Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels
2006 Budget Address
Determined to Make a Difference: 2006 Budget
September 26, 2005

Members of the City Council, distinguished guests and my fellow Seattleites:
Today I present my fourth budget proposal as Seattle ’s Mayor. I’m delighted to say that it contains something we haven’t seen in a very long time – revenue growth!

But more importantly, this budget reflects a significant turnaround for our City. We have invited new investment into our city and it is being felt in every neighborhood. We have labored to get people back to work and in increasing numbers they are. We’ve laid a foundation that allows us to build a bright future.

It is a testament to this city’s enduring spirit of faith and foresight. We do not let the problems of the present blind us to the potential ahead. We are a confident and determined city.

We’ve faced considerable challenges over the past four years. Those challenges made balancing a budget difficult, to say the least.

Facing the longest and deepest recession of our generation, we had to cut deeply out of our General Fund. We could have ignored the problems and hoped for a return to the boom times of the late 90s. But with support from Council Budget Chair Richard McIver, we determined together to make the tough decisions. We set the right priorities for this city. By doing so, we set the city back on course.

We promised to spend money wisely. We promised a more efficient and effective government. We promised to enhance public safety. We promised to improve our infrastructure.

We have met those promises and then some. In the last four years, together, we have:

• Balanced our budgets while maintaining basic services;
• Protected the most vulnerable among us;
• Filled thousands of potholes;
• Cleaned streams and restored forests
• Improved our customer service;
• Revived and expanded neighborhood businesses;
• Created thousands of jobs.

Thanks to a strong local economy, we can expect significantly more sales and business tax revenue.

Strong real estate sales will also provide much more revenue for the city than initially forecast.

Even conservative economists say that the greater Seattle area is now growing faster than the national and state economies.

All around the city you can feel a sense of confidence growing - new jobs, new homes, new parks and new opportunities. We are a determined City. We are determined to make our home and our world a better place. We reach high. We fight to achieve our goals. That is how we’ll tackle the challenges that lie ahead.

Keeping Seattle Moving

 Paving and sidewalks

Clearly, transportation is our most pressing challenge. We must be determined to keep Seattle moving.

Let me first thank the Council for your support Friday on my action to set aside the Transitway agreement with the Seattle Monorail Authority. This was a difficult decision but made necessary by the Authority Board’s refusal to face up to its revenue problems.

My proposed budget will pave 76 miles of arterial streets next year. It is a good start that nearly doubles what the city repaved this year, but it is still not nearly enough to keep pace with the forces of nature.

Over the past decade, we have lost two-thirds of the dedicated revenues to fix our streets and bridges due to a statewide initiative, Supreme Court decisions, and loss of gas tax revenues. That means almost $25 million a year less to fix our roads and bridges, leaving us with a maintenance backlog that continues to grow. Building on work of the Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee, in 2006 I will propose a specific funding package to close that gap.

We cannot allow our arterials to keep decaying or our bridges to fail. The city must step up, especially in our neighborhoods where children and families need a safe place to walk. More than 500 miles of our streets have no sidewalks. More than half of our neighborhood plans ask for them. We must answer that need.

My budget makes good on the City’s promise to build more sidewalks in our neighborhoods

Block-by-block we will build sidewalks, every year until the job is done and all our children can walk to the park or to school safely. That is determination.

Viaduct and Seawall

We don’t shy away from big challenges. Perhaps the biggest challenge we face today is just a few blocks from this City Hall. I’m talking, of course, about the unsafe Alaska Way Viaduct and Seawall. History will measure us largely by the choices we make about replacing these crumbling structures. Our determination can not waiver.

I continue to be surprised when people fail to connect the fate of the Viaduct and the Seawall. The Viaduct gets all the attention. Why? Because it sticks out like a sore thumb and more than 100,000 cars travel it everyday. It would be catastrophic if the viaduct were to collapse. The Seawall is an unseen danger. Like the levees in New Orleans , it is the weak link in our downtown.

Replacing the Seawall alone would be one of the largest public works projects in Seattle ’s history. But if there is one lesson from Hurricane Katrina, it is this: the price you pay for ignoring aging structures is far greater than the cost of replacing it before a disaster.

Our Seawall was built nearly 75 years ago. It is being quietly consumed by the undeniable forces of deterioration: gribbles, teredos and relentless tidal action. Everyday, our confidence in it erodes a little more. Its collapse could cause blocks of downtown Seattle to slide toward Elliott Bay.

Think about it. The front porch of our city is just as dependent on the structural integrity of the Seawall as New Orleans is on its levees. But there is a difference: Our Seawall is older and in worse condition.

People’s lives are threatened. Our economy is at risk. We must replace the unsafe Viaduct and Seawall before it is too late.

I am a realist. Replacing these crumbling structures will be a monumental effort. It will require substantial resources from all levels of government. It will require determination.

Less than eight months ago many people didn’t think we would find any significant money to replace the Viaduct and Seawall. They were wrong. The state stepped up and provided $2 billion toward this aging State Highway. Congress followed with another $234 million. In all we have garnered about $2.4 billion.

