Tacoma City Council
Study Session
Noon, Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Room 16
Tacoma Municipal Building North
728 St. Helens Ave.
Council/Metro Parks Board meeting
The ad hoc committee – made up of members from the City Council and the Metro Parks Board – will discuss its intent to create an interlocal agreement/contract for services. Historically, the city has funded a portion of Metro Parks’ annual budget from the citys general fund. The contract for services will identify the level of funding, the services the city will provide and possible ways to partner in order to facilitate Metro Parks becoming self-supporting over the next five years. The council and board also will discuss the upcoming Metro Parks bond measure for capital improvements.
Tacoma City Council
Regular Meeting
5 p.m., Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Council Chambers
Tacoma Municipal Building
747 Market St.
Matricula Consular ID
Mexican immigrants with concerns about accessing city services because of a lack of acceptable identification, may soon be able to use their Mexican Consular Identification Card (Matricula Consular) as proper ID. The City Council will take public comment and vote on a proposal, introduced by Councilman Rick Talbert, to accept the Matricula Consular as an acceptable form of identification in Tacoma. If passed, Tacoma would join at least four other Washington cities – Seattle, Renton, Bellevue and Yakima -that have adopted similar measures. The Mexican government began promoting the new Matricula Consular cards following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Chronic blight reduction
Citizens who are tired of looking at rundown, crime-ridden properties in Tacoma may soon get some relief. The City Council will review a proposal to establish a Chronic Public Nuisance chapter in the Tacoma Municipal Code, which would establish a process for the city to work with property owners to develop a plan of action for cleaning up their properties. The proposed system would help crackdown on property owners who have consistent building condition issues and/or criminal activity which have not been resolved through existing enforcement methods. If the council establishes the new chapter, city staff will have the authority to work with the property owners to develop a plan, monitor the progress and impose and enforce fines if necessary. The Council will take public comment on the measure and expects to vote Oct. 21.
Rental owners/business community
Owners who rent or lease residential and commercial properties may soon be recognized as official businesses in Tacoma and will need a business license to operate. If the City Council approves the proposal, owners who rent or lease real property and whose gross annual revenue from the property exceeds $10,000 will need to purchase a $72 business license from the City before the end of the year. Owners whose gross annual revenue falls below $10,000 would need to obtain a business license, but would not be required to pay the fee. The citys Tax and License and Building and Land Use Services divisions headed up the effort to put the rental licensing proposal together, working with an advisory group comprised of community stakeholders and other city departments. The council will take public comment and expects to vote on Oct. 21.
This is an incomplete agenda. The Index prints as much as space allows.
