Budget Initiative Details

CLIMATE PROTECTION

The City is committed to meeting or beating the Kyoto Protocol target by reducing Seattle’s greenhouse gas emissions to 7 percent below 1990 levels. Additional resources in the City’s budget will help mobilize Seattle’s residents and businesses to join in reducing Seattle’s emissions. Mayor Greg Nickels added $518,000 to his 2008 proposed budget to advance three key elements of the Climate Protection Initiative: $309,000 for Seattle Climate Action Now, $150,000 for the Seattle Climate Partnership, and $59,000 for the City’s Green Fleets program.

Seattle Climate Action Now (www.seattlecan.org) is a grassroots campaign to encourage everyone in Seattle to reduce global warming pollution at home, on the road and in their neighborhoods. In conjunction with community groups, nonprofit organizations and businesses, the campaign will connect people across the street and across the city to make a difference for the future of our environment and help them make smart choices to protect the city and the planet from the threat of climate change.

The Seattle Climate Partnership is a campaign launched with 12 Seattle-area employers to engage businesses on climate protection, share best management practices to reduce emissions, and recognize corporate leadership. Participating businesses pledge to help Seattle meet its emission reduction goal, and share their experiences and lessons learned with Seattle’s business community.

The City continues to look for ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of local government and to lead by example. With the largest fleet of hybrid Priuses in the state of Washington, Seattle will continue its commitment to its Green Fleets Program by purchasing additional hybrid vehicles and continuing to focus on reducing the City’s fuel use. Currently, the city’s parking enforcement unit uses gas-powered scooters. The Police Department will experiment with an electric vehicle and bicycles as alternatives to these gas-powered vehicles.

Return to the 2008 Proposed Budget Page

GREEN BUILDING FUND

The Seattle Climate Action Now campaign encourages everyone in Seattle to reduce global warming pollution at home, on the road and in their neighborhoods. And the City is no exception. The City of Seattle has approximately 11 million square feet of building space and spends approximately $11 million on energy costs annually (assuming $1 per square foot). Just a 10 percent savings in consumption could reduce the City’s annual energy costs by approximately $1 million. Energy savings, coupled with reduced carbon dioxide emissions, are the primary benefits of a new $5 million Green Building Fund Mayor Greg Nickels proposed in his 2008 budget.

Under this proposal, City-owned facilities will be eligible for funds to make cost-effective investments that will reduce energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions. Specific investment projects will be chosen by a committee of senior City officials after review of proposals from departments. This will be a revolving fund which will provide budget savings that can be recaptured and allocated to new projects. This funding could be leveraged in concert with utility rebates and other funding.

Examples of possible projects include replacing the lights and lighting control systems in the Seattle Municipal Tower, installing waste heat recovery for the City’s Data Center, replacing the rooftop heat pump at the Southeast Health Center, installing energy-efficient heat pumps in fire stations, replacing outdated boilers at the Charles Street shops and the Loyal Heights Community Center, and upgrading domestic hot water systems at the Queen Anne Pool. Because more modern systems need less maintenance, these projects will also provide labor savings.

Any City department with facilities may apply for money out of this revolving fund. Projects will be selected based on energy savings and other considerations, such as carbon dioxide reduction.

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During last winter's windstorm, Mayor Greg Nickels stood before the media and read a list of eight different telephone numbers for the public to call for non-emergency services. On their own, callers to the City must choose from more than 1,000 published phone numbers and countless e-mail addresses and Web forms. The Mayor believes this is unacceptable, and City government must do better.

With $9 million in his 2008 proposed budget, the Mayor recommends creating a new system called “311,” a one-stop shop for all the services City government provides, whether it has to do with noise, animal control, graffiti removal, streetlight outages, fixing a street sign, power outages, or filling a pothole. Already in place in 45 other cities around the nation, 311 is much more than a new call center and telephone number. It is a fundamental attitude change making local government more open, accountable, inclusive and responsive to everyone, including Seattle’s immigrant and refugee communities. The $9 million builds the system’s infrastructure, including a call center, which is expected to open in mid-2009.

The 311 team is working with Seattle’s 911 team to integrate the two systems and will resolve any outstanding issues prior to launching 311. The team is also in contact with the state’s 211 team and enjoys a positive working relationship. (211 call centers are managed at the state level and provide information and referrals to individuals about health and human services.)

