Money

Dear Editor,

With politicians in D.C. jabbering about when the massive government stimulus will start yielding results, we’re already beginning to see the fruits of their efforts.

As the Ballard News-Tribune reported, King County recently received $79 million of federal stimulus. While of course welcome in today’s dire economic straits, the distribution of these funds and the very means of their procurement offer a glimpse at one of the candidates fighting to become our next King County Executive.

The acquisition of these vital funds, as well as millions more currently pending, are “part of an organized effort to maximize the benefits to King County from federal stimulus funding sponsored by council chair Dow Constantine” as reported by the News-Tribune.

In fact, Mr. Constantine has even authored legislation to create post that will be in charge of “identify[ing] appropriate grant opportunities and communicate timelines (…) to ensure timely submission of applications” in an effort to maximize the effect of the government stimulus in King County.

King County has been awarded nine federal economic stimulus grants totaling almost $79 million, funds which will be used to create or retain 192 jobs, according to a report issued by the county executive’s office.

The report is part of an organized effort to maximize the benefits to King County from federal stimulus funding sponsored by council chair Dow Constantine. Another 22 county stimulus applications—totaling $78 million and creating another 602 potential jobs—are pending and King County has also worked with regional and national partners on preparing another nine grant applications.

“By adopting an organized game plan for pursuing federal stimulus funds, King County has already realized significant benefits, especially as it pertains to job creation and retention” said Constantine. “In these tough economic times, it is imperative we focus significant effort on bringing job opportunities to the citizens of King County.”

Among the grants obtained by King County were:

- An award of $400,000 to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to allow for the retention of prosecutor’s staff.

Best Regards owner Mary Hurley has announced her last few days of business. The store will close to customers Saturday, June 27 and the storefront vacated by June 30.

The cards and stationery store at 2242 N.W. Market St., will be closing its doors after 16 years in Ballard.

Hurley is hoping to sell racks and fixtures from her store to other Ballard business owners at a "great deal." All merchandise is at a 50 percent discount, too.

The slumping economy played a large part in her decision to close the store, said Hurley last month when she announced she would close her business.

Hurley, a past president of the Ballard District Council, said a pending hike in her lease due to the sale of the building has also impacted her decision.

"Since last fall, it's been really tough to keep it together," she told the Ballard News-Tribune last month.

Hurley said she will miss the store and her customers, though, as a Ballard resident, she will still see them around the neighborhood.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed being here," she said.

A report on the budgets of 13 U.S. cities, by the Pew Charitable Trusts, singles out Seattle as being “in the best fiscal situation," and by comparison, the report lists Detroit as in the worst situation.

“While we have our challenges, I’m not surprised that Seattle was singled out in the Pew report," said Mayor Greg Nickels in a statement. "We have faced adversity before in 2002. We cut deep then and grew smart, including building up our ‘rainy day fund’ to more than $30 million today. Our financial house is in good order and we will weather the current storm."

The report titled, “Tough Decisions and Limited Options: How Philadelphia and Other Cities are Balancing Budgets in a Time of Recession,” was issued on May 18.

It looks at the budgets in 13 cities: Atlanta; Baltimore; Boston; Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Detroit; Kansas City, Mo.; Los Angeles; New York; Phoenix; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; and Seattle. The cities were chosen for either having something in common with Philadelphia or for providing a different perspective. Seattle was chosen to provide geographic diversity.

The Seattle City Council has approved to allow the expenditure of $3.2 million in Community Development Block Grant funds by amending amend the City’s approved 2009 budget.

The City will receive these funds as part of the Federal Economic Stimulus Funding Legislation, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The money will support small business lending and facilities improvements for local food banks, child care programs, a teen parent home, and rental housing for seniors, according to the city.

“In order to get our local economy back on track, we have to provide direct monetary support to small businesses and funding for organizations helping people impacted by the economic slow-down,” said Council member Richard McIver, chair of the council’s Housing and Economic Development Committee.  “I am pleased that federal stimulus monies have been made available to give Seattle citizens and small business owners the support they need during these difficult times.”

The $3.2 million in Community Development Block Grant funding will go toward:

(Editor's note: The following article appears originally in Seattle City Council member Bruce Harrell's E-Newsletter "Positive Focus.")

You may have tuned in to the Energy and Technology Committee meeting of April 1, 2009, and heard the presentation and ensuing discussion with City Light Superintendent Jorge Carrasco.

The presentation painted a dire picture of the utility’s current financial condition. In my opinion, the utility’s proposed solution to cut some core customer service elements were presented as a precursor to a request for a rate increase.

In a press release dated, April 1, 2009, Mayor Greg Nickels proclaimed that he would not request a rate increase in 2009 and that he is supportive of the proposed cuts. On April 9, council president Richard Conlin and I co-wrote a letter to the superintendent, requesting that the utility re-examine many of their cuts.

Our concern was that some may be ill-advised and could possibly produce unintended consequences. For example, cutting costs in tree trimming, which is designed to reduce the frequency of power outages, may not produce the actual savings we desire.

The Metropolitan King County Council recently adopted a set of priorities to guide the county executive’s development of a budget plan for 2010 with priority placed on efficiency in government and the protection of public safety, health and human services, and the physical environment.

The county is facing a gap between projected revenues and expenses for next year approaching 50 million dollars.

“The economic challenges facing King County call upon us to find ways to maintain the safety net for our most needy and vulnerable populations, and to provide mandated services in a period of shrinking revenues,” said council member Larry Gossett, chair of the council’s Budget and Fiscal Management Committee. “The priorities we adopted today reflect the idea that in protecting the safety, health, and quality of life of King County citizens, we must look beyond our standard way of preparing the budget.”

It’s graduation time at colleges across the country. If you have children graduating from college, you’re probably excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for them. But once your last child leaves home, and you become an “empty nester,” you also may find some good opportunities for yourself — opportunities to improve your financial situation.

In fact, your empty nester status may help you make progress toward what are likely some key financial goals at this stage of your life: Getting rid of debt and accelerating your savings for retirement.

What steps should you consider? For starters, you could downsize your home by moving into a smaller, less expensive one. If you make a profit on the sale of your home, you could use it to invest for retirement and clear up debts. Of course, you may be emotionally attached to your home and neighborhood, but downsizing may be a good financial option to consider at some point.

Here are a few other suggestions for taking advantage of your empty nest:

(Editor's note: The following article appears originally in Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin' s newsletter "Making it Work.")

On Monday, May 11, the council committee of the whole on economic recovery approved a resolution outlining the strategies and actions that the council intends to undertake to mitigate the impacts of the current economic recession on Seattle residents and businesses, and to help promote the economic recovery of the city and region.

The council has worked with community members and businesses over the last few weeks to identify steps that we can take that will help those who are unemployed, at risk for foreclosure, or otherwise impacted by this severe recession.  We have identified 17 specific actions that we can take that will assist those in need, help businesses weather the current downturn, and prepare Seattle for the next economy.
The following actions are included in the resolution:

A new Chase sign was installed May 12 on the former Washington Mutual branch at the corner of 22nd Avenue Northwest and Northwest 56th Street.

In late September 2008, Washington Mutual was seized by federal regulators and sold to J.P. Morgan Chase in what was the biggest banking collapse in American history.

The Ballard WaMu branch has been undergoing changes, such as the new sign, new uniforms and interior construction, during the past few months as part of its conversion to Chase.

Washington Mutual was founded in 1889 and based in Seattle.