Chief
05-12-2008, 04:49 PM
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/05/05122008_City-of-Vancouver-might-increase-taxes-to-avert-cuts-in-police-fire.cfm
Monday, May 12, 2008
By Jeffrey Mize, Columbian Staff Writer
Vancouver might jack up taxes on sewer, water and drainage to prevent major spending cuts in police and fire.
The city currently tacks a 16 percent tax onto each of those services when it sends out utility bills. Increasing each to 20 percent would net an estimated $2.4 million annually.
Raising those utility taxes is one of the few options open to the city that do not require voter approval. Vancouver’s taxes on electricity, natural gas and telephone already are at 6 percent and cannot be raised without a public vote.
City council members heard a gloomy report Friday on what cuts police and fire could make because of a projected $6 million budget deficit for the 2009-10 biennium.
Police Chief Cliff Cook rattled off a list of cuts he would make, gutting many specialty programs and concentrating officers on patrol, the department’s core mission to respond to emergencies.
Cook said he would cut 11 officer positions —eight that are currently vacant plus three officers who would be laid off —along with 13 civilian employees, of which only three spots are vacant.
Some of the cuts outlined by Cook include:
— No school resource officer for the Vancouver Public Schools or participation in a metro gang task force.
— Reassign all three officers assigned now to the Career Criminal Apprehension Team.
— Reassign two of the four officers on neighborhood response teams.
— Reassign three of seven detectives working on property crimes.
— Reassign two of three drug task force detectives.
Fire Chief Don Bivins said his department would cancel plans to build Fire Station 810 at Northeast 164th Avenue and 15th Street, near the southwest corner of Pacific Community Park.
The city already has budgeted to build the station and hire 13 firefighters in 2009. If the department is hit with a budget cut, it would not hire those firefighters and shift the construction dollars to relocate and rebuild Station 86 at 400 E. 37th St.
In 2010, the fire department would eliminate the medical response vehicle assigned to Station 89, 17408 S.E. 15th St., and lay off six paramedics, Bivins said.
Council members didn’t seem willing to make those cuts in public safety.
“I think the basic reason for having a city is public safety,” Councilwoman Pat Jollota said.
Vancouver has struggled to balance its budget for most of this decade. It has approved a series of fee increases and bumped up the sales tax to the maximum 1 percent (the full sales tax is 8.2 percent in Vancouver) in August 2005.
But it also has made significant cuts to parks and other programs, as a way to shield police and fire from the budget ax.
Councilwoman Jeanne Harris said the council needs to consider all options, including utility, motor vehicle and business and occupation taxes.
“Don’t paint me as someone who loves taxes,” Harris said. “But I also believe we have a responsibility to collect a fair price for the services provided.”
In 2006, the council appeared ready to reimpose a city business and occupation tax, which had been phased out over a 10-year period beginning in the early 1990s. But the council’s political will quickly faded in the face of a concerted lobbying effort by the business community.
**SCHNIPP**
First, let us allow the possibility that this is nothing more than a tabloid headline from the columbian, to stir up trouble and sell newspapers. I wouldn't put it past Jeff Mize to have manufactured this out of whole cloth, based on a rumor.
That said...
Here we go again. It seems that every few years we get these threats out of City Council to cut Police and Fire protection unless such and so happens.
The last time we got this threat was when the City was going hot and heavy after the B&O tax, which Identity Clark County screamed bloody murder about, and the City ultimately backed down from. This may be another run at that, or an increase in the per-head tax.
But as I have long said, the City's twin Number One priorities are Police and Fire protection, and everything else comes after that. The City stands zero chance of justifying massive tax cuts or reductions in either Police or Fire when they are pursuing tax-increment financing to come up with $12.5 Million for the former Boise Cascade site development. That $2 Million or more a year that the City spends on the Hilton would go a long way toward paying for Police and Fire too, but that rant belongs to someone else, and I don't even need to go there...
This debate is going to give the usual suspects ample fodder to beat on the podium with their shoes, too. I suspect we can look forward to yet another live tirade from Larry Patella at a City Council meeting in the near future, and frankly, I hope Larry does it right this time, and has the stones to get belligerent enough to get himself arrested this time.
The columbian is boycotting Kommander Kneekap's outrageous letters to the editor these days, (primarily because they violated their own letters rules policy earlier this year over another of Patella's tedious sermons...) so Larry is desperate for a public forum to shout from. Since CVTV covers Council meetings, all of Larry's close friends can ooh and ahh over him live. I'm frankly amazed that he never shows up to the Port of Vancouver meetings since CVTV covers them too...but I'd hate to give him any ideas.
But the biggest question of them all in this Boys and Girls, as always, is What Will Pat Campbell Do about this?? How can the City have this kind of problem at all, since Pat Campbell successfully attached himself to Dan Tonkovich's old, well chewed, public teat??
