The latest revenue forecasts project a $72 million revenue shortfall in the general fund’s 2009-2010 biennial budget, the result of lower revenue, particularly sales and business taxes. To balance the budget, I’ve proposed cuts of roughly 4.4 percent from the endorsed 2010 budget, or about $41 million.

My budget eliminates approximately 310 positions citywide, and reduces the number of city vehicles. In August, members of 14 Coalition of City Unions agreed to 10-day unpaid furloughs for 2010, saving an estimated $6.5 million from the General Fund.

The city will also use $25.4 million from the Rainy Day Fund, leaving about $5 million for the future.

Along with two councilmembers, I’ve proposed repealing the employee hours tax, and I also approved legislation to raise the B&O tax threshold to $100,000 starting in 2010.

My budget adds 20 new patrol officers next year, and maintains funding for social services.

As I said in my speech to the City Council on Sept. 25:  “We will stay true to the things that are important: we will continue to focus on public safety, help our most vulnerable, solve transportation challenges and prepare to take back our waterfront. With this budget, we will make a positive difference in people’s lives, just as we have for eight years.”

I invite all our residents to learn more about the budget by visiting the city Department of Finance website: http://www.seattle.gov/financedepartment/

King Street Station opened to the public in May 1906. Reed and Stem, the architectural firm responsible for New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, designed this station.

The clock tower was modeled after the San Marco bell tower in Venice, Italy. In 1973 the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

For more than 100 years, King Street Station has served as a gateway for millions of travelers. After years of heavy use and neglect, the station is undergoing a major renovation to restore the building’s historic character and grandeur.

After the station’s transfer from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway to the city in 2008, the city received a letter from members of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors indicating their interest in helping repair the station clock. Norm Nelson and Paul Bellamy worked tirelessly for months.

Set your watch: Flipping the switch at 1:00 p.m. making the four tower clocks operational once again.

Looking up at the repaired clock tower glass tiles.

Touring the restored outside balcony where an unsightly microwave dish was removed.

The newly-restored clock faces are backlit at night.

From our street car to light rail and now electric vehicles, Seattle is definitely leading the way converting our transportation from oil to electricity. I invite you to read more about this latest news on charging stations coming soon to our city.

Meridian Manor in the Northgate neighborhood is another project that we’re investing in. When it went up for sale and there was the potential of it being converted to market rate housing, we wanted to make sure that we didn’t lose this asset. So we’re very pleased to be working with the Housing Resource Group to make sure seniors will have a roof over their heads for many years to come. With a new roof, boiler, windows, carpet and furniture, the building will be energy efficient and a good place to continue to call home.

Eunice Smith, one of the residents of Meridian Manor, told her story today:

“In 2001 I lost my job. I had not been making that much that I had it all set aside so I would be able to afford another place to go. Immediately, I thought, I am going to be one of the homeless. I just didn’t know which way to turn. I had a friend who lived here–she is now 91–and she said let’s look into Meridian Manor. And it was a very short time, and I was able to move in here. The relief of that, you just cannot express. I have been here for eight years, and we have seen changes in the building…new lighting, new hallways, we all have brand new toilets, that’s important. And indeed, we have new refrigerators and the promise of much more to come. I can assure you, it gives us hope, and I do consider this my home. It is in such a lovely spot in Seattle, we have all the things all around us… this has made me feel positive for my future and things are really getting done around here…all I can say is thank you.”

You can read more about the funding grants.

My involvement began in 1988, when two young County Councilmembers (Cynthia Sullivan and me) sponsored an advisory ballot asking King County voters whether we should plan for, finance and build a light rail system with construction to start in 1995 and the first stations to open in 2000. That November nearly 70 percent of the voters said yes and broke the political logjam created with the defeat of Forward Thrust in 1968 & 1970.