But simply replacing the Viaduct isn’t the answer. Imagine if someone proposed a $3 billion double-decked highway along Lake Washington. They would be laughed right out of town. Our lakefront is a treasure. It’s inconceivable to me that we’d treat Puget Sound with less consideration.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to do what’s right. Our great grandchildren will live with our decision, just as we’ve been living the decision made to build it in 1949. We must use this opportunity to be bold and reconnect Seattle to its waterfront. Let’s not miss the chance to transform our front porch into a gathering place for all, where the rhythms of city life meet the natural beauty of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.

Keeping our Neighborhoods Safe

While our most critical public safety concern is to replace the Viaduct and Seawall, we must look deeper to know that we are a safe and secure city.

When I came into office I set a goal for Seattle : We would become the most prepared city in America. I’m determined to keep our people safe.

Yesterday I observed a large scale drill testing our ability to deal with a collision and fire onboard a Washington State Ferry. I can report our first responders did a great job.

We’re making significant progress. We’re rebuilding aging fire stations; we are conducting drills and participating in exercises, organizing our neighborhoods with the tools to survive a disaster, protecting our water supply and installing pumps at our reservoirs so that water will always be accessible. All of this and much more is happening.

Let’s start with our front lines. For the past three years we’ve focused the impact of budget cuts. This year we will actually be able to increase the number of frontline firefighters and police officers protecting our neighborhoods ­-- something that hasn’t happened in a long time.

We’ve going to hire 15 more firefighters. That means all of our fire stations will be better ready to respond to emergencies, all day, every day, whether it is a house fire in your neighborhood or an earthquake that affects the entire region.

We will deploy 25 more police officers next year thanks to the Council’s action in June. These new patrol officers will make a difference where it counts – in our neighborhoods.

We’ve also included resources to bolster the City’s first-response capabilities.

On October 15, we’ll conduct a comprehensive test of how our police and fire departments would respond if a significant portion of the Viaduct collapsed.

But let’s be candid. Katrina shook the confidence of many in the ability of government to respond to a disaster. In Seattle, people have asked, “Are we ready?” As mayor, it is a question that I ask every day.

Thanks to the progress we have made, I’m confident when I say the answer is “Yes.”

But preparedness is not something that you can say you've achieved one day and stop. It is much more than a laundry list of items to be checked off. Preparedness is a continual process of learning more about the threats we face and doing more to be ready for them.

Preparedness is a mindset. It is a culture that must be part of every neighborhood and every home. It is the confidence that you can help yourself and help others when circumstances demand it.

We’ve done it before. Seattle is often cited as the best city in the world to have a heart attack. Why? In large part because so many of us have learned CPR. As a city, we chose to make that training a part of our culture. Many people are alive today as a result.

That is why we are taking two extraordinary steps next year. First, we will offer disaster preparedness training to all 10,000 City employees so they will know what to do during a crisis to help themselves and -- more importantly --their communities. And we will call upon other large employers in the city to do the same.

Second, we will encourage much wider participation in our neighborhood-based disaster preparedness program. We will do this by overhauling the program to make training more efficient, flexible and accessible so that we can reach out to all people – especially in poor and underserved communities and those who are homebound -- and quickly develop the skills and resources they need in an emergency. I ask every Seattleite to join with me in developing a family plan for safety in an emergency and in reaching out to our neighbors to develop a 72 hour plan for each of our neighborhoods.

We must be determined to create a culture of preparedness in Seattle. By reaching out to as many people as possible, we spread the skills and confidence needed to see this city through any disaster, whether natural or man-made.

Creating economic opportunity for all

B & O tax relief

Let me take a moment to talk about another issue that is very important to Seattle – jobs.

You’ve all heard me say it for four years now: Creating jobs and economic opportunity for EVERYONE is a key priority of my administration. We’re making progress. Thousands of new jobs, homeownership is up, unemployment is on the decline. We’re supporting small businesses impacted by Light Rail.

As great as those things are, I know we can do more. The place to start is with the small businesses that are so important to our neighborhoods. The city is filled with small businesses where the owner makes a living, but little more. These small operations are vital to the economic health of our communities, yet they often find themselves struggling.

Today I am proposing tax relief for about 3,000 small businesses to spur economic growth and maintain healthy business districts in all our neighborhoods. We will do that by raising the amount of income a business earns before paying any Business and Occupation taxes.

We have not adjusted the exemption since 1994. It’s time to treat our small businesses fairly and raise the exemption to $75,000 from the current $50,000.

We are a fortunate city in another way. We are growing. An additional 100,000 people are expected to call Seattle home over the next 20 years. We can choose to let the growth overwhelm the city, or we can act decisively to shape the growth in areas of the city that make the most sense - our Center City neighborhoods.

We need to insure growth creates the kind of center city we want by requiring developments to pay their fair share for the things that create thriving, vibrant neighborhoods.

In exchange for allowing taller buildings in the downtown area, growth will provide tens of millions of dollars for affordable housing, child care, parks and open space and historic preservation.