With 311, people will have one easy-to-remember number to call for non-emergency local government services, with the assurance that all requests are handled quickly and effectively. The call center will be staffed for extended hours, possibly 24 hours, with staff able to respond directly to some requests, or to route callers to the appropriate department(s) via work management software that will be used Citywide. The software will track the work, allowing City leaders to monitor performance and identify areas for improvement.

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MAKING CENTER CITY PARKS SAFER, MORE VIBRANT

Mayor Greg Nickels believes if people feel our Center City parks are safe and offer interesting and fun activities, they'll be more inclined to use them. That is why his 2008 Proposed Budget includes $850,000 to revitalize and significantly enhance public safety in Seattle’s downtown parks through his “Center City Parks Initiative.” Center City parks are: Cal Anderson Park, City Hall Park, Freeway Park, Hing Hay Park, Lake Union Park, Occidental Square, Pier-62-63 Park, Victor Steinbrueck Park, Waterfront Park, and Westlake Park.

Seattle Police and the Parks Department continue to report increased criminal activity in several of our Center City parks. Between January and May 2007, 30 percent more park “exclusions” were issued than for the same period in 2006. An exclusion is a citation prohibiting someone from entering a specific park. Exclusions are issued to people who violate park rules or the Park Code.

The Center City Parks Initiative includes creation and deployment of a team of six park rangers in Center City parks to provide a visible and welcoming presence and customer service to park users. Park rangers will be uniformed and have the authority to cite park users for infractions such as littering, allowing dogs off-leash, public urination/ defecation, weapons, and alcohol consumption or possession. The initiative also includes automated cameras in four parks; environmental design changes, such as new lighting; and more active programming, such as concerts and fresh flower vendors.

Return to the 2008 Proposed Budget Page

“ORPHANED PARKS WISH FUND”

In his proposed budget, Mayor Greg Nickels added approximately $7 million to the Pro Parks Levy Opportunity Fund for park development. Called the “Orphaned Parks Wish Fund,” this one-time fund source will be offered to neighborhood groups to apply for funds to improve their neighborhood parks. The Mayor also proposes that the General Fund pay to continue programs already funded by the Pro Parks Levy, which will end in 2008.

The $7 million fund is a new one-time program to improve and develop parks that have been only partially funded with Levy resources, or that have had difficulty in securing community funding. Applicants for funding will go through the existing Pro Parks Levy Opportunity Fund competitive process.

The Pro Parks Levy – formally known as the “Neighborhood Parks, Green Spaces, Trails and Zoo Levy Lid – was approved by Seattle voters in 2000 and expires in 2009. The Levy provided eight years of funding for various parks-related projects and programs. About $9 million would need to be found starting in 2009 if all of these programs were continued. The Mayor has proposed shifting this cost to the General fund in 2007 (except for the Zoo portion that will come from the County Parks Levy). This builds these programs into the base General Fund budget to allow continued funding after the Levy expires. Shifting this cost to the General Fund also allows the 2008 Levy money to be used for the $7 million”Orphaned Parks Wish Fund.”

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LAKE UNION TRAIL

In his 2008 budget, Mayor Greg Nickels has proposed spending $1 million to help develop a roughly 7-mile pedestrian and bicycle trail around Lake Union. By joining existing trail segments into one seamless lakefront trail, the project will link the Fremont, Wallingford, University District, Eastlake, South Lake Union, and Queen Anne neighborhoods to Gasworks and South Lake Union parks. Completion of this trail was a key recommendation of the Seattle Parks Foundation’s “Bands of Green” Report and completes an unfinished piece of the original Olmsted park plan for Seattle.

The trail will provide a new recreational amenity for residents, businesses and visitors. It will also provide an educational opportunity. Nickels proposes to ask history teachers in Seattle schools to use the trail as a class project to study the area’s tribal, maritime and commercial history.

The $1 million is intended as a challenge grant to the Parks Foundation and other potential funders. The City will work with the Foundation to leverage this investment with targeted fundraising for specific projects, and will invite community participation to help complete trailside plantings, restore native shoreline habitat, improve waterfront and small boat access, and make many other improvements to enhance the public’s use of the trail.

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ALASKA-YUKON-PACIFIC EXPOSITION CELEBRATION

Mayor Greg Nickels’ 2008 Proposed Budget provides $200,000 to begin preparations for the 2009 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific-Expedition (AYPE) centennial celebration. In 1909, Seattle opened its doors to the world with the first AYPE, a seminal event in the young city's history, bringing Seattle worldwide recognition as an ambitious port city and commercial center of the Pacific coast. The 1909 AYPE was the first event to feature the Pacific Northwest on the scale of a World’s Fair and attracted 3.7 million visitors to what has since become the University of Washington campus.

