Verner says state of the city is strong
Spokane’s finances much better off than nation’s, she says
Though federal leaders acted in ways that have thrown the nation’s economy into turmoil, Spokane officials’ foresight will help the city survive hard economic times, Spokane Mayor Mary Verner said Monday in her annual state of the city address.
“At the local level, we will feel the impacts of private-sector and federal government behaviors that arose from thinking in the short term without appropriately planning for long-term consequences,” Verner said, noting Congress’ recent $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. “That is not the legacy we want to leave for Spokane’s future generations.”
Verner, who spoke for about a half-hour as she addressed City Council, pointed to decisions made in 2006 and 2007 to build reserve funds with unexpected sales tax windfalls.
“When revenues were strong, we behaved responsibly,” Verner said.
The mayor said she will soon present to the City Council a balanced budget for 2009 and 2010.
“In these economic times, I would venture to say that most cities are struggling just to balance 2009, maybe even 2008,” she said.
Verner listed several moves she’s made to gain a balanced budget.
She said expenses in the mayor’s office have been cut 8 percent. Other changes include alteration to routes traveled by city vehicles to save fuel and reduction of cell phone expenses.
She said the hiring of 12 new police officers may be delayed.
In a presentation last week, city administrators suggested charging utility taxes on “rate stabilization” fees that traditionally have not been taxed. The change would allow the city to collect an additional $3 million from its utility departments, which make money through sewer, water and garbage bills. City Budget Director Tim Dunivant said city administrators are considering a 3.5 percent increase in utility rates paid by sewer, water and garbage customers for 2009. Rates were held stable this year.
During her speech Monday, Verner said other ideas under consideration include moving to a four-day work week and changing fire department policies to “respond to medical calls more cost-effectively than sending a big fire engine to every medical incident.”
The city also is working to better cooperate with other local governments, such as Spokane County, to prevent lawsuits. Verner added that she also will promote regionalization of some services with the hope of cost savings.
The mayor pointed to initiatives that city officials hope will prop up tax revenue. Those concepts include selling city property to private industry, possible annexation of land currently controlled by county leaders, improving outreach efforts to businesses and promotion of “green” business.
Though money is tight, Verner said the city has moved forward on service improvements, including extension of library hours, construction in city parks, the rebuilding of Maple and Ash streets and installation of five pilot plants to test water treatment concepts that would better clean water discharged to the Spokane River.
She said the city will move ahead with hiring an ombudsman to provide oversight of the Police Department.
The mayor vowed not to let the economic challenges force her to lose focus on other initiatives.
Those include finding long-term fixes to improve conditions of streets and finding ways to pay for expensive projects such as a new property evidence building for the police department.
Even as the economy soured in the 1970s, Spokane hosted a World’s Fair, Verner noted.
“If we worry about the headlines in tomorrow’s newspapers, we will forget what happened in 1974,” she said. “As we struggle through and are tempted to react to today’s doom and gloom, we also need to look ahead at what we will be leaving future generations.”