Tacoma City Council
Study Session
Noon, Tuesday, May 4, 2004
Room 16
Tacoma Municipal Building North
728 St. Helens Ave.

Charter Review Committe update
The Charter Review Committee will update the City Council on proposed changes to Tacoma City Charter. Recommendations will be made on various portions of the charter including Initiative/Referenda, Public Utilities, Ethics and Accountability, Human Resources, Expenditures and the Preamble of the Charter. CityPost -Channel 85 on Click!, Channel 77 on Comcast – will air the audio portion of the study session live. The public may attend, but the council will not take comment.

Tacoma City Council
Regular Meeting
5 p.m., Tuesday, May 4, 2004
Tacoma Municipal Building
747 Market St.

Tax breaks for apartment units
The City Council will consider granting a multi-family housing limited property tax exemptions to four townhouse-style apartment units to be constructed at 609 N. Oakes St. If approved, the resolution would grant a 10-year property tax exemption to the property owner. The tax incentive program is for developers of four or more units in any of Tacoma’s 14 mixed-use centers. Only the housing receives the property tax exemption; the land and any future improvements other than housing would get taxed at the regular rate. In just three more years, the city will begin to reap the benefits of the first exemptions granted in 1996. The project would provide short-term employment for up to 15 residential construction workers. The council will take public comment before the scheduled vote on the resolution.

Collective bargaining agreements
The City Council will consider two separate resolutions that would execute collective bargaining agreements with city employees. The agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 483, Tacoma Power, would become effective retroactively April 1, 2003 through March 31, 2004 and also remain in effect April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2007. The agreement applies to approximately 330 employees. The agreement with the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 17, AFL-CIO, would be effective retroactively from Jan. 1, 2004 through Dec. 31, 2004 and would cover approximately 223 employees. The Public Utility Board considered similar resolutions for each agreement April 28. The council will take public testimony before voting on each resolution.

Citizens Forum
Want to have a say in the City Council’s policy decisions? Share your thoughts at the Citizens Forum. The City Council will set aside a portion of its meeting to allow citizens to speak on any matter over which the council has jurisdiction. The Citizens Forum begins at the end of the regular council meeting.

MEMORIAL TO FALLEN POLICE OFFICER
The Tacoma Police Department will hold a memorial service to honor the life and career of Police Patrol Specialist James G. Lewis at 10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. May 5 at the Tacoma Dome. A public reception will follow. TV Tacoma will air the memorial service live on channel 12 within the Tacoma city limits and on channel 21 in Pierce County. A police motorcade in honor of Officer Lewis will depart from Cheney Stadium to the Tacoma Dome at 8:45 a.m.