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Thursday, June 5, 2008

Tim Burgess Asks: What Shouldn’t We Cut?

posted by on June 5 at 13:48 PM

City Council member Tim Burgess is running a survey on his web site (it’s in the lefthand column) asking the public to choose their top priority for this year’s city budget. (A staffer says the survey’s mostly a tool for raising public awareness of the choices council members face, and says Burgess doesn’t plan to put it to any official use). After I clicked the button for “Transportation, walking and bicycle trails, etc.,” I took a look at the results: Nearly 28 percent gave top ranking to human services, with transportation and police/criminal justice tied for a distant second with 18.5 percent each. Although I’m assuming only a few people have actually voted, those numbers track pretty closely with what people have been saying at the council’s budget town halls: Human services, usually the first area to face cuts in lean budget times (see, for example, below), are also the thing the public cherishes most dearly. Somewhat sadly, the spending category that’s currently getting the least survey love is libraries, with fewer than one percent ranking them at the top of their lists. The city’s library system is reportedly one of the most vulnerable city departments going into this year’s round of budget cuts.

RSS icon Comments

1

Helps if you put the link in Erica!

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger | June 5, 2008 1:54 PM
2

No link. I can't find it at his city website either.

Posted by Fnarf | June 5, 2008 1:55 PM
3

I want the link NOW NOW NOW!!! I want it NOW!!!!!

Posted by Spoiled Bratty Slogger | June 5, 2008 2:02 PM
4

http://www.timburgess.com/

It's on the left-hand column...

Over 111 people have voted so far!!

Posted by jake | June 5, 2008 2:04 PM
5

Well of course libraries are running dead last. Other than librarians, who thinks they're THE top priority for a city? The poll should allow ranking, or at least more than one choice.

Posted by Tiktok | June 5, 2008 2:08 PM
6

Let's take the 34 percent for police and remove 10 percent that's wasted on non-violent drug crimes (possession not dealing) and put half of it into transportation and double that.

And insist all city council and mayoral staff take the bus to work and use city pool cars if they need to get to a meeting - those are hybrids.

And maybe buy some bicycles - why can't they use bikes to get around, then we'll save money on their health care ...

Posted by Will in Seattle | June 5, 2008 2:10 PM
7

I do.

Posted by Fnarf | June 5, 2008 2:10 PM
8

Is there a way to protest $160,000 to R. Mak?

lbloom.net for level of public wages.

why not cut wages by needed percentage?

Posted by ouch | June 5, 2008 2:11 PM
9

A pity. Seattles libraries rock.

Posted by Art | June 5, 2008 2:11 PM
10

Let's cut all salaries of anyone making $100,000 or more by 10 percent.

Sounds fair to me.

We'll call it a carbon guzzling tax.

I agree about libraries - STOP cutting them!

Posted by Will in Seattle | June 5, 2008 2:17 PM
11

I wish I could vote for all of them, but as someone who has recently become handicapped I had to vote for human services.

Posted by elswinger | June 5, 2008 2:18 PM
12

Well, DUH. I'm a HUGE library supporter. But I don't for a minute think they should be our number ONE priority...that would be ridiculous.

But it doesn't mean I think the library is pointless or shouldn't get any money or should have its budget slashed to bits, either. What kind of stupidass unscientific useless poll is that?? Geez.

Posted by meara | June 5, 2008 2:42 PM
13

haha people now hate the firefighters more than the librarians, the hot women are beating the hot men. straight men win, gay men lose.

Posted by vooodooo84 | June 5, 2008 2:46 PM
14

It's still ridiculous that arts and music are ahead of libraries. There's plenty of privately funded arts and entertainment out there. I don't see any private sector alternative to libraries.

Posted by keshmeshi | June 5, 2008 3:01 PM
15

Sorry about the link! Our blogging template can be wonky - I'll try to fix.

Posted by ECB | June 5, 2008 3:12 PM
16

Wowsa, don't cut social services but fire and police are expendable? This is bass akwards.
Makes sense in a way. There will be greater need for social services if peoples' houses burn down and they are beaten on the streets.

Posted by Zander | June 5, 2008 3:26 PM
17

Uugh. Tim Burgess. Mr. I'm gonna do everything in my power to help the wealthy and organized neighborhoods and kiss up to Greg Nickels. I don't give a **** about the disenfranchised. I have a slot of campaign contributors I need to work for...

Posted by Not a Tim fan | June 5, 2008 9:22 PM
18

What I still don't get after all these years in town is why SPL is funded straight of the city's budget while KCLS has its budget locked in thanks to property taxes.

So while SPL can have its budget looted for whatever solid gold trolley car to nowhere Nickels wants today, the King County Council can't do the same to KCLS.

Isn't it time we tied SPL's operating budget to property taxes?

Posted by dw | June 5, 2008 10:13 PM
19

Well, the libraries work smashingly. With an abundance of patience, I've had a hard time finding something I can't get from the library in time....the people asking for change all over the streets seem to be evidence to the contrary on the human services front.

So ya, I agree with those sentiments; a thin budget that's already not working should be tops on the "don't make worse" list.

Posted by derek | June 5, 2008 10:32 PM
20

could somebody write a good template and link it for a letter in support of continued funding for libraries... It would be helpful.

Posted by Yohnson | June 5, 2008 10:36 PM
21

the fact that voters are asked to tabulate their tops concerns is insulting and fear mongering. Although its attempt is probably to instill a sense of community, it actually instills a lack of confidence. Budget crises or no, it is the task of government to weigh all of these necessities evenly and evaluate any excessive or at least indulgent spending (you know, police campaigns against local bars, company cars, yadda yadda...) and begin there. Asking people to choose between fire men and houses is just being a jerk.

Posted by Yohnson | June 5, 2008 10:49 PM
22

I would support the libraries if the collections did not suck ass big time. Seriously, stop building the libraries and fucking start stocking them with books written in the last 10 years!

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger | June 6, 2008 7:16 AM
23

Cato, you can't find the books you want at the library because of a history of the city cutting their budget. Here we are again. Last year was the first time--- since 2000--- that the library was awarded the collections budget they need. I can see they're still trying to repair the damage.

The way to get those books is to tell the city you're sick of not finding them. Do that by voting the library as your priority at www.timburgess.com. The city is entirely responsible for a collections budget that affords what you want and if they don't get any feedback from you that you want more books we'll see cuts at the library again.

See www.friendsofspl.wordpress.com for the Friends of The Seattle Public Library's blog or email advocacy@splfriends.org for more info on a template to write to councilmembers or to get involved in helping the library.

Posted by reader | June 6, 2008 2:55 PM

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