Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels
2004 Budget Address
Together We’re Turning the Corner
September 27, 2004

Members of the City Council, honored guests, friends, family and citizens of Seattle, I’m here to report that we are making a difference in people's lives.

For three years, the Council and I have worked together to get spending under control, make difficult decisions and seize opportunities.

I want to acknowledge the work of the Council.

We’ve made tough decisions and we’re moving forward. In particular, I want to thank Council President Jan Drago and Budget Chair Richard McIver for setting a tone for a strong working relationship between the Council and the Mayor this past year.

Our hard work is paying off.

We faced tough times as a community and got through the worst of it -- together. Our approach is working. Our city is better off than it was three years ago.

Our economy is showing signs of a rebound. This year greater Seattle has regained nearly 23,000 jobs out of the 90,000 lost to the recession. That’s good news for individuals, families and our community.

The budget plan I propose today represents the values we all share and maintains the four priorities of my administration:

Keeping our neighborhoods safe; Creating jobs and economic opportunity for all; Building strong families & healthy communities; And getting Seattle moving.

In this budget, we make one more round of difficult reductions - but not by cutting direct services:

No police officers or fire fighters will be cut. No direct services for the hungry and the needy will be cut. No library hours will be cut. And investments in our neighborhoods will grow. 

Public Safety 

Keeping our neighborhoods safe is our paramount duty.

From my very first day in office, I committed to ensuring that police officers and fire fighters have the tools to perform these difficult jobs.

Despite reductions in revenue, the number of police and firefighters has remained strong. And we are improving the training they receive.

I have insisted that the police and fire departments protect and serve with efficiency, innovation and within existing resources.  

Chief Kerlikowske, Chief Dean and the men and women who serve us have not failed, and once again they deserve our thanks.

Seattle is a safer place than it was just three years ago.   

Our new Major Crimes Task Force is making a dent in auto thefts. Since November they’ve caught 155 criminals.

Violent crime is down. In fact, we have one of the lowest violent crime rates of any major city in the nation.

But we must do more.

Let’s put a new focus on a persistent problem in parts of downtown and other neighborhoods. Let’s put an end to open-air drug markets that serve as a breeding ground for violence and threats to our community.

Today I’m announcing a new four point strategy to shut down these drug markets.

First, let’s expand an effective program used by the west precinct city-wide. Here’s how it works: City police and State corrections officers work as a team to identify at-risk parolees to keep them from getting into trouble again.

Second, we will bring back the Stay Out of Drug Area program. SODA uses the authority of the courts to keep convicted drug dealers from returning to known drug areas.

Third, we will give police officers a new tool to get the job done. A new program called NARCSTAT will bring together data from many different sources. And from this data, we will know where illegal drugs are being sold, who’s selling them, and what techniques shut down the drug markets.

And fourth, we’ll do more to help those who struggle with addiction. We’ll work with service providers, the police, prosecutors, defenders and the courts to move people off the streets and into treatment.

Councilmember Licata, I look forward to working with you as chair of the public safety committee to make these needed improvements. This approach will work and it will make us safer.

My budget improves the ability of our Fire Department to keep us safe.

On-duty strength in our fire stations will not be reduced.

Our ability to investigate suspicious fires will remain strong. We all saw that need earlier this year when a serial arsonist struck several neighborhoods in the north end.

We’re delivering on the promise made to voters a year ago to refurbish and replace aging fire stations throughout the City and to build a first class fire training center right here in Seattle.

Our approach is working. Let’s keep it going.

Economic development 

On economic opportunity, we’re seeing results:
500 new jobs in South Lake Union.
New help for small businesses in the Rainier Valley, Pioneer Square and Broadway.

We’re making it easier for manufacturing and maritime businesses to locate and expand in Seattle.

We’ve made our city government a partner, not a problem, for business.

We are also reforming one of our economy’s most important assets - Seattle City Light.

Every Seattle-ite is a stockholder and we count on City Light to power our economy with reliable, affordable and clean electricity. That legacy was threatened four years ago by the criminal actions of companies like Enron, costing our stockholders, our citizens and ratepayers, hundreds of millions of dollars.

In fact, the City had been forced to take on $230 million in short-term notes and $300 million in additional long term City Light debt just to keep the lights on during the California energy crisis.

To help fix this problem we tightened our belt and we have paid off the short term debt - all of it.

Councilmember Godden, I thank you for your leadership this year in helping us get City Light on the right track.

Councilmember Compton, I thank you for your continued leadership in this area and for

championing the creation of the City Light Advisory Board – which has shown its worth in many ways during its relatively young life.

Today I propose a series of financial reforms that will set a path to slash City Light’s long-term debt, stabilize electric rates and ensure our energy independence.

We faced these tough times as a community and we got through the worst of it -- together. Our work is paying off.

While City Light is a legacy we’ve protected, we’ve also been working on building new assets in the University District, Northgate and South Lake Union. We’re working with the Broadway community on Capitol Hill to bring back that once great neighborhood business district.

And now it’s time to put a spotlight on Southeast Seattle.

For over a decade there has been a whole lot of planning for Southeast Seattle– no fewer than 9 plans since 1991.

Residents of the Rainier Valley have consistently asked for more jobs, improved housing choices, better schools, and safer streets.

It’s now time to act. No more plans. Let’s make our vision a reality.

Let’s maximize and build on the hundreds of millions of dollars that will be invested in Southeast Seattle due to light rail construction.

Let’s encourage investors who are looking for opportunities. The Seattle Housing Authority and other community groups have projects in the pipeline.