Following the 1988 election the Times ran a Brain Bassett cartoon showing a forlorn figure on a hand pump rail car with the name “Light Rail Planning.” The forlorn figure is saying “Well…It’s a start” – I purchased the original from Brian. The long awaited (!!!) line that began with the 1988 Advisory Ballot opens this summer. Sound Transit opens Tukwila, Rainier Beach, New Holly, Columbia City, Mount Baker, Beacon Hill, SODO, Stadium District, ID Pioneer Square and two Downtown Stations on July 18!

Birth of Sound Transit

After the November, 1988 Advisory Ballot victory it became clear that the public (at least 70% of them) were far ahead of the politicians in envisioning light rail mass transit. The issue was taken up in the Metro Council (in its Planning Committee). Metro, then known as “Seattle Metro”, was a separate government until 1993. It’s federated Council included a variety of local elected and appointed officials who oversaw the bus and wastewater treatment systems in King County.

Initially the issue was popular with Democrats and Republicans on the Metro Council. Republicans like Bruce Laing, Lois North and Paul Barden (along with local officials like Seattle Counciman Paul Kraabel and Mercer Island Mayor Fred Jarrett) joined Democrats Cynthia Sullivan and me in advocating for mass transit (some Eastside elected officials were reluctant to use the words “Light” and Rail” in the same sentence even after the vote). About this time the idea of using BN tracks for commuter rail was gaining traction as well.

It became clear fairly early that the planning needed to expand beyond just King County.

Fortunately there also were champions in the legislature like House Transportation Chair Ruth Fisher (and later Representative Ed Murray). State funding was secured to study the concept (I’m not kidding, State funding). In 1990 a body called the Joint Regional Policy Committee (I was a member of the JRPC) was established to expand the work from King County to Pierce and Snohomish and the legislation included local taxing options to pay for building a system. Between August of 1990 and July of 1993, a $13.2 billion Regional Transit Plan was developed and legislation authorizing creation of a Regional Transit Authority was passed in Olympia. In July of 1993, the three County Councils voted to join the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority to advance the plan. And thus Sound Transit was born.

The beginning of “RTA”

The first meeting of the eighteen member Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (RTA) Board took place in September, 1993. I remember very well taking my seat at the table amidst much excitement and high expectations (I am the last of the original RTA Boardmembers still on the Board). King County Councilman Bruce Laing (R-6th) was elected the first RTA Board Chair. A former Hearing Examiner, Bruce was known to all as the epitome of the “honest broker”.

Following the 1988 Advisory Ballot and through the planning process (JRPC) a core of Metro staff formed the backbone of the effort. With the creation of a new, independent government it was time to expand and hire “permanent” staff to conduct the environmental and engineering work necessary to place a measure on the ballot (the State legislation contained a number of requirements to be met prior to going to the ballot, including engaging an “Expert Review Panel”).

The first hire was to be an Executive Director. The RTA Board chose Tom Matoff (former General Manager of the Sacramento Regional Transit Agency) because of his experience in developing Sacramento’s initial light rail project. Tom was a true believer in light rail and felt that a successful, inexpensive start would pave the way for future extensions, earlier rather than later. This came into conflict with the aspirations of many Boardmembers, particularly those from the outermost parts of the three county district who wanted any plan to include them (this turned out to be quite a drama later).

The emotions were high, the debate heated, but in just over a year (on October 28, 1994) the RTA Board adopted a $ 6.7 billion, phase 1 (based on the JRPC Plan) rail and bus proposal to send to the ballot. The three County Councils were required to vote on whether to continue as part of the RTA and therefore send it to the ballot. After weeks of hearings the three Councils all voted affirmatively in December. The region’s voters would soon be deciding on a Mass Transit plan – for the first time in 25 years!

RTA on ‘95 ballot

After the three County Councils agreed to place the RTA plan on the March 14th Special election ballot, a demonstration of commuter rail service, the RTA’s first actual service began on January 28, 1995. Called TRY Rail, the demonstration carried passengers between Tacoma and Seattle for a few weeks and then between Everett and Seattle. In total 35,000 passengers rode TRY Rail. Commuter rail was one of the elements of the ballot issue.

