Accounting And Evaluation Must Precede Needed Progress

July represents my first six months in office. I am happy to report the following:

Neighborhood councils are growing and are expecting more accountability from their government. Citizens desiring to become more involved in their neighborhood should contact Neighborhood Services at 625-6730.

River Park Square is in progress.

The new Children’s Museum opened downtown.

A radio talk show has been instituted to bring out issues. You can join me on KSBN 1230 AM at 6 p.m. every Wednesday evening.

You asked me to be more accessible to the people. You can find me every Wednesday at one of the community centers, visiting our citizens. I am attending neighborhood meetings, visiting with residents on problems and stopping by neighborhood schools or businesses.

In my search for much-needed funds, I have asked the City Council and management to support me in an attempt to bring about change in the Washington state code as it pertains to tax revenue distribution. I have asked the city attorney to draft legislation, for consideration by the Association of Washington Cities and our state legislators, to increase the revenue returned to the counties, cities, towns and municipalities as the result of tax collections. We can no longer function with the present tax structure.

From the beginning of my campaign for mayor, I have worked to put in place an independent auditor to provide a needed “report card” for our City Council to measure government. This effort has been met with some resistance. This was noted in The Spokesman-Review’s editorial by Doug Floyd on July 6.

An old staying still holds true today, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” As a preliminary step to establish a “road map” for this city, a group of citizens formed the Coalition for Good Roads and proposed to assist in bringing about a citywide management review. They proposed that one of the nation’s largest providers of professional services to the public sector conduct this management review. This effort will cost $50,000 - half to be shared by the Coalition for Good Roads, half by the city. This “report card” would provide exactly what we need as a basis for the council to determine the scope of work for an independent audit function serving and reporting to the City of Spokane.

Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers and I are in total agreement with this concept. We see this as a mechanism for providing important data necessary for consideration during the ongoing budget process. But most important, this reveals to you that we have an open government. This is a genuine effort on our part to break the logjam that seems to hamper all of our best efforts to improve the quality of life in Spokane.

We cannot continue to neglect our streets. You said that “your” streets must be our No. 1 priority! Therefore, that is my No. 1 priority! It is time-now-to get this “report card.” Our people simply cannot pay more taxes without knowing that our government is lean and efficient. The citizens sense that our government is not operating efficiently, consequently, attempts to raise funds through bond issues and gasoline taxes have failed. Any group trying to improve our streets or city infrastructure will have to overcome people’s belief that there is no accountability in city government. Until it is proved otherwise, we are stalled. Without this, our street problems are not going to go away, nor will our buildings get fixed.

Therefore, I will not support any new capital programs until such a report card process is in place. This management review should take about 10 weeks and be completed prior to the beginning of the final phase of the budget cycle. It would also clarify issues for the council’s planned fall workshop on the independent city auditor.

Other cities of similar size have independent auditors. It works! City Manager Bill Pupo has stated that in his opinion, this is the type of audit that needs to be done annually. We need a report card on our strengths and weaknesses to help set our priorities and to make plans for improvement and evaluate government.

We cannot continue to defer maintenance on our streets and buildings. It is time for your council to require responsible care of our capital assets, to ensure that the city team has the necessary funds to do the job. It is time to come together as a community and for our citizens to demand a good, responsive government.

The majority of the citizens voted for me with a strong message: Repair the streets, give us accountability, give us an open, honest and credible government. It is time now to move forward and do what is best for Spokane.