OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Tacoma City Council Meeting - November 12, 2024

City CouncilTuesday, November 12, 2024
BodyTacoma, Washington
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, November 12, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record

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Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

We're all ready, thank you.

0:03

All right.

0:06

I'd like to call to order the city council meeting of November 12th, 2024.

0:11

Clerk, will you please call the roll?

0:14

Councilmember Bushnell.

0:15

Present.

0:16

Councilmember Daniels.

0:20

Absent, Councilmember Diaz.

0:23

Here.

0:24

Deputy Mayor Hines.

0:28

Absent councilmember Rumba.

0:31

Here.

0:31

Councilmember Sidalga.

0:33

Here.

0:34

Councilmember Scott.

0:37

Here.

0:38

Councilmember Walker.

0:41

Here.

0:43

Mayor Woodards.

0:45

Here.

0:48

Please join me in listening to the land acknowledgement and flag salute led by Councilmember Walker, followed by a moment of silence.

1:08

Please join us.

1:53

We acknowledge that we live and work on the POL plans for the PL people live and work and speak the Lishutzi language.

2:04

Please join.

2:11

And remain standing for a moment of silence.

2:18

One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

3:16

I will entertain a motion to continue final reading of ordinance number two eight eight two eight nine nine one to the meeting of December third, twenty twenty-four at the request of staff.

3:26

Is there a motion and a second?

3:29

So moved.

3:31

Second.

3:33

All right.

3:34

Are there any council questions or comments?

3:37

Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye.

3:40

Aye.

3:41

Aye.

3:42

All those opposed.

3:44

The motion is declared adopted.

3:46

Final reading of ordinance number two eight nine nine one has been continued to the meeting of December 3rd, 2024.

3:52

Public comment will not be taken on this agenda item tonight.

3:56

Moving on, are there any additional agenda modifications to the agenda this evening?

4:01

Seeing none, we'll move on to the consent agenda.

4:04

There are no consent agenda items tonight.

4:06

There are also no proclamations, recognitions, or presentations.

4:10

Moving on to public comment on tonight's agenda.

4:13

There is one opportunity for people to comment.

4:15

And as a reminder, community forums have been rescheduled to the following dates.

4:20

Tuesday, November 19th, Tuesday, December 3rd, and Tuesday, December 17, 2024.

4:28

Moving on to public comment.

4:31

Under public comment, you can speak about motions, resolutions, and ordinances on tonight's agenda.

4:35

The forum is intended to give speakers the opportunity to share their viewpoints and feedback with the city council to aid in our decision making and is not meant to be a back and forth dialogue.

4:45

Your remarks should be directed to the city council and not to individual staff members.

4:50

If you want to speak under the public comment period, please press the raise your hand button at the bottom of your Zoom window now or star nine on your phone so we can see the number of people wishing to testify this evening.

5:01

If you are speaking in person, please sign up at the back of the room if you have not done so already.

5:06

Your name or the last four digits of your phone number will be called out when it's your turn to speak.

5:11

Clerk, will you please read?

5:13

This is the time set aside for public comment.

5:16

Speakers are asked to identify the specific legislation they wish to address.

5:21

All right, I would like to remind everyone to please keep your um comments respectful, relevant, focused, and on topic.

5:28

We strive to provide a comment period where people can feel respected while sharing a wide variety of viewpoints and acknowledge that we may hear comments that conflict with our values.

5:36

To ensure all speakers can express their First Amendment constitutional rights, we ask that you refrain from clapping, cheering, booing, or otherwise being disrupted.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████55%
Public Comment██████████████████████27%
Public Works███████████████18%
Summary of Proceedings

Tacoma City Council Meeting - November 12, 2024

The Tacoma City Council met on November 12, 2024, at 5:00 PM. The meeting covered final readings of four ordinances, a continuation of a fifth ordinance, and one public comment. All votes were unanimous among the seven present members (Councilmembers Daniels and Hines were absent).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Michelle Reich spoke on Ordinance 28990 (alarm device code amendments). She expressed concern that false alarm service fees are already too high and argued that some alarms classified as false are actually triggered by attempted burglaries (e.g., a cat setting off an interior alarm, or a prowler jiggling a door or throwing a rock through a window). She noted that such incidents are often false alarms in the system but represent real security threats.

Discussion Items

  • Continuation of Ordinance 28991: The council approved a motion to continue the final reading of Ordinance 28991 (amending business and occupation tax for International Investment Management Services) to the meeting of December 3, 2024, at the request of staff.

  • Final Reading of Ordinances: Four ordinances were presented for final reading after being introduced the previous week. No additional council discussion occurred.

    • Ordinance 28987: Amends the compensation plan to implement pay rates for employees represented by IBEW Local 483 (Clerical and Power Units) and Teamsters Local 117 (General Unit).
    • Ordinance 28988: Authorizes Tacoma Rail to update the Rail Rate Policy to include a ceiling on the working cash balance.
    • