REPORTER STAFF
At a brief and orderly public hearing Tuesday, citizens offered comments and suggestions in response to Mayor John Marchione’s priorities for the City of Redmond’s 2009-10 budget.
Marchione presented his budget ideas to the Redmond City Council at their meeting on Oct. 14.
During Tuesday’s meeting in the Council Chambers at Redmond City Hall, Rachel Krefetz of the Housing Development Consortium, Linda Hall of the YWCA and Tom Granger of Habitat for Humanity praised the city’s commitment to providing affordable housing for low-income people and those in transition from homelessness or domestic violence.
Hall spoke of the rising need for housing in light of the current economy and the onset of winter weather.
“Stable housing matters,” Hall stated. Children’s grades improve and adults thrive in their workplace “when they have a place to call home,” she said.
In Marchione’s 2009-2010 offer summary, “addressing Redmond’s housing needs” is ranked the number two priority under the category of Infrastructure and Growth, with proposed funding of $599,081.
Tom Flynn, chairman of the Redmond Arts Commission, spoke to advocate a feasibility study for an arts facility in Redmond, noting that “arts drive economic development.” He said he would like to see a unique Redmond arts facility consistent with downtown expansion and more installations of public art in areas such as Overlake, as well as funding for maintenance of existing public art.
In Marchione’s budget proposal, no funding was recommended for “expanded Percent for Arts ordinance,” under the Community Building category.
Brian Dennis, a small business entrepreneur and Web developer, questioned the $300,000 funding proposed, under the category of Responsible Government, for creation of a new city Web site in 2009-10. He called the amount excessive and said, “I would like to see some shaving done.”
In an e-mail received the day after the public hearing, City of Redmond communication program manager Marta Gronlund told the Reporter that the $300,000 figure, to be spent over two years, broke down to around $60,000 for consultant services (design, navigation, templates, testing, etc.); $70,000 for a Content Management System (CMS) allowing anyone to update the site as needed; a one-time annual CMS fee of $12,000; and around $158,000 for a temp needed to maintain the current Web site while the Webmaster works on the new site, during the last six months of 2009 and 10 months of 2010. These estimates were based on comparable expenditures by the City of Kirkland and the City of Renton.
Also at Tuesday’s public hearing, Joe Townsend spoke on behalf of the Redmond Historical Society, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2009. He expressed appreciation for the $199,079 allocated to “preserving and sharing Redmond’s history,” under the category of Community Building in Marchione’s 2009-10 budget proposal.
John Couch asked the City Council to consider a long-range issue, the maintenance and operation of private streets which are deteriorating after 20 or 30 years of use.
Throughout 2008, citizens and city staff members have participated in a Budgeting by Priorities process to identify the most crucial needs and how to best spend taxpayers’ money to achieve priorities in six categories. Another public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18.
Full details about the proposed budget are on the city’s Web site at www.redmond.gov/BP.
