Don’t be a hater, mayor implores as she launches ‘Compassionate Tacoma’ initiative
Mayor Victoria Woodards recognizes that Tacoma — and the country — is in for a long year.
She said so at her 2020 State of City Address Wednesday night.
“Across our nation, divisions have deepened and inflammatory hateful speech is being hurled between neighbors. And we are headed into a year that I can say with almost 100 percent assurance will include heated and divided national rhetoric,” Woodards said.
She wants Tacoma to rise above it all.
Woodards announced the launch of “Compassionate Tacoma,” an initiative that asks residents and businesses to pledge to “make Tacoma more welcoming, connected, resilient and vibrant, by listening and serving others with love.”
“These are not just warm and fuzzy words to say here tonight and forget,” Woodards said.
Woodards asked viewers to take out their phones and text “I’m all in” to 253-650-0588, so they can be notified about upcoming events and messages.
“Each of us have the power to impact the lives of our friends, families, neighbors and neighborhoods every day,” she said. “We can do so by practicing compassion in ways both small and large every day — at work, at home, driving on the freeway or in school.”
Also in her State of the City Address, Woodards addressed past and upcoming actions by the city. Here are the highlights:
Streets
In 2019, the city reconstructed 200 blocks of streets through the Streets Initiative, approved by voters. Another 500 received maintenance.
Since the start of the Streets Initiative in 2016, over 2,300 blocks have been completed. In 2020, work will commence at 600 more streets.
That will account for 35 percent of the residential street network in Tacoma about five years into the 10-year initiative.
Public safety
Last year saw an uptick in gun violence.
“Tacoma specifically had more than 155 drive-by shootings and a shocking 24 homicides,” Woodards said. “This is an increase of nearly 30 percent in both drive-by shootings and homicides.”
The vast majority of those homicides have been solved by police, Woodards added.
Tacoma police received more than 90,000 calls for service in 2019. The city also hired 42 new officers last year and is funding a staffing study.
Tacoma fire dispatched units to more than 48,000 emergency incidents. Woodards spoke of an effort to increase the number of women joining the fire department.
Homelessness
Since declaring homelessness a public health emergency in 2017, the city has spent $18.8 million to address the issue, Woodards said.
More shelters are coming online, including ones at Bethlehem Baptist, Altheimer Memorial and Shiloh Baptist churches in Tacoma. More beds are expected to open at Tacoma Rescue MIssion this spring.
In the past year, 107 more shelter beds were added, Woodards said.
The city’s stability site has served 380 individual clients since summer 2018, with 125 transitioning into housing.
In 2020 alone, the city’s budget includes $10.2 million to provide shelter for single adults, couples and families, a youth drop-in center, a young adult overnight center, a homeless outreach team, food and clothing banks, employment services and substance use and behavioral treatment services.
“We will continue to fight for a future in Tacoma where no resident is without shelter,” Woodards said.
Housing
In 2019, the city made it easier for residents to construct accessory dwelling units on their property. Between May 2019 and January 2020, 86 permit applications have been submitted.
Tacoma Public Utilities provided more than $4 million in utility assistance to more than 9,100 customers, Woodards said.
Between 2017 and 2019, 271 new single family homes and 1,166 multi-family homes were added to Tacoma housing inventory, with 127 meeting affordability restrictions.
An additional 5,075 units are planned or in permitting over the next three years, with 845 affordable units at or below 80 percent area median income.
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 10:45 AM.