The first vote to decide Mass Transit for King County in 25 years (and the first ever for Pierce and Snohomish Counties) was scheduled for a March 14, 1995 Special Election. In addition to Commuter Rail, the plan contains a mostly surface light rail system connecting Tacoma to Seattle, north to Lynnwood (actually 164th St SW) and east across Lake Washington to Bellevue and Redmond.

The campaign in favor is “Citizens for Sound Transit” and the opponents are “Families Against Congestion and Taxes”. Early polls look favorable with some 60% of respondents likely to vote yes. According to the Pro campaign FAQ:

“There are basically two opponents: Ed Hansen, the Mayor of Everett and Kemper Freeman, Jr., a Bellevue developer. Mayor Hansen opposes this project because it doesn’t include light rail to Everett – in other words, it’s not enough. Freeman opposes this plan because he thinks it’s too much.”

The campaign was nasty and the proponents often found themselves on the defensive, responding to FACT’s charges that the ($6,700,000,000) cost was too high (compared with buses and freeways), the ridership numbers inflated and it would not put a dent in congestion.

Despite carrying King County 50.3% to 49.7%, getting 61.7% in Seattle and winning in Lake Forest Park and Mercer Island, the measure gets only 42.8% in Bellevue, loses Pierce County and does so poorly in Snohomish County (especially Everett) that Prohibition looks popular in comparison. It goes down RTA district-wide 46.5% yes to 53.3% no. The region rejects mass transit. And history repeats itself – mass transit once again is treated by many politicians in Olympia and the region as political road kill. It looks like another dead end for rail transit.

Success in ‘96

Following the defeat of the March 14, 1995 RTA proposition, things looked bleak for mass transit in Metro Seattle. Despite a relatively close outcome, the votes were not evenly distributed – Seattle, Lake Forest Park and Mercer Island were the only jurisdictions that passed the measure – the rest of King County and all of Pierce and Snohomish Counties voted no. In fact in Everett, Light Rail was slightly less popular than Prohibition! There was no requirement that the plan pass in each separate county (just the overall district), but politically it was necessary to show broad support, not just from a Seattle dominated electorate.

Given the math, how could a majority of the RTA Board be convinced to put the measure on the ballot? To make matters worse, the RTA, which had been given revenue from the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax for planning, no longer had any income and no legislative support for additional dollars in Olympia. Could the agency even survive until the measure was resubmitted?

Critics often bemoan the absence of leadership in our civic affairs, I would argue that our regional leaders responded to the defeat of the first RTA plan with creativity and courage. I was approached after the election by two respected political professionals: John Engber and Don McDonough. They quickly convinced me (and ultimately the rest of the Board) that the key to success was to place the revised plan on the Presidential ballot of November, 1996. The reason? Younger voters would be a much larger proportion of the electorate. Younger voters believe they will be around for a while and therefore are much more likely to vote for a transit plan that may take years to complete (the defeated RTA plan took twenty years to build-out).

The problem with November of 1996 was the twenty-month wait. How could an agency with no assets and no revenue survive? And what would it do in the interim?

It began with a listening tour, asking voters why they had rejected the plan. Was it opposition to the entire concept or to certain aspects of the specific plan they rejected? The Board laid off most of the staff, keeping just 22 folks to reduce expenses to a bare minimum, operating funds were borrowed from King County. The original Executive Director, Tom Matoff, resigned to give the Board a clean slate moving forward (Tom was a light rail guy with little interest in express bus or HOV access). Planning director Bob White (one of the original Metro staff) replaced Matoff.

Snohomish County Executive Bob Drewel took over as the Board Chair despite the terrible showing the proposition had in his county. Work soon focused on some basic concepts – a smaller initial phase (somewhat ironic given the reason for Everett’s opposition) with a shorter timeframe and more investments in express bus service and HOV access projects. This was an attempt to respond to concerns raised in our listening tour. Among the issues we heard were accountability for such a huge program from an agency with no track record and that there was nothing in the plan for many parts of the RTA district for many years (if ever).

