Comments on: The latest blotter: Smoke on Zig Zag Lane

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:55:00 +0000

For those of us following this sad saga, the end may be much nearer than imagined earlier in the year. At that time, the council sat silently each month as Debbie Mahler gave her financial report that indicated serious problems afoot. Then, Mr. Gilman caught everyone off guard with his revelation that the Subarea rezoning plan wasn’t exactly what the council thought it was going to be. Then, the mayor’s salary and position debacle came to light. Then, we had the revelation about Mr. Bob Snyder and the mayor’s seeming dismissal of the whistleblower message. THEN, we had/have the Langley Passage pending lawsuit. Just ahead, we have the appointment of a council position. Concurrent with that is the 2011 budget resolution. AND right after that – the council will resume deliberation on the Langley rezoning proposal – a potential HUGE change in Langley.How does this all fit with the 2011 budget? Like a glove. GotJobs (thanks very much) has pointed out the real machinations between the lines of the usually dull financial stuff by highlighting that the council can rewrite job descriptions, eliminate positions, re-do the org chart for the city and essentially take an already terminally ill “small town” (Gilman’s term, not mine in this instance) – and essentially cinch its fate as a complete and total no-growth city that will quickly morph into a non city, followed by massive cultural, social and even more catastrophic economic change. For those who are afraid to come to meetings or can’t attend, please send a surrogate tonight. And if you have concerns and haven’t sent a message, please do it now – email or hand carry. The council needs to hear from each and everyone who is paying attention. Don’t forget to ask that your message be made part of the public record!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:43:00 +0000

Thanks to Gotjobs for the agenda correction. Please note that you can download a copy of the budget by going to the Clerk-Treasurer’s Department on the city’s website. The Preliminary 2011 budget is available there.

The budget is in 4 sections so you can get all of it or select what is most meaningful to you.

Mr. Gilman proivdes us with the rule of law:
“The law (RCW 35A.33.070) also provides for a public hearing at which “Any taxpayer may appear and be heard for or against any part of the budget.” This hearing can extend over more than one meeting, and this year we are planning on doing that (Nov 15 and Dec 6). The public is also welcome to contact any of the council members to provide their thoughts on the budget.”

It would seem the city is obligated to provide complete copies of the budget to every citizen who attends the meetings but as we know, the city does not always follow its own rules or the state. And they may think everyone who attends the meeting has access to a computer. So, for those who do, it might be best to make a copy from the website. Then, those who don’t can have the hard copies the city provides. Or not.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:36:00 +0000

” For example, should the city have a specific economic development program? These are policy questions that are foundational for the budget.”

Isn’t one of the Comp Plan Elements supposted to be Economic Development — YES, unless you are a city that has “chosen to be a residential community”. What does that mean, exactly? Have we discussed this “residential community” in Langley?

Here is the State of Washington language re: the Economic Development Element:

7) An economic development element establishing local goals, policies, objectives, and provisions for economic growth and vitality and a high quality of life. The element shall include: (a) A summary of the local economy such as population, employment, payroll, sectors, businesses, sales, and other information as appropriate; (b) a summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the local economy defined as the commercial and industrial sectors and supporting factors such as land use, transportation, utilities, education, workforce, housing, and natural/cultural resources; and (c) an identification of policies, programs, and projects to foster economic growth and development and to address future needs. A city that has chosen to be a residential community is exempt from the economic development element requirement of this subsection.

Here is the summary from mrsc.org. “■New Mandatory Economic Development Element – A mandatory requirement for an economic development element was added to the required GMA comprehensive plan elements during the 2002 legislative session. The requirement may be found at RCW 36.70A.070(7) & (9). Although new or amended elements are to be adopted concurrent with the scheduled update provided in RCW 36.70A.130, that requirement is postponed until adequate state funding is available. See the MRSC Planning for Economic Development web page.”

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:29:00 +0000

Another way to provide more carryover, is for the city to reduce salaries to part time. And then the city won’t have the staff available to apply for grants or manage projects for infrastructure, or handle building permits, inspections and permit approvals so that the city is prepared to grow when growth presents itself again.

Let’s hope that whatever layoffs or salary reductions do not happen in the departments that actually dosupport and earn revenue for the city.

There are many ways to keep this city from growing, aren’t there?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:24:00 +0000

“The desired carry over at the end of 2011, however, needs to be different from 2010. How much of a change to make presents important policy questions. As I described in my previous post, the bigger the carry over is, the better we can handle future uncertainties in both revenue and expenses but the less money will be available for current expenses in 2011. Major trade-offs are involved here which the council will need to resolve as it sets the desired carry over for the end of 2011. That in turn will set the overall funds we will have to work with for 2011 expenses.”

The long and the short of this is that the only way to have more “carry over” is to reduce expenses or sell something, like a spare piece of property or unused building. You can bet this paragraph translates to more layoffs in the fair city of Langley.