Pierce County Council Seeks Senior Funding (20. June 2006, 20:01 by Derek Young) ~ Somebody Has To Do It

It isn’t all fun and games… and condos and real estate in our city. Every once in a while folks have to do the work that makes keeps us ticking as a city. The Pierce County Council has announced its priorities for 2007. Tops on the list is a significant increase in senior center funding. Other items include performance audits, increased jail capacity, and more public works engineers. Not as much fun as talking about coffee shops, but somebody has to do it.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 20, 2006

Contacts:
Council Chair Shawn Bunney, (253) 798-7770
Councilmember Tim Farrell, (253) 798-7774

Council wants increased senior center funding in 2007

TACOMA – Nearly doubling senior center funding, hiring sheriff’s deputies and public works engineers, opening new jail space and continuing to improve the permitting process are some of the things the Pierce County Council wants to see in the county’s preliminary 2007 budget.

“We believe the executive should fund the positions the council initiated in the 2006 budget and address these additional priorities in the 2007 budget,” Council Chair Shawn Bunney said during today’s passage of Resolution R2006-77s at its regular meeting in Tacoma.

“As our population ages, the county needs to step-up its support of senior centers in our community,” said Councilmember Tim Farrell, who represents Tacoma center/Ruston. “This is one of the vital services Pierce County can provide to the citizens of Tacoma and Ruston.”

The council supports nearly doubling senior center funding in 2007, to $300,000. Councilmembers want the remainder of the positions they added to the 2006 budget to be funded and filled. These include $50,000 for contracting of data analysis for performance audits and $500,000 for five additional neighborhood patrol sheriff’s deputies – one each in the Peninsula and Foothills detachments and three in Central Patrol.

The council also supports:

• staffing the 12 unfilled engineering positions in the Public Works & Utilities Department;

• opening an additional housing pod at the Pierce County Jail (each pod holds up to 84 inmates; there are currently three pods that have not yet been opened);and

• continued implementation of the recommendations of last year’s Planning and Land Services (PALS) performance audit, which sought to improve the department’s organization and shorten wait times for building permits.

Today’s action was in response to requests for early input on the budget by Pierce County Executive John Ladenberg. The preliminary 2007 budget should be presented to the council in October. ###