In the end, the Phase One plan the Board put on the ballot, now called Sound Move, was reduced from $6.7 billion to $3.9 billion (1996 dollars) and Light Rail scaled back to a line from the UW to Sea-Tac (with a door open for Northgate if additional funds were secured). Added were park-and-ride lots, access ramps to HOV lanes and a concept called “sub-area equity” – funds should return to the county or sub-region in rough proportion to what they had paid. The time frame for completing phase one was pegged at 10 years. The election was set for November 5, 1996.

The campaign again was hard fought but this time the proponents were less defensive. We focused more on grass roots support and less from “opinion leaders.” It worked: voters in all three counties approved the plan, 58.8% in King County, 54.4% in Snohomish and even Pierce voters gave a 50.1% nod to the yes side.

At last it looked like smooth sailing for a Metro Seattle mass transit system!

Smooth Sailing turns into rough seas before the ship was finally righted
After the passage of Sound Move on November 5, 1996 it was time to get to work. The RTA needed to ramp up from a 22 person planning staff to an entity capable of building a multi-billion dollar capital program and operating multiple modes of transit service. This is a step virtually every new transit agency struggles with and leads to a phenomenon known as “growing pains”!

The Board began to make dozens of decisions (See the list-pdf) from rebranding the agency as “Sound Transit” to vehicle purchases to route decisions. EIS’s were begun, policies were developed, fares with other transit agencies were “integrated”, ground was broken and hearings were held.

In September 1997 the first Regional Express bus service began. In June 1998, I led the Board’s effort to identify Union Station as Sound Transit’s permanent headquarters and Sounder commuter rail between Tacoma and Seattle debuted in September, 2000. Tacoma’s LINK streetcar began service in August, 2003.

Due to its size, federal funding and all new right-of-way, the most complicated aspect of the program was “LINK” light rail. A very difficult period began toward the end of 2000 as tensions mounted and the Board ordered a halt to negotiations over a contract to build a very long, deep light rail tunnel under Portage Bay. The Board was concerned that the cost and risk of the proposed contract was unacceptably high and a reassessment was in order. This led to staff changes (Joni Earl became Executive Director) and eventually a re-engineering of the project (splitting it into the initial Airport segment and the University segment extension) to reduce the risks.

Extraordinary political drama ensued including the last minute signing of a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) on the final evening of the Clinton administration and light rail becoming the focus of the very close 2001 Seattle Mayor’s race. But the Board persevered, Joni restored confidence in the agency and eventually the project was back on track. In fact in February, 2003 LINK’s initial segment received the highest rating of any project in the nation from the Federal Transit Administration. This was repeated recently with the University LINK extension. Ground was finally broken for the initial LINK light rail segment on November 8, 2003.

The ride continues

In many ways, the ground breaking on November 8, 2003 ended the political debate over whether mass transit would serve Seattle (though ST 2 engendered a vigorous debate on whether it should be extended beyond Sound Move).

In my first month as Seattle Mayor I gathered all the City staff working on the project and let them know our job was to team with Sound Transit to make sure the system got built — as promised to the voters. This was a relief to many staff who really did not know whether the previous administration supported or opposed building the project.

Once we broke ground, I enjoyed visiting the construction impacted neighborhoods twice a month and talking with the property owners, shopkeepers and residents; trying to anticipate, prevent and solve problems. In doing this I was taking a page from Seattle City Councilmember George Benson’s work during the construction of the Downtown Seattle transit Tunnel in the 1980s.

Like grief, dealing with a huge project in your neighborhood is dealt with in distinct stages. Fear, anticipation, resignation, relief and excitement among them. Seventy-five percent of the small businesses along the MLK portion of the route at the start of construction are still there – I’m proud of that. The street has been transformed, as has the neighborhood. And the presence of Light Rail will connect the people of the Rainier Valley neighborhood to lots of new and exciting job and educational opportunities – just a short train ride away.

