I think that there may be a way to make this priorities discussion work out to the benefit of the citizens. Councilmember Ockerlander has said "I don’t think our job as a government is to identify one priority – it is to provide our core services and also take into account what our citizens have told us."
Well here is your opportunity to tell her, as well as the rest of the council, what you think the priorities for Duvall should be.
We can keep it simple and list out the top three priorities that you have and then I will invite them to look at the list and take it into account. Hopefully they will see what is important to the citizens and actually listen to what the people want.
So here are my top three.
1.Appropriate funding of Police, Fire and Emergency services.
2. Open government (including responding to emails and full disclosure during public record requests)
3. No more fee increases, tax increases or other "revenue" increases without trimming government waste.
Now it is your turn. List your top three and let your voice be heard.
So I just looked at the City's website and I saw what the Mayor says about priorities. On the home page of the city site it says:
ReplyDelete"The City of Duvall is committed to meeting and improving the needs of the community in planning and providing essential services such as law enforcement, public utilities, streets, parks, and recreation for today and the future."
Since when is recreation for today and the future an essential service of the government?!?
I can entertain myself. Quit raising fees and taxes to provide entertainment for people who don't even live in our city limits!
Hello McFly! Anybody home?
Dave
My top 3 are as follows:
ReplyDelete1 - Provide for the safety of the communityj by providing the following:
a - Police / Fire / Medical
b - Road maintenance and repair
c - Add / maintain sidewalks and pedestrian accesses
2 - Be aware of the economic realities in and around the community. Examples:
a - Raising taxes or imposing fees will not help when there are so many people unemployed or employed at a job that pays less than they made at a previous position.
b - Recreation is a nice way to relax and enjoy time with friends and families but it is clearly not a necessity for survival and so funding for it should be cut back appropriately.
3 - Be open about what the government is doing. For example:
a - Share the reasons for making decisions with the community.
b - Be consistent with when and where meetings are held, and advertise the agenda far enough in advance that people can attend when a topic is of particular interest to them.
c - Be respectful of people who don't see things your way. Take the time to listen to their perspective and understand it before you respond. Remember that the city council is there to meet the needs of every member of the community, and not just the ones who agree with you.
Great list. I like the examples too. I think it is important to show examples fo the Council can take appropriate action.
ReplyDelete1. Public Safety
ReplyDelete2. Public Safety
3. Public Safety
Tell you what council - you fund police and fire and I'll sponsor the community events. Deal?
Steve
I propose dividing priorities into two categories -
ReplyDelete1) General Government Priorities (and)
2) Individual Council Member Responsibilities
1. General Government Priorities
A) Public Safety;
B) Economic Recovery (for "vibrant businesses" don't install a B&O tax; for residents quit raising taxes and fees);
C) Maintenance of public services - roads, parks, safe routes to school
2. Individual Council Member (and city staff) Responsibilities
A) Open and accountable government and that includes honesty and integrity
B) Attendance - you sign up for a committee, you go to it
C) oh, and Open and Accountable Government.
I agree that police funding has to be the top priority. I think transportation is next (assuming they are required projects). Then I would say economic recovery(no taxes would be the place to start rather than a new director of economic growth.)
ReplyDeleteOne of the main resposibilities of local government is to provide police. most other things can be done cheaper and more efficiently by private enterprise.
Supposedly transportation is something the city can't do anything with - according to Depty Mayor Gary Gill (at council meeting in July). He said it wasn't something the city can fund, really. Its just federal and state dollars. I have to disagree. The City CAN put transportation high on the list - it can start a HWY 203 Safety Improvements Committee with other valley cities to reduce accidents, etc.; the City can actively search for local, state and federal grant money for roads, traffic lights, synching traffic lights, etc.; the City can make certain it prioritizes the right projects based on what citizens need, not on frivolity.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that many of our transportation issues (novelty hill, 124th etc) are in the counties jurisdiction but the city can do many projects within the city limits.
ReplyDeleteThere is a transportation improvement plan but it is not easily accessible to the public and will take some deciphering if you can actually get a copy.
It would go a long way towards helping the public understand the process if the Public Works department made a simplified list of all upcoming projects and a rundown of the transportation improvement plan and posted it on the website.
