Tacoma City Council Report Card

Submitted by Morgan Alexander, Tacoma Sun.

The Number One topic for 2022 in Tacoma easily was CRIME. From a sky-rocketing homicide rate to a record number of vehicles stolen to retail businesses being broken into and robbed at gunpoint to illegal street racing, it felt like criminals were taking over the City.

It is with this in mind that we look at how the City Council responded. One way to analyze the activity of the City Council is to look at what it accomplished. In 2022, there were a total of 66 ordinances passed in the City of Tacoma with five of those brought forward by four Council Members and none by the Mayor. That works out to only 8% of the total ordinances passed. There were also 183 resolutions passed with only 31 being brought up by Council Members. For the purpose of this article, we are looking only at items brought forward by the City Council and Mayor.

What’s the difference between an ordinance and a resolution? An ordinance is a law. It can be either a new one or a modification of an existing one. A resolution covers actions by the City Council and Mayor that falls outside of creating or modifying a law, such as directing funds to special projects, declarations, and house cleaning minutiae.

In taking a look at the five ordinances passed, only one directly addressed a major concern residents had in 2022: illegal street racing (ordinance #28811; Rumbaugh). One other ordinance related to crime reduction was ordinance #28831 (Hines) which established “a ten-block buffer prohibiting camping and the storage of personal belongings on public property around temporary shelters.”

Total Resolutions sponsored by Council Members showed twice the activity when viewed as a percentage of total passed compared with ordinances. There were a total of 183 resolutions passed with 31 (17%) of them sponsored by Council Members. It’s not hard to figure out why though – it’s through resolutions that individual Council Members get to direct funding for pet projects or to use for community projects in their neighborhoods. The amounts, however, are fairly small in terms of the overall city budget.

The fact that only two laws out of the 66 passed addressed the biggest concern of the year leaves this writer with more questions than answers. Realistically, how much should the Council be expected to do? Are the solutions to crime beyond anything that can be done by creating or changing laws? But also, the City of Tacoma Council is part-time and has no dedicated staff. Would the Council be more productive if it were full-time and had its own staff?

BY THE NUMBERS

Ordinances
Total ordinances passed: 66
Total by a council member: 5 (8% of total passed)
Blocker: 1
Hines: 1
Diaz: 2
Rumbaugh: 1

Resolutions
Total resolutions passed: 183
Total by a council member: 31 (17% of total passed)
Blocker: 4
Bushnell: 0
Daniels: 2
Diaz: 2
Hines: 1
McCarthy: 1
Rumbaugh: 2
Ushka: 2
Walker: 3
Woodards: 14

Summary of Ordinances Sponsored by Council Members:
ORD28811 – An amended ordinance amending Chapter 11.05 of the Municipal Code, relating to Model Traffic Ordinance, by adding a new Section 11.05.133, entitled “Unlawful exhibition of speed attendance prohibited”, relating to prohibiting attendance at unlawful exhibitions of speed. [Council Member Rumbaugh]

ORD28831 – An amended Substitute Ordinance amending Title 8 of the Municipal Code, relating to Public Safety, by adding a new Chapter 8.19, entitled “Use of Public Property”, to establish a ten-block buffer prohibiting camping and the storage of personal belongings on public property around temporary shelters, effective October 31, 2022. [Council Member Hines]

ORD28859 – An ordinance amending various chapters in Title 1, relating to Administration and Personnel; Title 6, relating to the Tax and License Code; and Title 16, relating to Cable Systems, Open Video Systems, Telecommunications Systems and Private Communications Systems of the Municipal Code, for protection against discrimination based on an individual’s actual, potential, perceived, or alleged pregnancy outcomes. [Council Member Diaz]

ORD28858 – An ordinance amending Title 8 of the Municipal Code, relating to Public Safety, by adding a new Chapter 8.180, entitled “Interference with Health Care Facilities or Providers”, to ensure public health and safety for persons seeking health care services. [Council Member Diaz]

ORD28866 – An ordinance amending various sections in Title 1 of the Municipal Code, relating to Administration and Personnel, to codify the Office of Equity and Human Rights as an office; and adding transformation of the City into an anti-racist institution to the official duties of the City Manager. [Council Member Blocker]

Summary of Resolutions Sponsored by Council Members:
RES40919 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $31,000, to support the full or partial costs to five or more City-based small businesses or non-profits hosting a Seed Internship. [Council Member Walker]

RES40920 – A resolution expressing support for Tacoma’s Sister City in Brovary, and all of Ukraine, and joining our brothers and sisters in Ukraine in calling for peace and an end to this conflict in their country. [Mayor Woodards]