Columbia City is approaching this opportunity most creatively, going so far as to have pedicabs available to whisk people from the station to their historic business district nearby where Light Rail riders can enjoy great restaurants, a farmer’s market and theater.

This first line will be warmly embraced, especially when the thirteenth station – SeaTac Airport, opens late this year. But it is only the beginning. The next line, north from downtown to the University of Washington, received its $813 million FFGA in December and has already broken ground. Those two underground stations on Capitol Hill and at Husky Stadium will basically mark the completion of Sound Move and will open in 2016.

After the defeat of the infamous doomed shotgun marriage of Roads and Transit in 2007, there was little political appetite to explore a transit ballot for 2008. Given our experience in 1996 (and $4/gallon gasoline), I was convinced that the 2008 Presidential ballot was the right one for light rail. In addition I believed that the Legislature would take away the region’s ability to place transit on any future ballot (as they had stopped Sound Transit in 2006) and take the taxing authority for highways. Fortunately there was a core of ST Board members willing to engage the issue and we went to work. Ultimately on July 24th all but two Sound Transit Board members agreed upon a plan and it went on the ballot.

Sound Transit 2 passed with 57.02% yes vote on November 4, 2008 – 60.5% in King, 54.21% in Snohomish and 49.08% in Pierce County. Light Rail will expand north from the University to Northgate and on out to Lynnwood, south of the airport to Federal Way and east across Lake Washington to Bellevue and out to Redmond. These projects will be complete in 15 years. I have no illusions that there will be no further challenges in building such an extensive set of projects (such as the current economic crisis) – there is a lot of work ahead! But when complete, 70% of the residences and 85% of the jobs in Metro Seattle will be within an easy bus ride, bike ride or walk of a rail station. With a capacity of one million passengers a day, it will transform how we get around.

I’ve wondered — how often does someone get to see through such a journey in their career? From the 1988 advisory ballot through passage of ST 2 and opening the initial line it has been an amazing adventure. While certainly not easy (1995-96 and 2000-01 come to mind!), it has been an incredible honor to work with the elected officials on the ST Board, the staff (Joni Earl for instance) and particularly the interested citizens (Mona Lee and Dick Burkhart come to mind) who have engaged, often passionately in this saga. I do wish the voters had approved the Forward Thrust plan in 1968, but what a ride my generation would have missed! For someone who wants to make a difference in people’s lives it has been the chance of a lifetime.

We’re now accepting nominations for the 2009 Mayor’s Small Business Awards. The 2009 Awards will honor the diversity and excellence of Seattle’s small businesses, and their contribution to the city’s economic vitality and quality of life. Ten winners will be selected on the basis of excellence in management, entrepreneurial spirit, customer service, and community involvement.

2009 marks the 25th year of the Mayor’s Small Business Awards program. Over the last two decades, the awards program has recognized more than 240 small businesses, many of which have gone on to experience significant growth. Past recipients include such companies as: Starbucks Coffee Company (1984), Uwajimaya (1984), Ezell’s Fried Chicken (1989), the Dilettante (1990) and City People’s Mercantile (1993). Last year’s winners included Arab Film Distribution / Typecast Films; Compendium, Inc.; glassybaby LLC; and Macrina Bakery & Café.

The deadline for submitting nomination forms is Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at Town Hall on Oct. 13, 2009.

Anyone can nominate a small business. Learn more about the program:
Office of Economic Development

To request a nomination form, please contact Stephanie Beechem at (206) 684-0133 or stephanie.beechem@seattle.gov or download the form:
Nomination form

Historically, communities of color have been difficult to reach in past census counts, perhaps due to language barriers or a lack of awareness. That’s why I am announcing the formation of a Seattle Complete Count Committee to reach out and explain the importance of having every person counted in Seattle.