The $200,000 will be used to mark the centennial of this important milestone by launching a major new heritage initiative and investing in the planning of exhibitions, publications and events by more than 30 regional community partners, including Canada and Alaska. The centennial theme is "Celebrating the Past – Creating the Future."

This investment will carry out recommendations of the Mayor’s AYPE Centennial Task Force, co-chaired by Leonard Garfield and the late Walt Crowley. In addition, the Mayor will appoint a Blue Ribbon AYPE Commission to complete planning, develop centennial events and programs, and to recruit public and private financial partners and participants. This Commission will be composed of representatives from the community, government, and business, including official representatives of the State of Washington , State of Alaska, University of Washington, Canada, and other Pacific Rim nations.

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UPDATING NEIGHBORHOOD PLANS  

Completed in the late 1990s, Seattle’s neighborhood plans were created by neighborhoods to identify land use and development changes for their neighborhoods. The City responded by investing in neighborhood enhancements, including new or remodeled community centers, libraries and parks throughout Seattle. But, because of Seattle’s recent growth, the plans are outdated and it’s time to revisit them. The updates will build on existing plans, in the context of citywide plans and policies adopted since the original plans were developed. Mayor Greg Nickels’ 2008 Proposed Budget includes approximately $1.5 million and 10 staff to begin updating neighborhood plans. Of this, about $717,000 and four staff are new, with the remainder coming from existing budgets and positions.

With the proposed addition to the budget and additional staff, the City will begin updating these plans in 2008. The city is divided into six sectors and the City anticipates multi-department City teams will work with neighborhoods in each of these sectors to update their plans over a period of one year. Once a sector’s plans are updated, the team will move on to the next sector the next year. All plans will be updated over five or six years. The Mayor will work with the City Council to develop the specific process and schedule for updating the plans.

Return to the 2008 Proposed Budget Page

SURPLUS SCHOOLS

Mayor Greg Nickels added $5 million to his 2008 proposed budget to be used as challenge grants to help community organizations purchase surplus school sites from the Seattle School District. The proposal also includes $150,000 to continue to support community organizations in developing plans for some of the schools.

In June 2007, the Seattle School Board declared five of their properties surplus to District needs. These properties are the Allen School (leased to the Phinney Neighborhood Association), Crown Hill (leased to Small Faces Child Development Center ), Fauntleroy (leased to the Fauntleroy Children’s Center), and University Heights (leased to the University Heights Center for the Community). The School District has given the tenants in each of these buildings one year to negotiate a purchase and sale agreement for the site. The District will allow additional time to receive payment for the purchase. The fifth property is Webster School in Ballard. The School District has decided to negotiate an extended short-term lease with the current tenant, the Nordic Heritage Museum. However, the District has decided to surplus the park portion adjacent to the building. The City currently leases the park from the District and has invested almost $400,000 in improvements.

For the Allen, Crown Hill, Fauntleroy and University Heights sites, the Mayor has proposed a $1 million challenge grant to the ultimate purchasers of each to come up with a viable option for acquisition and use ($4 million total). In addition, the Mayor has proposed $1 million for the City’s acquisition of the park portion of the Webster site.

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MAYOR’S PROPOSAL TO PROVIDE TAX RELIEF TO SMALL BUSINESSES  

Mayor Greg Nickels is proposing legislation with the 2008 Budget that will raise the business and occupations tax exemption threshold from $50,000 to $80,000. Currently, businesses with annual revenues below the $50,000 threshold are not required to pay a business and occupations tax. The mayor wants to raise that threshold to $80,000.

This new legislation will exempt businesses with revenues of up to $80,000 from this tax. This change has the potential to save business owners grossing between $50,000 and $79,999 between $107 and $332 per year, depending on the nature of their business. Approximately 3,500 businesses fall within this tax range and would benefit from the tax relief.

The business tax threshold was originally created to provide tax relief to small businesses. The proposed legislation updates the threshold amount and provides a mechanism to remain consistent with future inflation trends. The current tax threshold has not been adjusted since 1994.

All businesses currently operating in Seattle are subject to the City’s business licensing and tax requirements.

If you have questions about this legislation, please contact Denise Movius at (206)684-9259 or via email at denise.movius@seattle.gov

Return to the 2008 Proposed Budget Page