RES40925 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $20,000, for expenses related to traffic control devices and services for the 2022 Daffodil Parade. [Mayor Woodards]

RES40934 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $10,000, for expenditures related to the 2022 Tacoma Reads Together programming and events. [Mayor Woodards]

RES40940 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $2,500, to fund litter pick-up tools for the annual volunteer-led Litter Free 253 event. [Council Member Hines]

RES40941 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $25,000, to assist the Tacoma Refugee Choir in funding the music video portion of their 2022 spring projects. [Deputy Mayor Ushka]

RES40948 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $12,000, to fund grants that support community engagement programs sponsored through South Sound Together. [Council Member Blocker]

RES40967 – A resolution transitioning the Tacoma Permit Advisory Task Force to the Tacoma Permit Advisory Group. [Council Member McCarthy]

RES40975 – A resolution affirming the City’s commitment to ensuring all residents have a safe and affordable place to live by joining House America. [Mayor Woodards]

RES40981 – A resolution ratifying the Annual Performance Review of the City Manager, and authorizing the execution of an amendment to the employment compensation agreement with Elizabeth Pauli to serve as City Manager, retroactive to May 16, 2022. [Mayor Woodards]

RES40995 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $35,000, to fund the partial costs to develop and implement an eight-week Safe Youth Awareness Campaign beginning in July 2022. [Council Member Daniels]

RES40994 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $2,500, to fund three LGBTQIA+ Pride painting projects, including temporary rainbow crosswalks, permanent rainbow bricks, and temporary rainbow barriers. [Council Member Walker]

RES41000 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $6,500, to sponsor the Mayors Innovation Project summer conference in Tacoma. [Mayor Woodards]

RES41004 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $10,000, for the purpose of partially funding renovations to the Korean American Association of Tacoma building, located at 8645 Pacific Avenue. [Mayor Woodards]

RES41015 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $2,500, to support The Peace Bus and the “Every Kid Eats” summer program. [Mayor Woodards]

RES41018 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $10,000, to fund entertainment and arts programming at the 2022 Hilltop Street Fair. [Council Member Blocker]

RES41025 – A resolution consenting to delay the transfer of the Carlton Center Building to the University of Washington Tacoma. [Council Member Blocker]

RES41028 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $5,000, to sponsor the 2nd Annual University of Washington Tacoma Celebrando Communidad: Latinx Celebration and Awards. [Council Member Diaz]

RES41042 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $5,000, to support the Tacoma Urban League Empowerment Awards and ongoing efforts to create a more livable Tacoma. [Council Member Blocker]

RES41046 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $5,000, to sponsor the Mayor’s Youth Commission of Tacoma travel to the National League of Cities conference. [Mayor Woodards]

RES41044 – A resolution appointing J. Manny Santiago to the Tacoma Public Library Board of Trustees to fill an unexpired term to expire December 31, 2026. [Mayor Woodards]

RES41069 – A resolution directing the City Manager to support the Economic Development Committee in reviewing and suggesting recommendations on how to improve communications and better support local businesses. [Mayor Woodards]

RES41074 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $5,000, to sponsor the 2022 Santa Parade. [Council Member Diaz]

RES41094 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $9,019.84, to reimburse the cost of barricades that supported the Día de los Muertos procession. [Council Member Walker]

RES41106 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $10,000, to provide education and outreach for the Links to Opportunity project during the construction phase. [Council Member Daniels]

RES41105 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $35,000, for the restoration of the street clock on Broadway in Downtown Tacoma. [Council Member Rumbaugh]

RES41104 – A resolution adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of “Antisemitism” for the City of Tacoma, to serve as a tool to identify and combat antisemitism. [Council Member Rumbaugh]

RES41107 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $20,000, to support the Tacoma Community House in assisting Ukrainian refugees with direct client specific assistance for essential needs and programs. [Deputy Mayor Ushka]

RES41108 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $10,000, to support the implementation of a faith community audit. [Mayor Woodards]

RES41109 – A resolution authorizing the one-time use of Council Contingency Funds, in the amount of $20,000, to support the convening of community conversations on homelessness in partnership with the University of Washington Tacoma. [Mayor Woodards]

RES41110 – A resolution approving the cancellation of the following six regular City Council meetings in 2023: January 17, March 28, May 30, July 5, September 5, and December 26. [Mayor Woodards]

To see all the Ordinances and Resolutions passed, visit:
https://cityoftacoma.legistar.com/Legislation.aspx

Original story: https://tacomasun.org/2023/02/21/tacoma-city-council-report-card-for-2022/