On Saturday, July 11, I ask you to join me for the kick-off of Seattle’s Complete Count Committee. We will gather at the Wing Luke Museum, 719 South King Street, at 10:30 a.m.

I am pleased to name three respected committee co-chairs who will help guide this important effort: Former Seattle Mayor Norman B. Rice, currently the President of the Seattle Foundation; Former Councilmember Martha Choe, currently the Chief Administrative Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and Rogelio Riojas, Founder/President/CEO of SeaMar Community Health Clinics.

Every ten years, the U.S. Census conducts a count of everyone living in the United States. The data determines how more than $300 billion in federal funding is distributed annually to states, cities and tribal areas. The Washington State Office of Financial Management estimates that Washington State loses about $800 each year in federal funding from each person that is not counted. That is federal funding that is not coming to our communities to provide vital services.

Census information also is important in helping planners determine where to locate our schools, day-care centers, roads and public transportation, hospitals and other facilities, and is used to make decisions concerning business growth and housing needs. In addition, an accurate census count determines how many seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as the redistricting of state legislators, county and city councils and voting districts.

The Seattle Complete Count Committee, will soon begin reaching out to local ethnic communities, distributing promotional materials in 18 languages and informative guides in more than 50 languages. The 2010 Census also will be available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Russian. The 2010 Census will have one of the shortest census questionnaires in its history, 10 questions, and will take about 10 minutes on average to complete. The answers are protected by law and strictly confidential.

Working together, let’s make sure the 2010 Census reaches everyone and that our diverse community is properly recognized. I hope you can join us on July 11 and support the Committee’s efforts over the next year. Thank you!

Back in 2003, the recycling rate dipped to 38 percent. As a new mayor at the time, I was concerned about that. So I asked Seattle Public Utilities to come up with a plan for how we would get to 60% recycling by 2012.

We have turned that trend in the right direction and have hit the 50 percent mark. And that doesn’t include all the changes we made in April 2009, when we started picking up yard waste weekly, allowing people to compost food waste. Also, we made things a bit simpler–you can now put glass in with the rest of your recycling, and we’ve expanded the kinds of things that can be recycled. We’re going to make that 60 percent by 2012, and we’re going to get everything out of the landfill stream that we possibly can.

It’s a little hard to compare recycling rates city-to-city because each city calculates its diversion rates differently, but the national average is about 32 percent. I think people in Seattle are much more aware of the impact we have on the planet. Thanks to composting and recycling, Leah and Yarek Rivers now have the smallest “mini” can for garbage. Our residents are very well motivated and now, we’re giving them the tools to be able to recycle effectively and conveniently. The credit for this milestone really belongs to everyone in Seattle for taking small, simple steps every day and making a big difference.

Read more
Visit Seattle Public Utilities for more on recycling

Please join me Saturday, July 11th at Othello Playground, 4351 S Othello St., from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., to celebrate Seattle’s 100th Clean and Green with a day of volunteerism. Since 2002, we have visited dozens of neighborhoods and partnered with hundreds of volunteer and environmental agencies to make Seattle a greener and more vibrant place to live, work and play. To date, Clean and Greens have collected a total of more than 542,550 pounds of litter and debris, repaired more than 4,275 streetlights and painted out nearly 6,305 graffiti sites. Clean and Green Seattle has invigorated communities and established lasting alliances between the city and organizations. I look forward to celebrating these partnerships, as well as the 15,000 Seattle volunteers who have made this work!

This weekend is especially exciting because we will be cleaning up the neighborhood around the Othello Station in anticipation of Link light rail that will open the following Saturday, July 18th. Please join us as we continue to work side-by-side with our neighbors and city departments to clean up our community.

Saturday, July 11th
Othello Playground, 4351 S Othello Street
8:00 a.m. Refreshments
9:00 a.m. Short speaking program and celebration
10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Volunteer Opportunity

You can read more about what we’re doing.