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Soundings
Leaping tall budget books and opening library doors
December 5, 2005
Producing a Seattle-sized budget isn't for sissies.
The Seattle City Council approved a $769 million general fund budget on November 28th. The more-than-a-foot-high document had been eight long weeks in the making. Many midnight hours, countless briefings and consultations and some tough negotiations were required to create a "sustainable" budget, so that spending plans do not promise more than they can deliver in subsequent years.
I am happy to report the city has a 2006 budget that, as promised, places major emphasis on people and on restoring some - but sadly not all - of the cutbacks suffered during four years of Dickinsonian economic times.
My proudest moment was when the council voted to increase funding for the Seattle Public Library. This was a project that Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck and I had personally taken on. The two of us labored for weeks to convince our fellow councilmembers that now is the time to make good on past promises. When libraries shuttered their doors, when librarians took unpaid leave and when the book collection budget shrunk to the size of geoduck brains, councilmembers made a tacit promise to restore services as soon as possible.
In fact, if there was one message I have received loud and clear, it is that people in Seattle love their libraries. They wanted to restore the library hours that had been cut back over the lean years. They wanted the collections fund increased. The cry was, "Fill the shelves and open the doors."
The 2006 budget will add $1.5 million to the collections fund to purchase new books, periodicals and up-to-date research materials. An additional $961,000 will be added to the Seattle Library budget to increase operating hours on Sundays and Thursday evenings and to double the number of branch libraries - from eight to 15 - that are open on Sundays.
While this isn't a total restoration, it's a long way from the budgets during the four years of financial drought.
Our libraries are the peoples' universities, serving everyone from small tots to the elderly and homebound. They're an extension of our schools. These expanded hours will provide more school age children with a safe place to learn.
I felt an equal sense of pride in the passage of two smaller budget additions that I advocated: "Keeping Seattle Green" and "Keeping Bikestation Seattle Open."
The Keeping Seattle Green proposal built on the mayor's plan to require a two-for-one tree replacement in the parks. Whenever a tree is removed, two trees must replace that fallen tree. Woodman, spare that Sweetgum.
However, after checking out the mayor's two-for-one program, we discovered that the proposed $170,000 wouldn't cover planned tree removals citywide. So, with support from fellow councilmembers, we were able to add $183,000 to the Urban Forest Management budget. That includes adding a third arboriculturist to the two-person crew responsible for tending the city's 200,000 trees and makes two-for-one replacement possible.
Bikestation Seattle in Pioneer Square, jointly funded by Metro and Sound Transit, now will receive an added $10,000. That will increase services to bicycling commuters who store their bicycles and equipment while they work downtown. It's a small item in a big budget, but it's welcome news for cyclists who play such a role in reducing downtown traffic congestion.
Additionally, the 2006 budget will provide:
- $18.5 million to fund transportation priorities;
- $2 million for social services, including shelter beds, food delivery, health clinics and advocacy programs and a cost-of-living adjustment for service providers;
- $600,000 to the Olympic Sculpture Park to restore that area's shoreline beach;
- $400,000 for a pilot project that links people who commit "street crimes" with mental-health, substance-abuse and employment programs;
- $257,000 to restore Late Night Recreation at High Point, Southwest and Rainier Beach Community Centers:
- $250,000 for Lower Woodland Skateboard Park;
- $200,000 Dahl Playfield renovation; and
- $900,000 to the city's Rainy-Day fund bringing that fund's total to $4.5 million
No, budgets aren't for sissies. We must make the most of the value of taxpayers' dollars, meet the many needs of our diverse population and plan for the future, all within a finite yet fluctuating sum of money. That said, getting the job done right is the most important thing elected officials do.
Seattle City Councilmember Jean Godden is a former columnist for the Seattle Times and now chairs the Council's Energy and Environmental Policy Committee. You can learn more by going to http://www.seattle.gov/council/ratereview.htm. |
