A couple quick highlights from Monday's council meeting.

We achieved agreement on the 2009 budget! This is the earliest budget agreement I've seen in Renton...having resolved all of the questions prior to Thanksgiving. We held the first reading of all the ordinances on Monday, and we will read the ordinances a second and final time next Monday...thus putting the budget into law.

Mayor Law, Council President Palmer, the mayor's staff, and all the council members deserve credit for working through the issues early and productively to get this done in such a timely way.

While the 2009 budget is very lean, most citizens won't notice a drop in service. Taxes have not increased either, although we have made modest increases in water utility fees and renegotiated the garbage contract which expires next year (and garbage fees will increase).

Also on Monday I referred the subject of tree cutting permits, and how we enforce them. This issue has been front-and-center with me since trees have been mistakenly/wrongfully cut now on two sides of my home in the last few months. I suggested on Monday that if people in the tree cutting profession or developers have any ideas for improving the situation, I would love to hear them. In the meantime, I will be working on some of my own, such as construction fences around trees to be saved in developments BEFORE grading or cutting permits are issued; Property ownership map submittal with letters of property owner permission before tree cutting permits are granted; agreement that police officers will enforce these provisions on weekends, and other ideas.

The Committee of the Whole will first get a briefing on this topic, and then we can decide what to do with it after that.

In spite of the rough economy, our Renton City Budget discussions are going very well. The Mayor and city staff did an excellent job on the draft budget, and our work has been focussed and productive.

Citizens can weigh-in at public hearings on November 10 and 17, or by sending us an email (or even by commenting to me here on my blog). The budget document is online HERE.

We expect to be able to finalize the 2009 budget on November 17, almost a month ahead of the schedule we followed in other years. This will give staff a little more time to put it into motion, and give us a little more breathing room during the holiday season.

Denis Law delivered his first budget proposal to us last night. He did an excellent job on the presentation, and my first impression is that the budget does a good job of achieving essential levels of service in a very difficult financial year. Denis proposed a number of position freezes, in which we leave openings vacant, but has formulated a budget which appears to require no layoffs. He also has not tapped the rainy day fund; although he does take appropriate advantage of multi-year funding streams, such as equipment rental funds, to ensure the city continues to operate smoothly.

Tomorrow I am taking the day off from Boeing to spend eight hours going through the budget details with the rest of my council colleagues. We will surely have questions for the mayor, and his department heads, as we make Denis's budget into a council budget.

I'm sure the end product will not be vastly different from what was proposed; we have been working different aspects of the proposal over the last few months, and Denis and his team have outstanding management skills and a good understanding of council priorities.

I was impressed to hear the list of things we have accomplished in 2008, even with the souring economy.

Here is Denis's complete budget message along with highlights of his proposed budget. The total spending under this plan would be 2% higher than the 2008 budget.

Letter sent to Renton Employees today, from Mayor Law:

Dear Employees,

We have all been bombarded with negative news for months surrounding the national economic slowdown stemming from the mortgage crisis, high fuel costs, and other factors. This has resulted in bankruptcies and job losses to the private sector and major financial challenges for all levels of government. These factors are finally hitting home, with the state, county and most local cities reporting significant revenue shortfalls that are forcing layoffs and major cuts in expenses.

I want to keep you informed on our budget situation so that you have a better understanding on some of the changes taking place and to minimize rumors.

You can be very proud of the quality work you provide our citizens.
This has been a challenging year for all of our employees as we experienced the transition associated with growing our city by 25%. It's important that you understand that annexation is not the cause of our financial challenges. There are news reports everyday on local jurisdictions dealing with these same issues due to the economy.

Our revenues for the first half of 2008 are well below what was budgeted and we are continuing to see a significant downturn in future revenues. We’re also experiencing a decline in residential building and a significant drop in sales tax revenue. All these factors contribute to reductions in our revenue while our costs continue to rise.

What does all this mean for our city and community and how does it affect the decisions that we make? I have asked the City’s administrators to restrict most staff hiring, including positions previously approved in the 2008 budget. In addition, department administrators are scrutinizing all non-essential expenditures while focusing on maintaining core services. As we enter a new budget cycle for 2009, we must take action to ensure that our budget remains in balance even though the future holds some uncertainties. It’s my goal for us to do everything possible to avoid any layoffs, which we see happening elsewhere.

The City’s major revenue sources are primarily property and sales taxes. As the real estate market turns downward, we can expect a reduction in our property tax revenue. Furthermore our ability to collect property tax continues to be capped by State law at 1% growth.
And though Renton has seen remarkable growth in new businesses and a diversification of the tax base, sales tax revenue is also on the decline. At the same time, fuel costs and other expenses have gone up significantly. With the current economic condition, we expect our costs to increase at about 4% next year.

The good news is that Renton is in much better shape than many other jurisdictions. This is thanks to the hard work and efficiencies of our employees and the years of good planning and economic development efforts that have created a strong foundation for this community.
Not all of the news is bleak. We still have a number of major investors meeting with us to explore developing in Renton, including the 21-acre Boeing-owned site next to The Landing. Renton will be prepared to move forward quickly as the economy improves.

I sincerely appreciate your commitment to provide quality service to the citizens of Renton. For your information, I have attached a news release that we will be issuing to the media on this issue. During the course of the next few weeks and as we continue to plan for our 2009 budget, we will provide you with updates on our budget and future plans.


Denis Law
Mayor

( Read the press release by clicking here )