We will build more than 2,000 affordable homes in the Downtown, Denny Triangle, Belltown, International District and Pioneer Square neighborhoods through this tool.

We want to see all of these areas become thriving urban neighborhoods, where people prosper, life spills out onto the sidewalks and families feel safe and welcome. I want to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to call Seattle’s Center City neighborhoods home.

Building strong families & healthy communities

My budget will advance our efforts to build strong families and healthy communities across all of Seattle. One way to make our city more livable is investing in open space, green space and community gathering places.

So when we see an opportunity, we must be determined to act.

Livable neighborhoods

Hard times lead to hard choices. Last year we thought that we would have to sell open space in West Seattle to invest in vital community assets -- the Asian Counseling and Referral Service, the African American Heritage Museum and the Wing Luke Museum. Thanks to our improving economy, we no longer face that difficult decision. We will preserve Soundway as open space AND provide for these community facilities.

Keeping Seattle green helps to preserve our quality of life. We're at risk of becoming “the city formerly known as emerald” if we fail to add open space and trees to our neighborhoods, streets, and business districts.

Only 15 percent of the city still has tree cover. I’ve issued an Executive Order directing City departments to replace every tree removed from city property with two new trees. We will ensure Seattle remains a truly green and breathable city. The next generation will thank us.

Northgate

We are also determined to help neighborhoods that have been neglected. How long has it been since we could say great things are happening in Northgate? Thank you for helping us put those days behind us. Northgate is being rejuvenated.

Confidence is returning. I’m happy to say that two of the oldest and ugliest, though not historic, buildings in Northgate mall are coming down and in their place new bookstores and restaurants will be built. Nearby, the Channel at Thornton Creek is coming. A new library, community center, park, housing and improved sidewalks are being built.

And I am proposing that we add more open space for everyone to enjoy. We’re going to build a new park where a Metro Park & Ride Lot currently sits north of the Target. A livable, walkable Northgate neighborhood is just around the corner.

Livable communities mean more than open space and thriving business districts. In Seattle , nothing reflects on the values a community holds more than how it supports the less fortunate.

South Park

This budget will help alleviate suffering of homeless people and prevent the working poor from becoming homeless.

We will continue our work to help the people and businesses in Southeast Seattle.

We will also provide more to help the people of South Park. This is an historically impoverished neighborhood with limited resources for its young people. But it is also a proud community with many strengths. What it needs now is a little help.

We’re going to build on the strengths of this neighborhood. For years the community center and a strong network of service providers have worked to keep this community engaged and vibrant.

We will support their work by providing for gang prevention, helping people overcome addictions, supporting the academic needs of the children, helping to educate parents and creating a place for young people to go for help.

And there’s more. The city’s Families and Education levy will be focused on schools that serve the children of South Park next year. We’re going to make sure all children have a chance to succeed in school. Community Learning Centers, preschool classrooms for 4-year-olds, training for Childcare providers and much more will benefit the children of South Park.

We will do more for the people of South Park. This is just a beginning and builds on the strengths of Latino community-based organizations. It will take the work of city government AND the mobilization of this community to increase hope for young families in South Park.

Connections

Seattle 's commitment to homeless people and housing has never ceased to amaze me. The generosity of Seattle ’s spirit is reflected in how we have reached out to Hurricane Katrina evacuees. We have always acted with compassion as a city. For a quarter century we have helped pay for housing and services for those without resource. Our citizens have reached into their own pockets and passed bond issues and levies, they have supported City investments through the budget. But the need keeps growing.

So the new approach I talked about a year ago — to stop managing homelessness and start ending it — truly begins today.

The City is going to make our first major step toward implementing the Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness by committing to a new program called Connections. Connections is a one-stop center at The Morrison Hotel. The idea is to provide homeless people with what they need to reconnect with the community. Meals, showers, a place to wash their clothes, a safe place to be during the day, plus services and referrals they need to get healthy, find jobs, access long-term housing and ultimately to live independently. We talked about it last year. Now we are determined to help 3,000 homeless people start to break the cycle of homelessness each year.

We can move beyond managing homelessness and help people live in health and with dignity. In the wake of Katrina, we will rededicate ourselves to improving the lives of our own neighbors who live in poverty and pain.

Conclusion

And that is the essence of this city. We are determined to make it a better place, not just for ourselves and our families, but for everyone who calls Seattle home. Even those who have no place to call home.

It is that faith in the future of Seattle that guides us as we face the challenges ahead and that defines the priorities by which we lead this great city.

Over the past four years, that faith has never wavered – even in the deepest troughs. Our priorities have stood firm even if our goals seemed impossible to reach.

Together, we are making Seattle a better place. We are making the city safer and more prepared. We are creating new opportunities. We are strengthening the bonds of communities. And we are helping those with nowhere else to turn.

Seattle is rightfully confident of its future. But our destiny will not be determined by confidence alone. Our course will be set by the choices we make today, tomorrow and in the years ahead. We must remain determined to make the right choices as we move forward.

Thank you for you hard work – together we are making a difference in people’s lives. May God bless our home, Seattle.