HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-12-31 E-Hazelnut Newsletter
City of Tukwila E-Hazelnut Newsletter December 2018
Collaborative effort results in a balanced
2019/2020 biennial budget
On December 10, 2018 the Council adopted the City's
2019/2020 biennial budget. This was the culmination of a
significant amount of work by the Council, Administration and
staff, who can take pride in producing a balanced budget that
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reflects this community's values.
City of Tukwila Website
This budget will allow the City to maintain and provide a high
City Employment Opportunities
level of services to the community by fully funding existing
positions and most programs. Fully funding all positions means
Fall 2018 Activities Guide
there are Police officers in Tukwila's neighborhoods, Fire
TukTV
personnel responding to calls, and Public Works staff
addressing the infrastructure needs of the community. It's a
Parks Department that maintains City parks and provides
ongoing programming for the community's youth and adults.
The funding results in the timely processing of permits and
utility bills, and enables continuing innovations, such as the
recent deployment of free Wi-Fi in the Cascade View
neighborhood.
This budget was not without challenges. Like many
surrounding cities, those drafting Tukwila's budget faced
tough choices due to a wide variety of consequential factors.
Changing revenue streams, reduced revenues from the State
Tukwila Elected Officials
and Federal governments, statutory limitations on the rate of
revenue growth, and rising costs of delivering services - these
Mayor:
Allan Ekberg
all affect the City's bottom line. Addressing this reality,
departments were instructed to underspend their budgets by
City Council:
3% in 2018. The 2019/2020 budget reflects a 3% reduction of
Verna Seal (Council President)
expenditures for supplies and services in every department
Dennis Robertson
except Fire and Police, which have 1.5% reductions. In
Kathy Hougardy
addition, new revenues were generated, including a stepped
De'Sean Quinn
Kate Kruller
increase in the business license fee over two years, and a 1%
Thomas McLeod
increase in the City's gambling tax.
Zak Idan
The 2019/2020 budget process was one of the most
collaborative budget processes Tukwila has conducted. The
Council expended significant effort reviewing the budget of
every department and fund, holding multiple work sessions
and reviewing the budgets again in either a Committee of the
Whole or Regular Council meeting.
The Council also identified and adopted additional priorities
that they wished to include, using existing money to fund
them:
Funding for two crosswalks on Tukwila International
Boulevard that include the pedestrian flashing
beacons for safety;
Additional swings at Cascade View Park; and
Additional funding to study more options for traffic
flow on Tukwila International Boulevard.
The complete City of Tukwila budget document is viewable at
TukwilaWA.gov/budget. If you have any questions about the
budget process, please contact Deputy Finance Director Vicky
Carlsen at 206-433-1839, or Vicky.Carlsen@TukwilaWA.gov.
City publication change for 2019
Beginning in 2019, the City will no longer be publishing the
City Pages in the Tukwila Reporter. Instead, we will use those
funds to produce six Hazelnut newsletters a year, which are
mailed to every address in Tukwila. For the past four years we
have only been able to do two Hazelnuts a year.
Reprogramming this funding will allow us to triple that
number.
The Reporter has been a great partner in disseminating
information, and we thank Sound Publishing for being a part
of our community. However, more frequent editions of the
Hazelnut will allow the City more flexibility to go into greater
detail on key issues of interest to residents and businesses. It
also allows us to publish important information in languages
other than English. Finally, we are going to use the first
edition of the year, which will come in February, to share the
City's Annual Report with the community.
The City strives to use multiple channels to communicate the
various activities, events and projects underway in Tukwila.
We encourage you to get to know more about these
opportunities on the City's website at TukwilaWA.gov. If you
scroll down on the home page, you'll see links to our Facebook
and Twitter feeds, the button to sign up for the monthly E-
Hazelnut newsletter, and how to stream programs from
Tukwila Channel 21.
Tukwila recognizes commute trip
reduction champions
This Fall, the South King County CTR Champions Awards
Ceremony gathered entities "moving and shaking" the way
employees and customers arrive at their sites.
Jenna Smith at King County Housing Authority received a CTR
Champion award for being an active transportation champion.
With the help of a small grant program, she installed bicycle
lockers at their site!
Odin Brewery was recognized as a Bicycle Champion for the
company's leadership in bike facility improvements.
If your workplace would like assistance exploring
transportation options such as small grants for bicycle
facilities or providing ORCA cards, please
contact SKCTransportationOptions@tukwilawa.gov