City Policy

The Tacoma City Council voted unanimously this week to grant an increase in pay to more than 340 city utility workers over the next year. This, despite the well-publicized "wage freeze" Tacoma implemented for all city workers earlier this year to help alleviate budget issues. City of Tacoma officials say the pay hike for utility workers (342 full-time workers according to an article by Trib's Lewis Kamb, to be exact, mostly employed by Tacoma Power) was agreed upon before the freeze was put in place, and if the raises were not given the city would be violating its contract with Tacoma's International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union (Local 483), and possibly be subject to unfair labor practice charges for bargaining in bad faith. 

One wonders why the City Council even had to vote on the raises Tuesday. They were agreed on last year during collective bargaining, after all. I'm not suggesting anything is really wrong with this situation - just pointing out that the implementation process of local policy is oftentimes head-scratching.

Pierce Transit

The Pierce Transit Board of Commissioners approved a permanent 20-percent cut in service Monday. The slashing, which has long been in the works, calls for increased service during the daytime, but reduces many popular services, including buses to the Freedom Fair and Puyallup Fair. The cuts are scheduled to take effect June 12. Thanks to a massive budget shortfall and the failure of Proposition 1 in February's election, Pierce Transit's Board of Commissioners has asked staff to develop plans for a 35 percent total reduction.

This brings us to the even bigger news from Monday's meeting ...

While the first 20 percent of reductions were approved, the Board of Commissioners voted down the second part of the reduction plan calling for the final 15 percent in cuts. The rejected plan called for relatively equal cuts to service throughout Pierce County. The Commission directed Pierce Transit staff to create an alternate plan focused on preserving routes that support the most people and are most cost effective. I wrote about this debate in a feature two weeks ago. 

School Board

The Tacoma School Board made headlines Thursday night when, despite emotional protests from parents and educators, it voted to close McKinley and Wainwright elementary schools. This decision was justified by the overall Tacoma School District budget shortfall and the elementary schools' lagging enrollment. Both McKinley and Wainwright may reopen in the future, as enrollment in Tacoma elementary schools is expected to rise in the next few years.

Local Politics

In search of some local political scensterism I stopped by Tacoma City Councilman David Boe's campaign kick-off party at the Maritime Museum Wednesday evening. Listening to the night's speeches made two things clear: apparently urban-focused architects make fantastic city council members (makes sense), and David Boe is an alternative brand of local politician. Since being appointed in 2010 it had been unclear until recently if Boe would run for Position 7 once the time came. A visual artist, thespian and musician, Boe is a pleasant, albeit quirky, break from the political norm.

Fellow council members Woodards, Fey, Campbell, Walker and Mello all addressed the crowd, in addition to Boe. Walker also read a praise-laden statement from Mayor Strickland, calling Boe's appointment "one of the smartest decisions we've (the council) ever made."

This love-fest of unity shared by the current council is likely a main reason for the absence of quality opponents challenging Boe, fellow appointee Ryan Mello and Hilltop's Lauren Walker. While this sort of insider community may be a red flag to some, especially given Tacoma's political history, the underlying feeling around town regarding the council seems to be "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Currently, only Robert "the Traveller" Hill has filed to oppose Boe. Hill is perhaps best known for stalking local politicians, harassing their staffs and being an overall nuisance to city politics and public forums.