I think it is a cop out to say there is nothing they can do.
ReplyDeleteHere is my list of what I want the city to do.
1. Pay for Police and emergency services.
2. Be open about what the city is doing.
3. Stay out of my life.
Easy right?
I will agree that public transportation is a difficult topic given how many fingers there are in that particular pie. I do think that the city can do some things to help ease the pain however.
ReplyDeleteMy single biggest complaint around public transportation within Duvall is the lack of sidewalks. The stretch along 203 between dowtown Duvall and Safeway is awful. I see a lot of cars slam on brakes or swing wide to avoid pedestrians, actions which impact the flow of traffic in both directions, but the pedestrians have very few, if any alternatives unless they are willing to walk up Stephens, over to Big Rock and then down to Safeway - even then there is only a sidewalk for about 2/3rd of the way.
I was very encouraged to see some new sidewalks going in around the substation! This is a very positive move, and I encourage everyone to thank the city for helping make it happen. I'd love to see 203 next, and then Big Rock Road from Safeway to the ball park.
There are plenty of things the city can do to ease transportation, exactly. But taking parking away in and around downtown isn't one of them.
ReplyDeleteCan we all agree on that?
For sidewalks: people have long-advocated for better connectivity. Amy Ockerlander is the newest council member to take up the cause. In fact, she said at a recent council meeting that she and some city staffers watched as the city of Aberdeen received an award for its sidewalk program. She thought the program was excellent and just what Duvall needs.
Apparently that city allows residents to pay a flat fee for sidewalks in front of their homes, etc.
I guess I have some questions.
1) What does someone have to pay?
2) Is it voluntary?
3) If it is voluntary, and one resident doesn't want to pay (or can't afford) the flat fee, what happens then? Do you have a disconnected, partially complete mishmash?
Does anyone know what Aberdeen residents pay? Do other cities closer to home have some similar program?
Sounds like a half-baked idea to me.
Okay Folks, did you not drive down Novelty Hill when you viewed your home, talk to your future neighbors about the sidewalks, or research the flood history in the valley! Who makes an investment in something so large (such as a home) without doing their homework? If you didn't like what you saw or heard or researched, no one was twisting your arm to live here. If we cannot afford to staff the police then WE CANNOT AFFORD SIDEWALKS, WIDER ROADS, OR ALTERNATE ROUTES!
ReplyDeleteHere here! to the person who said "...if we cannot afford to staff the police then WE CANNOT AFFORD SIDEWALKS, WIDER ROADS, OR ALTERNATE ROUTES!"
ReplyDeleteThomas, your blog is starting to look like the Christmas list the council wants to put together. People! This isn't about "what cool things can we add" and this isn't about finding grant funding from county, state and federal sources. EVERY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT IS OUT OF MONEY. Now is the time for us to decide what is the bare minimum we want our tax dollars to fund.
I do not want what little money government has to fund music night and new sidewalks. I want the money to go to public safety and the minimum necessary maintenance on our existing roads and infrastructure (which does not include parks, by the way). This isn't hard - think of what you cannot live without that you can't supply yourself.
Dave
I used to live in Kirkland, and that idiot city council decided to force people to pay for their own sidewalks. I, like 300 other residents, got a bill in the mail for $10,000. Fortunately that was during a time of rapidly escalating housing prices so homeowners could get a home equity loan to pay for it. Please try to imagine what you would do today, in Duvall, if you all of a sudden received a bill from the City of Duvall for $10,000 to build a sidewalk.
ReplyDeleteSidewalks are nice to have, not a must have. I don't have a spare $10,000 laying around and neither should the government. I bought my house without a sidewalk and I can live without a sidewalk at least until the economy recovers, if not longer.
By the way, the citizens of Kirkland threatened legal action so the idiot council abandoned the policy. Read all about it here:
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/City+drops+unpopular+sidewalk+policy+Kirkland.(East+Local+News)-a0108700139
Jill
I think the point was already made about how much of a dependency there is on the state department of transportation, and on federal monies for major road work, especially in unincorporated king county. There is very little that the City of Duvall as an entity can do about that by itself. On the other hand public safety services (police, fire, medical, animal control), sidewalks, and maintenance of existing infrastructure are easily within the reach of the city's abilities to deliver.
