Posts for 'Budget and Economic Development'

Targeted Hiring Forum at City Hall

May 20th, 2013

For many families, the difference between a dead-end job and a living-wage career is a construction job.

 [More]


Action at Langston Hughes Institute

March 4th, 2013

Last week, OACA kicked off the long-awaited planning effort for Langston Hughes Institute by convening the first of up to six Action Committee meetings to be held between now and this summer.

 [More]


A Free Wi-Fi Network for Seattle?

February 19th, 2013

The FCC is proposing giving away unlicensed portions of the digital spectrum to allow for super Wi-Fi networks across the nation.

 [More]


Creating a State Bank/Investment Trust

December 21st, 2012

On Monday, December 17 the City Council approved the City’s state legislative agenda for 2013. I proposed an amendment to add a provision in support of considering the creation of a state investment trust, to “provide financing for housing development, public works infrastructure, educational infrastructure, student loans, and community quality of life projects.” This was [...]

 [More]


Council calls on Congress, President to avoid cuts to local services in fiscal cliff

December 18th, 2012

On Monday the Seattle City Council unanimously passed a resolution I sponsored calling on Congress and the President to adopt a balanced approach to avoiding the “fiscal cliff” set to impose across-the board cuts at the start of 2013. The resolution calls for a balanced approach that allows the tax cut for the wealthiest 2 [...]

 [More]


Council Passes 2013-4 City Budget

November 21st, 2012

On November 21 the City Council approved the 2013 City of Seattle budget, and endorsed the 2014 budget. After a number of very difficult budget years requiring extensive cuts, there has been a measure of economic recovery. However, growth in tax revenue remains well below pre-recession levels, highlighting the need for continued sound fiscal management. [...]

 [More]


Council Creates a Human Services Budget Package

November 14th, 2012

I’m pleased that the Council created a human services package to enhance care for our community’s most vulnerable members.

 [More]


Arts Capital Projects

November 5th, 2012

I believe the City of Seattle must do more to support arts capital projects. We provide a fraction of what the County and State provide. In 2011, the county funded over $900K in arts-related capital projects and the state over $2M. Seattle generates the bulk of such funding requests throughout our region. The $150K the [...]

 [More]


New Arts Office Director & Commissioners

October 22nd, 2012

The Mayor recently appointed Randy Engstrom to lead the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs (OACA) as its interim director. The Office’s previous director, Vincent Kitch, resigned recently after 18 months on the job. Kitch was selected as a result of a national search. The Mayor decided this time to hire locally. Some may [...]

 [More]


New Audit on MFTE Program Released Today

September 19th, 2012

About 1 in 5 renters spend more than half of their income on rent and more than half of this group have incomes less than 30% median income.

 [More]