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Welcome and thank you for visiting my Seattle City Council website
It is an honor and privilege to represent you. Seattle is a great City, with a wonderfully diverse population that is passionately committed to making Seattle a better place. I welcome your input not only on policy ideas, but my website and Council communications in general.
Let’s make 2009 the year when Seattle rose to the crisis and moved forward into a better future. Thanks again for visiting, and please stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Richard Conlin, Seattle City Council President
IMPORTANT ISSUES:
SEATTLE RESIDENTS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND A COUNCIL TOWN HALL MEETING: JUNE 15th & 25th
These Town Halls are a public forum for community discussions. They will focus on prevention of youth violence, legislation to protect trees, and the City’s role in public education and Seattle Schools. The Town Halls will begin with brief presentations on the City’s work on these issues followed by discussion groups around each of the issues. The groups will then come back together to share their conclusions with the other groups and the Council. We are looking for your input on actions that the Council should work on.
Please mark your calendar and plan to attend one of these sessions!
Monday, June 15, 6:30 - 9 p.m.
Eckstein Middle School, 3003 NE 75th
See map
Thursday, June 25, 6:30 - 9 p.m.
The Hall at Fauntleroy, 9131 California Ave SW
See map
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ACTION FOR LOCAL FOOD
Seattle has made great progress toward our objectives of increasing Seattle’s local food supply and making healthy food choices more accessible. The resolution initiating the Local Food Action Initiative recommended a series of steps to reduce hunger and malnutrition in Seattle and encourage the production and consumption of more local and/or organically grown food in Seattle.
Read more about the great strides we’ve made so far in 2008 and 09 here.
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NEW LEGISLATION TO PROTECT TREES
I have introduced a Resolution calling on Executive departments to write new rules which will ultimately provide incentives to landowners, improve coordination and management of the City’s trees, and put in place permanent regulations that protect existing trees. This came on the heels of a report from the City Auditor that calls the urban forest, “a vital part of the City’s infrastructure” and recommends a tree inventory and better management of urban trees as a valuable resource.
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HOUSING LEVY PROPOSED
In June, the City Council will discuss whether to ask voters to renew Seattle’s Low Income Housing Levy. Mayor Nickels has recommended a $145 million levy to the Council. This would serve approximately the same number of families as the previous levy. The proposed 2009 levy programs are designed to preserve existing affordable housing; provide housing for people coming out of homelessness, seniors and people who are disabled; provide emergency rental assistance; provide loans to first-time homebuyers; and create a fund to make strategic purchases of land and buildings to preserve or convert to affordable housing. The current levy expires at the end of 2009. The key questions that the Council will be asked to address are:
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MUSIC TAX REPEAL, SMALL BUSINESS LOANS, HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION FUNDING BEGIN ECONOMIC RECOVERY AGENDA
On Tuesday, May 26, the City Council voted 5 to 3 (Godden, McIver, Rasmussen voting no) to repeal the admissions tax on small music venues that employ live musicians. The legislation will encourage the employment of live musicians and hopefully encourage the opening of more live music venues. The sales and businesses taxes from these venues and the projected increase in the health of the music industry are projected to significantly exceed the foregone revenue from repealing the tax.
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