City manager to attend neighborhood council meetings to talk budget

By David Guest • August 16, 2016 4:44 pm

As the City of Tacoma develops a proposed 2017-2018 biennial budget for presentation to the city council in early October 2016, City Manager T.C. Broadnax will attend regularly scheduled neighborhood council meetings in August and September as part of the budget outreach process.

In 2017 and 2018, revenues are projected to grow at 1.8 percent, while expenses are projected to grow at a faster rate. If the city maintains current service levels, the difference between revenues and expenses is projected to be at a deficit of almost $7 million. This shortfall would increase substantially if the city were to address deferred maintenance issues that have been put off in the past in order to prioritize spending on other capital expenses and expand city services. The city is currently working to prioritize funding between existing services, deferred maintenance, and new and expanded services.

“We are committed to closing the gap between revenues and expenses by balancing the need for savings with the effective delivery of core services,” said Broadnax. “I attended the South End Neighborhood Council meeting last night to gather more information about the budget priorities and concerns that South End community members have, and I encourage everyone who is interested in the budget development process to attend an upcoming neighborhood council meeting and share their thoughts with me.”

– City of Tacoma

MEETING SCHEDULE

Sept. 1 – Central Neighborhood Council

Tacoma Nature Center, 1919 S. Tyler St., 7 p.m.

Sept. 12 – North End Neighborhood Council

University of Puget Sound (Trimble Forum), 1500 N. Warner St., 6 p.m.

Sept. 14 – Neighborhood Council of New Tacoma

People’s Community Center (Boardroom), 1602 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 15 – Northeast Tacoma Neighborhood Council TPD Sector 1 Northeast Substation, 4731 Norpoint Way NE, 7 p.m.

Sept. 19 – Eastside Neighborhood Council

Stewart Heights Park Building, 402 E. 564th St., 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 21 – South Tacoma Neighborhood Council