Tim Burgess' City View

Invest Early in Our Children to Build the Strongest Seattle

The following article was sent out in my City View Newsletter, which you can sign up to receive here.

What if Seattle became a national leader in providing early learning opportunities for all of our children?

To achieve this ideal, we must move at the speed of light. Why? Because the more we research how children learn and grow, the more we confirm investing early—years before kindergarten—yields the best results.

This morning, two national experts on early childhood development and learning briefed the City Council and made the case for early investments. You can review the presentations of Dr. Steven Barnett (National Institute for Early Education Research) and Dr. Sarah Roseberry Lytle (University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences) here and here.

Dr. Lytle told us that, only hours after birth, infants can tell the difference between their native language and a foreign language and that 85% of a child’s brain is developed by the time they are three years old.

A Groundbreaking Shift in Criminal Justice

Yesterday, amid a very full day discussing gun safety measures, criminal background checks, public campaign financing and homeless encampments, the Council heard about a groundbreaking shift in the way Washington State supervises individuals recently released from prison. 

The simple premise behind the change is this: swift and certain sanctions are more effective in changing the behavior of offenders under community supervision than sporadic and more severe punishments. In other words, an immediate night or weekend in jail successfully reinforces the message that condition-of-release violations bring consequences; a longer sentence announced a month after a violation occurs feels arbitrary to the violator and is not an effective way to change behavior.

Funding Approved to Reduce Gun Violence in Seattle

Today the City Council approved a supplement to our 2013 budget that includes two innovative measures I proposed to increase gun safety and reduce violence in Seattle:

(1) A one-time investment of $153,000 to University of Washington’s Harborview Medical Center for dynamic, new research that will lead to gun safety measures. According to NBC news, the City of Seattle will be the first city in the nation to provide direct funding for basic research into the causes and effects of gun violence.

(2) A one-time investment of $217,000 to Seattle-King County Public Health to implement an Enhanced Mental Health Emergency Management and Response system.

Gun violence is a public health crisis and this funding package enables Seattle to take positive action now. By jump-starting research blocked for so long by the NRA and by building the same emergency response system used by the Red Cross, we will increase public safety in Seattle.

Seattle Public Library Sets World Record

To kick off the Seattle Public Library's summer reading program, two college students worked with the Library to set a world record for the longest book domino chain: 2,131 books! The three-minute video is a must watch.

Seattle's Bridges

Questions have come up about the state of Seattle’s bridges in the wake of the I-5 Skagit River bridge collapse last week. Bridges are rated on a “sufficiency” scale of 0 to 100, with 100 meaning a sufficient bridge and 0 meaning a deficient bridge. As described on the Washington State Department of Transportation website, “The sufficiency rating doesn’t necessarily indicate a bridge’s ability to carry traffic loads. It helps determine which bridges may need repair or replacement, not potential for collapse.”

The I-5 Skagit River bridge was rated 57. As of last December, 37 of Seattle’s bridges had a sufficiency rating lower than 57, with several of those the subject of current or planned replacement or repair projects. A full list is available here.

The Seattle Department of Transportation made a presentation on the status and condition of our city’s bridges in January. The slides from that presentation include some interesting charts and data points.

Tracking Building Energy Use

Yesterday the City’s Office of Sustainability and Environment released a report detailing the energy usage of City-owned buildings. In our efforts to achieve carbon neutrality, it is important that we focus on the built environment. Roughly one-fifth of Seattle’s carbon footprint comes from building energy.

Starting April 1, owners of commercial and multifamily residential buildings of at least 20,000 square feet must report energy usage to the City on an annual basis. As the owner of more than 650 buildings, the city government is leading by example and disclosing even more than what is required.

The full report contains some interesting data benchmarked to national standards, if you want to take a look.

Response to NBA Decision

The NBA’s decision today is very disappointing to me and the thousands of Sonics fans in our city. I remain hopeful that Seattle can once again be home to NBA basketball in the coming years. Chris Hansen and his partners have displayed amazing commitment in their efforts to secure a team for Seattle’s fans. The City’s role has always been to prepare for a team should one be available. We will be prepared.

Seattle Channel Video on Nurse-Family Partnership

The Seattle Channel's CityStream show has a great new five-minute feature about The Nurse-Family Partnership. It shows why the Council keeps increasing funding for this very effective program.

A Safe and Clean Downtown

A safe and clean downtown is something we all want for our city. Taking a big step toward that end, the City Council voted unanimously yesterday to renew the Metropolitan Improvement District (MID) for 10 years and expand it to Belltown.

The MID is one of the city’s nonprofit Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) where landowners pay special assessments to contract with private firms that provide additional trash pick-up, alley cleaning and other services that make the neighborhood cleaner and safer. The Council considered this renewal and expansion after it was presented to the Council in a petition signed by a significant majority of the would-be MID ratepayers. Because state law limits City government’s ability to raise revenues, BIAs have become an important tool for business districts throughout Seattle to raise their own revenue to make their sidewalks, buildings and streets more inviting to residents and customers.  

Consistent with our focus on results, the Council amended the proposal to require a performance audit of the MID to ensure that these beneficial services continue to be provided in an effective manner.

Council Acts on Gun Safety

The City Council demonstrated leadership on gun safety today when my committee voted to fund a new public health gun safety package. 

According to previous news reports, the City of Seattle would be the first in the nation to provide direct funding for basic research into the causes and effects of gun violence.

Partnering with the University of Washington’s Harborview Medical Center and public health agencies, the $370,500 proposal will spur long-stalled research on gun violence and enhance the City and County’s response to mental health crises resulting from tragedies.

While our leaders in Olympia and Washington, D.C. failed to enact gun safety legislation this year, Seattle is demonstrating its leadership by taking positive action today. The people of Seattle overwhelmingly support doing everything we can to increase gun safety. This funding will jump-start research blocked by the National Rifle Association and build the same emergency response system used by the Red Cross.

The public health gun safety package includes two additions to the Mayor’s 1^st Quarter Supplemental budget detailed below.