In July I gathered community leaders and other partners. We agreed that now is the time to invest in Southeast Seattle.

My budget has new dollars for job training, healthcare, housing, and helping small businesses.

I am proposing $1 million for Asian Counseling and Referral Service’s new building in the Rainier Valley. We’re going to do more to help immigrants and refugees in this city. This means access to better job training, mental health counseling and services to seniors.

Councilmembers Richard McIver and David Della are working closely with me on this important effort.

We’ve got a message for the people of Southeast Seattle. The wait is over. Doing more for the people of Southeast Seattle starts now.

Build Strong Families & Healthy Communities

We will continue to focus on building strong families and healthy communities.

As a dad, I know what a wonderful, engaging place the Seattle Children’s Museum was for our two children.

This budget provides $100,000 so that the children of families of modest means have access to this wonderful asset as well. It is one small part of a $31 million investment in our children for 2005.

This year we took a new approach to renewing the Families & Education levy. Our aim is to give every child in every family a chance for success in our schools.

Two weeks ago the voters took a look at our work and overwhelmingly said yes to doing more for our kids.

I want to thank the Council and especially the voters of Seattle for your enthusiastic support.

We will do well by our children. We will help the Seattle Schools close this unacceptable achievement gap among poor and minority children. We will insist on accountability.

We will open the door to early learning for low income 4-year-olds and engage young teenagers in positive after school activities. We will focus on getting results.

Every child can succeed. So we’re going to invest in their lives. This approach will work. 

For those in need, my budget does more to alleviate suffering for the poor, the homeless and the hungry.

We will protect the essentials such as food, shelter and hygiene services. We will protect emergency and transitional housing.

Next year we will invest over $30 million to help the addicted, the mentally ill, homeless and needy families. We’re going to spend $2.3 million to construct a place in south downtown where the down and out can get a shower and a meal.

I want to thank Council member Rasmussen for his leadership and passion for those most in need.

This represents the values we all share. Seattle’s commitment to the homeless and housing is extraordinary. Since 1981, Seattle voters have approved one bond issue and three levies for housing. In fact we’ve funded over eight thousand affordable housing units in those 23 years. Twenty-five hundred units give relief directly to the homeless. Our Seattle Housing Authority provides affordable housing to twenty-four thousand people in need in our city.

Seattle is doing a lot.

But at times it seems like we are bailing water in the midst of an ocean of need. A new approach is required.

We as a nation must stop managing homelessness and start ending it. Today let’s commit to the goal that a decade from now no one will be homeless on the streets or in the alleys of our city or any city.

Seattle will do its part. We’re going to sustain and focus our investments. We’re going to partner with foundations.

We’re going to invest in the Committee to End Homelessness and transform a slogan into a realistic plan to end homelessness one person at a time.

We’re going to take this fight to the other Washington and Olympia. We’re going to fight policies that treat people like refuse. Human beings who need help should not be cut loose and dumped on the streets of any city in America.

Equally important to building healthy communities are neighborhoods. They are the heart of our city and our commitment is to make them better, stronger and more vibrant. 

In the next two years we will invest $ 159 million in 190 neighborhood projects throughout Seattle . We are keeping the promises made to Seattle ’s neighborhoods.

And we will continue our work to simplify Seattle’s cumbersome regulatory codes and make it easier to invest in our neighborhoods. I look forward to working with Councilmember Steinbrueck on this important effort.

We’re on the right path; our approach is working for neighborhoods all across Seattle. 

Transportation

Finally, we’re making significant progress on getting Seattle moving. Light Rail is under construction!

Potholes are being filled, and we’ve made street and bridge repairs.

We’ve made some great strides toward replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall, twin threats to our region’s public safety and economy. I am proposing an additional $5 million city investment to keep this project moving.

But transportation isn’t just about moving more cars faster, sometimes it’s about creating a human place for pedestrians, bicyclists and community, while accommodating vehicle movement.

Transforming Mercer from a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad freeway on-ramp to a two-way walkable, green boulevard is an example – I look forward to working closely with the Council to remove this blight from our center city.

I am encouraged with our work to get Seattle moving, but discouraged at the outlook for funding basic maintenance.

Revenues for fixing our roads and bridges have been in rapid decline since 1995. In fact, we’ve seen a 66 % decrease in real dollars due to Tim Eyman’s Initiative 776, Supreme Court decisions, and loss of gas tax revenues.

That means we’ve gone from $35 million a year in dedicated revenue to fix our roads and bridges to just $12 million. 

Simply put, we are falling behind on basic street and bridge repair.

Twelve million is a fraction of what we need. Our citizen‘s committee tells us at least $25 million more a year is needed just to keep the backlog from growing.

If we don’t make those investments, arterials continue to decay and a downward spiral begins affecting not only the street but the whole fabric of a neighborhood.

Our number one priority in the next session will be to get the state legislature to step up to the needs of fixing our local streets and bridges.

Councilmember Conlin, I look forward to working with you to make our case in Olympia.

Ten days ago, I returned from the Mayor’s Institute of City Design where I joined with fellow mayors to explore the future of our country’s urban cities. I return more convinced than ever that in Seattle, perhaps more than any other city in America, we have the ability to define our future and achieve it.

Members of the council, I ask you to pass my budget and continue our progress towards safer neighborhoods, more family wage jobs, better transportation choices and stronger, healthier communities.

We have turned the corner. We’re making a difference in people's lives. The last three years we have worked together and made tough decisions and it is working.

Our City is better off than it was three years ago.

And it will keep getting better.

Thank you for your efforts and may God bless our home, Seattle.