Tacoma City Council

2010-2012
Priorities and Goals

Study Session
February 22, 2011
 EDUCATION
1) Continue to Make Education a Civic
Priority
• Work to implement the recommendations made
by the Mayor’s Task Force on Education
• Tacoma 360 as a focus area
• College Success Foundation City scholarships

• Support national and state legislation to improve

student outcomes

• Position Tacoma as lead city in WA to attract Race

to the Top funding

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 EDUCATION
2) Work with the Library Board of Trustees and the
community to evaluate the library system and its
needs, including:
• Technology’s role
• Funding

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 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

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 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
2) Create Urban Design Plan
• Create more density where needed
• Use existing plans, including the Mobility
Master Plan
• Create a comprehensive vision for the
waterfront

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 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
3) Target High-Growth Business
Sectors
• Develop specific plans with stated goals
of how to attract/retain these types of
businesses, building on existing assets:
•Information technology/security
•Clean energy/environmental
•Health-care
•Manufacturing
• Develop a plan for Medical Mile
• Reach out to the military by coordinating with a proposed Pierce
County/Tacoma ombudsman office
• Keep momentum and passion on Asarco

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 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
4) Develop and implement branding
strategy for Tacoma
• Work with Tacoma Partnership to identify assets, themes
and messaging. Group of stakeholders includes:
- Education
- The Arts
- Business
- Recreation

• Accentuate and communicate the positives about Tacoma

• Take a more active approach
• Use the City’s website as an economic development tool 
• Explore creating a stand alone site for economic
development

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 SUSTAINABILITY/
NEIGHBORHOODS AND HOUSING
1) Create and Maintain Healthy
Neighborhoods
• Continue expansion of community gardens

• Adopt and implement an affordable housing policy, that

includes foreclosure issues
• Include “attractiveness” as a key element of healthy
neighborhoods
• Entry ways to our City
• Art elements in our neighborhoods
• Maintain City properties to be clean, attractive,
sustainable and efficient
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 SUSTAINABILITY/
NEIGHBORHOODS AND HOUSING
2) Implement the Green Ribbon Task Force
Recommendations
• Continue implementation of the plan
• Consider consolidation of sustainability offices
• Improve performance measurement
Reduce

Reuse

Sustainability

Product
Stewardship

Education &
Volunteer

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 SUSTAINABILITY/
NEIGHBORHOODS AND HOUSING
3) Develop Historic Preservation Plan
 Address needs of public, private, commercial and
residential properties
 Explore costs and benefits of a Public Development
Authority
 Find a balance with code enforcement and historic
preservation

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 SUSTAINABILITY/
NEIGHBORHOODS AND HOUSING
4) Address non attainment status
issues
 Measure wood stove replace rate
 Continue to explore funding mechanism
 Establish timeline for conversion
 Continue community outreach/education

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 PUBLIC SAFETY
1) Reduce youth gang involvement and gang-
related crime
• Continue to support gang assessment
• Continue to focus on prevention and intervention
• Work to secure federal funding

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 PUBLIC SAFETY

2) Crime Prevention
• Continue to support Safe Streets, Community Based
Services, policy recommendations, and citizen
engagement programs. Consider expansion of
Alcohol Impact Area (AIA).
• Ensure citizen involvement takes
place in crime prevention
• Assess and support investments in crime prevention
programs (e.g. citizen patrol program)
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 PUBLIC SAFETY
3) Grow and Maintain the Community Based Services
Program (CBS)
• Examine current CBS efforts and resources needed for
sustainability. Identify new neighborhoods to expand
program

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 PUBLIC SAFETY
4) Monitor and assess the safety net for
human services
• Assess the impact of legislative changes that are taking
place at the Federal, State and County levels

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 TRANSPORTATION
1) Improve Transportation Infrastructure
and Communicate Plan to Residents
• Continue funding street repair with an
additional $3.5 million in 2011.
• Identify residential and arterial streets that
will be repaired and notify property owners.
• Regularly communicate to the public about infrastructure
changes: where, when and the dollars spent.
• Build the case for infrastructure funding and a
transportation proposal, that would include the
Mobility Master Plan and Complete Streets

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 TRANSPORTATION
2) Create a Comprehensive
Transportation Strategy
• Develop master plan/mapping to connect and coordinate public
transportation routes with streets/arterials, trails, bicycle lanes and
complete streets. Connections should lead to downtown core and
waterfront. Explore water transportation as an option.
• Develop facts and strategies for Council members and staff to use to
influence and be engaged with the Puget Sound Regional Council on
priorities for projects.

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 TRANSPORTATION

3) Expand Streetcar Service

• Work with Sound Transit and Pierce Transit to lead a
partnership expanding Tacoma’s Link service.
• Work with neighborhood groups and stakeholders to
increase support for expansion.
• Collaborate with federal and state legislators to
secure and identify funding for capital and
operational needs.

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 GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
1)Examine further efficiencies and coordination
of government services between General
Government and TPU
• Permitting
• Departmental efficiencies, for example
Community Relations and Community and Media
Services; Government Relations

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 GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
2) Budget
• Monitor funding priorities for 2011-2012

• Review vacancy rates and continue quarterly budget

review.

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 GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
3) Create a Customer Service Culture of “YES”
• Remove barriers to effective service.
• Implement technology that would allow online payment of
fees the City collects
• Review web site, policies to make them more customer
friendly.
• Improve customer service for special event permitting

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 GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
4) Improve External Communication
• Work with Community Relations to take a pro-active
approach to promote the City Council’s agenda
• Use language that is simple to understand (no more
government speak); send out weekly press releases and
pitch stories touting accomplishments
in Tacoma to national media.

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 GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
5) Review Council meetings
 Conduct meetings in the community
 Review schedule of meetings: time, place and
frequency
6) Knowledge management
 Maintain institutional memory
 Prepare workforce to meet the evolving needs
of the community

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 RANKED BY PRIORITY
 Improve infrastructure and communicate plan (12)
 Engage the military population (7)
 Target high growth sectors (5)
 Plan for Medical Mile (5)
 Grow and maintain Community Based Services (4)
 Address the Library system (3)
 Conduct an Urban Design Plan (3)
 Examine further efficiencies and coordination of
government services (3)
 Develop facts and strategies to influence Puget Sound
Regional Council project priorities (3)

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 RANKED BY PRIORITY
 Address Historic Properties in terms of
safety and development (2)
 Implement the green ribbon
task force recommendations (2)
 Create and maintain healthy neighborhoods (1)
 Attract more conventions (1)
 Create and achieve a business and jobs goal (1)
 Evaluate the organization’s approach to
two offices of sustainability (1)
 Create a customer service culture of “YES” (1)

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 NEXT STEPS
The City Council will incorporate these
priorities into committee work plans, and
revisit these topics and action plans at on a
quarterly basis to monitor progress.

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