Tacoma’s City Council – grappling with ways to reduce 165 potential layoffs now facing the city – waded through eight options to raise new revenues Tuesday, ultimately agreeing to put five ideas to a vote in coming weeks.
The ideas could raise about $1.3 million – potentially reducing by that amount cuts to city jobs and services taking form as part of a plan to close a projected budget shortfall of up to $31 million.
“When I look at these (options), I’m thinking in terms of police and fire jobs,” Mayor Marilyn Strickland said during Tuesday’s exercise.
The ideas won’t come without pain. They include:
• Increasing red light camera ticket fines from $101 to $124 (to raise about $419,500).
• Increasing yearly business licenses fees from $80 to $90 ($220,000).
• Eliminating admission tax deductions on tickets to performances and other events hosted by nonprofit groups ($300,000).
• Establishing a half-price annual business fee, starting at $40, for businesses with gross revenues under $10,000 ($200,000).
• Increasing false alarm service fees from $60 to $100 ($156,000).
Each of the new revenue-raising options will be written into measures the council will formally consider in December.
Tuesday’s actions were the latest step in a grim budget-slashing process trudging toward a Dec. 6 public workshop, during which interim City Manager Rey Arellano is expected to unveil a detailed plan to cut at least $23 million of the city’s $399 million 2011-12 general fund.
Last week, the city sent letters to employee labor union representatives, notifying them as many as 165 employees are at risk in a first round of cuts alone. That includes nearly 100 city police and fire employees.
City officials will determine early next year if those cuts are enough – or if up to 81 additional police and fire jobs also must go.
Several council members stressed Tuesday that Arellano and his staff will need to provide them with far more details than raw layoff numbers.
“It seems like the media, everybody is focusing on layoffs,” Councilman Spiro Manthou said. “I need to know what the impacts to services really mean.”
While agreeing on the five revenue-generating ideas Tuesday, council members said they want more time to examine three other options that could raise another $3.2 million.
The ideas include establishing a $20 car tab fee to pay for some transportation programs; eliminating business and occupation tax reductions for health-care nonprofits; and instituting a one-tenth of one percent sales tax to subsidize some mental health and chemical dependency programs.
A council committee previously dumped two other options – eliminating a job credit for businesses and postponing city employee retirement contributions in 2012.
Also Tuesday, the council heard a briefing on the $15.5 million the city now spends on funding outside nonprofit, government and community agencies – mostly for social services programs – to determine if other potential cuts might be available to offset proposed layoffs.
Council members directed staff to more closely examine making “surgical cuts” to any expenses that don’t involve critical services or are somehow required.
Lewis Kamb: 253-597-8542
lewis.kamb@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/politics
Twitter: @lewiskamb
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