::)
Monday, May 12, 2008
By Jeffrey Mize, Columbian Staff Writer
Vancouver might jack up taxes on sewer, water and drainage to prevent major spending cuts in police and fire.
The city currently tacks a 16 percent tax onto each of those services when it sends out utility bills. Increasing each to 20 percent would net an estimated $2.4 million annually.
Raising those utility taxes is one of the few options open to the city that do not require voter approval. Vancouver’s taxes on electricity, natural gas and telephone already are at 6 percent and cannot be raised without a public vote.
City council members heard a gloomy report Friday on what cuts police and fire could make because of a projected $6 million budget deficit for the 2009-10 biennium.
Police Chief Cliff Cook rattled off a list of cuts he would make, gutting many specialty programs and concentrating officers on patrol, the department’s core mission to respond to emergencies.
Cook said he would cut 11 officer positions —eight that are currently vacant plus three officers who would be laid off —along with 13 civilian employees, of which only three spots are vacant.
Some of the cuts outlined by Cook include:
— No school resource officer for the Vancouver Public Schools or participation in a metro gang task force.
— Reassign all three officers assigned now to the Career Criminal Apprehension Team.
— Reassign two of the four officers on neighborhood response teams.
— Reassign three of seven detectives working on property crimes.
— Reassign two of three drug task force detectives.
Fire Chief Don Bivins said his department would cancel plans to build Fire Station 810 at Northeast 164th Avenue and 15th Street, near the southwest corner of Pacific Community Park.
The city already has budgeted to build the station and hire 13 firefighters in 2009. If the department is hit with a budget cut, it would not hire those firefighters and shift the construction dollars to relocate and rebuild Station 86 at 400 E. 37th St.
In 2010, the fire department would eliminate the medical response vehicle assigned to Station 89, 17408 S.E. 15th St., and lay off six paramedics, Bivins said.
Council members didn’t seem willing to make those cuts in public safety.
“I think the basic reason for having a city is public safety,” Councilwoman Pat Jollota said.
Vancouver has struggled to balance its budget for most of this decade. It has approved a series of fee increases and bumped up the sales tax to the maximum 1 percent (the full sales tax is 8.2 percent in Vancouver) in August 2005.
But it also has made significant cuts to parks and other programs, as a way to shield police and fire from the budget ax.
Councilwoman Jeanne Harris said the council needs to consider all options, including utility, motor vehicle and business and occupation taxes.
“Don’t paint me as someone who loves taxes,” Harris said. “But I also believe we have a responsibility to collect a fair price for the services provided.”
In 2006, the council appeared ready to reimpose a city business and occupation tax, which had been phased out over a 10-year period beginning in the early 1990s. But the council’s political will quickly faded in the face of a concerted lobbying effort by the business community.
**SCHNIPP**
First, let us allow the possibility that this is nothing more than a tabloid headline from the columbian, to stir up trouble and sell newspapers. I wouldn't put it past Jeff Mize to have manufactured this out of whole cloth, based on a rumor.
That said...
Here we go again. It seems that every few years we get these threats out of City Council to cut Police and Fire protection unless such and so happens.
The last time we got this threat was when the City was going hot and heavy after the B&O tax, which Identity Clark County screamed bloody murder about, and the City ultimately backed down from. This may be another run at that, or an increase in the per-head tax.
But as I have long said, the City's twin Number One priorities are Police and Fire protection, and everything else comes after that. The City stands zero chance of justifying massive tax cuts or reductions in either Police or Fire when they are pursuing tax-increment financing to come up with $12.5 Million for the former Boise Cascade site development. That $2 Million or more a year that the City spends on the Hilton would go a long way toward paying for Police and Fire too, but that rant belongs to someone else, and I don't even need to go there...
This debate is going to give the usual suspects ample fodder to beat on the podium with their shoes, too. I suspect we can look forward to yet another live tirade from Larry Patella at a City Council meeting in the near future, and frankly, I hope Larry does it right this time, and has the stones to get belligerent enough to get himself arrested this time.
The columbian is boycotting Kommander Kneekap's outrageous letters to the editor these days, (primarily because they violated their own letters rules policy earlier this year over another of Patella's tedious sermons...) so Larry is desperate for a public forum to shout from. Since CVTV covers Council meetings, all of Larry's close friends can ooh and ahh over him live. I'm frankly amazed that he never shows up to the Port of Vancouver meetings since CVTV covers them too...but I'd hate to give him any ideas.
But the biggest question of them all in this Boys and Girls, as always, is What Will Pat Campbell Do about this?? How can the City have this kind of problem at all, since Pat Campbell successfully attached himself to Dan Tonkovich's old, well chewed, public teat??
::)