There are two ways that any government agency or office can be judged; the productive, measurable results of its work and the level of trust/respect it acquires.
The first category is (relatively) measurable and definable, and, in most cases, in our system at least, largely a matter of public record.
In Tacoma, as with many other cities, we have a city manager (unelected) a mayor, elected) and city council based on regions of the city and at-large.
The guiding purpose of a city council is to create policies that both guide the city manager and provide a vision for the city.
In other words, the city council is a body with work both practical and conceptual.
And while it is near impossible to measure and define “vision”, we can quantify the number of ordinances (city laws) passed that originated from any given city council member.
In 2023, there were 66 ordinances passed by the Tacoma City Council.
Of those, five were sponsored by city council members (with the remaining ordinances coming from various city departments). The summaries of the five ordinances can be seen below:
ORD28799 created 12/1/2021; passed 2/7/2023 – (Continued from the meeting of December 14, 2021) An ordinance amending, renaming, and renumbering Chapter 9.16 of the Municipal Code, relating to Streets and Sidewalks – Keeping Clean, by adding two new sections, to prevent obstruction and damage to sidewalks from the loading, unloading, and transport of goods; and amending the penalty provision to align with Tacoma’s Uniform Enforcement Code. [Council Member Ushka]
ORD28894 passed 7/11/2023 – An ordinance amending Chapter 1.95 of the Municipal Code, relating to the Rental Housing Code, to require landlords to comply with health and safety laws; have a City business license before increasing rent or evicting tenants; set limits on late fees for rent and on pet deposits; require 120-day notice to raise rent; add new regulations for shared housing; and standardize screening criteria for the amount of tenant income required to qualify for housing, for reviewing a tenant’s criminal history, and acceptable identification. [Mayor Woodards]
ORD28922 12/5/2023 – An ordinance amending Titles 8 and 17 of the Municipal Code, relating to Animal Control and Public Safety, by amending Section 17.02.140, entitled “Public disturbance noise and public nuisance noise made by an animal”, and Section 8.12.060, entitled “Public disturbance noises”, to revise requirements for enforcement of an unlawful action and to remove the criminal misdemeanor charge for public disturbance and public nuisance noise made by an animal. [Council Member Hines]
ORD28923 12/5/2023 – An ordinance amending Title 17 of the Municipal Code, relating to Animal Control, by adding a new Section 17.02.155, entitled “Cat Declawing”, to establish a ban on performing a procedure that results in the partial or complete declawing of a cat except when conducted by a licensed veterinarian for a therapeutic purpose, effective March 31, 2024. [Council Member Hines]
ORD28930 12/19/2023 – An ordinance amending Chapter 6A.30 of the Municipal Code, relating to Business and Occupation Tax, by adding a new Section 6A.30.067, entitled “Job Credit – Work Opportunity”, to provide a new $1,000 job tax credit for employers adding a new position and filling the position with an individual with a disability, as identified through the vocational referral in the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit. [Council Member Blocker]
Your tax dollars at work
In summary;
Total ordinances passed: 66
Total ordinances sponsored by city council members: 5
Council Member Blocker: 1
Council Member Hines: 2
Council Member Ushka: 1
Mayor Woodards: 1
Maybe it is just us, but the most visible, pressing and even borderline crisis points that are visible (if not intrusive) to residents (and visitors, and potential investors) like affordable housing and homelessness, public safety, garbage and graffiti, increased gang activity, petty (and not so petty) crime and economic development don’t seem to be high on our fair city’s agenda.
The city officials (as in mayor and city council members and their staff) that we have contacted seem sincere and aware of the crises and chaos in our public streets, parks and other areas, but they seem to not be able to intervene in what might seem to average citizens as basic conditions of a safe and stable community.
Maybe they are doing good work as they represent us – but how would any citizen know if the council is doing the job they were elected to do?
I don’t know about anyone else, but the response I most often get is that they don’t have the power to do anything.
From litter and graffiti at virtually every entry point of the city, to tarps, tents and homeless people in every neighborhood to car thefts in almost every public parking lot (if not private drive way) the momentum (in a negative direction) seems to be growing and our tolerance for grime, chaos and a near constant threat of crime and assault has become a near constant strand in the fabric of our community – and, of course, our local, and not so local, reputation.
For better or worse, fairly or not, our city has “normalized” clutter and chaos, crime and an “acceptable” level of menace and filth; a level far from “acceptable” for most other cities.
My bias is that an effective elected official should not be reluctant to take a stand or afraid to tell you where they stand – especially when the issue is the literal level of safety and security within the borders of our own city.
And if they can’t do anything, we, the citizens, should elect someone who can get things done.
In a previous era, we had a local newspaper and other ways of keeping citizens informed and local leaders accountable. Those days, of course, are long gone.
Now it is up to the Council, by some mysterious means, to let us know what they have done.
My anecdotal, non-official reading of Tacoma residents is that the city government is not held in the highest level of trust and esteem.
This has happened before.
Back in 1970, voters recalled five city council members, which paralyzed city government (until the state stepped in). You can see details on the whole city government recall here – https://www.historylink.org/File/22806.
Our city leaders (as well as regional or national leaders) are elected on the basis of our trust and confidence in their ability and duty to represent us – not their personal interests or agendas.
It is up to them to not only live up to that trust but to keep us informed as to their due diligence in upholding the responsibilities of public office.
The State of the City
Every year you can hear a summary of the work and vision of our city officials. For 2024, the State of the City address/presentation (https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_council/office_of_mayor_victoria_woodards/state_of_the_city_address ) will be held March 28. You can attend in person or watch online or on Tacoma TV.
In summary, this is our city, and, for better or worse, every homeless person, every pile of garbage at our city’s intersections, and every public official, reflects who we are and what we care about.
Tacoma is small enough, that it is likely that many of us have encountered, or have even known many of our city officials.
Our pressing concerns are not invisible to them, and if those issues are not impacting them directly, they have an ethical, if not practical obligation to listen to those of us who are directly impacted.