ReplyDeleteDave,
ReplyDeleteI agree the sidewalks for everyone may be a bit of a Christmas list item. I am glad to see that most of the items brought up are reasonable and prudent, in my opinion. What do you see as the Christmas list items. Perhaps we are closer together on this than you think.
Here are the Christmas list items:
ReplyDelete1. Add sidewalks / pedestrian access
2. Hwy 203 safety improvement committee - what the heck for, how often have we had a really bad accident on 203 in Duvall city limits??
3....grant money for roads, traffic lights, synching traffic lights, etc. You want MORE traffic lights? Seriously? The traffic lights need to be synched? Seriously? It takes 5 minutes to drive through town even if you miss all the lights. And you need this RIGHT now? In this economy? Seriously?
Thanks for asking, Thomas.
Dave
Dave,
ReplyDeleteYou make some good points there. As far a traffic lights go, lets tear them all out. I much prefer roundabouts anyway.
I love it! I'm so glad to see other people feel the way I do! And...WOW!...$10K for sidewalks per house...that is out of this world nuts!
ReplyDeleteLet's hope enough citizens come together to write the council (particularly 'Amy O' who brought this insane idea up) to let them know we're not on board with more fees, higher taxes...and all for no priorities or clear direction.
I am 110 percent on board with the people above who have commented that safety is number one. And that sidewalks, traffic lights, music night, etc. should not trump safety: police, fire and emergency services.
It always amazes me how some people in government just don't get it. Duvall PD has worked HARD to make this the safest city and they haven't been able to do it alone - they needed support from the community, the go-ahead from the City to get the job done. Now, according to Brudnicki, Walker, Ockerlander and maybe some other council members, we'll just put events and small town feel ahead of safety?
They can say what they want but their actions are speaking loudly here: by not going ahead with a grant-funded officer to replace the one that left Duvall a couple of years ago they will pass up a huge opportunity to keep safety on top.
I bet if they found a grant that would fund Duvall Days for 3 of the 4 upcoming years, they would jump at it.
Thomas... Thomas... Thomas... (shaking my head),
ReplyDeleteWait until after the economy recovers before you suggest tearing out the stop lights. Stop helping the council think of MORE projects to do. We would be much better off if everyone but police only worked (and was paid for) 3 days a week. It would save us money and the city would have less time to think up more projects to justify their existance.
This is a great blog - by the way!
Dave
Thanks Dave.
ReplyDeleteTo clarify I am not suggesting we tear out stop lights to put in roundabouts. I am just saying that instead of installing new stop lights I would prefer that they installed roundabouts. Low maintenance, low installation costs, good traffic flow and pretty flowers in the middle. (the last part was me throwing a bone to Elizabeth Walker and the sustainability folks.)
(see I am a nice guy)
Here are my top three.
ReplyDelete1. Public safety and prompt emergency response.
2. Less government spending. (actually less spending not creative financing)
3. More open government. This may seem like a catch phrase but I really have no idea whats going on at the city level unless I read it hear or in the paper. I cant make the council meetings and the other meetings they schedule are not listed in the paper.
It makes me wonder why they don't do that anymore.
Well that my 2 cents.
Colton
They shouldn't have gone to the Times anyway - they should be publishing meeting announcements locally, in the local papers. People expect it there.
ReplyDeleteI like the comment above: less spending and not creative financing.
Here here!
I agree that the city should post in the local paper but I could be accused of being biased because I volunteer to write for them occasionally. It just seems like the right thing to do to list what your doing in the local paper.
ReplyDeleteWhich paper - Valley View or River Current?
ReplyDeleteThe fact that we have a local paper is cool. I know some little communities that are missing that. A local paper goes a long way at making people feel connected in a little town.
Hey, that fits in the priority fo small town, small rural feel, doesn't it!
Rob - here's some suggestions for possible blog discussion points:
ReplyDeleteNovember is fast approaching. What criteria do we look at when we choose whether to retain the incumbent or replace them? Where there is no incumbent to retain, what criteria do we use to differentiate between the candidates?
Great idea. See the new post.
ReplyDeleteThanks