallery -- Tuesday, Oct. 13, 1:30 p.m.
- Second Annual City of Music Celebration -- Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave. -- Wednesday, Oct. 14, 5 p.m.
- Ask the Mayor -- Seattle Channel -- Wednesday, Oct. 14, 7 p.m.
- White Cane Day -- Mount Baker Light Rail station -- Thursday, Oct. 15, 10:15 a.m.
- Seattle Steam Biomass Boiler Dedication -- Seattle Steam, 1316 Western Ave. -- Thursday, Oct. 15, 11:15 a.m.
- 18th Annual Mayor's End Hunger Awards Breakfast -- The Palace Kitchen, 2030 Fifth Ave. -- Monday, Oct. 19, 9:30 a.m.
|
|
|
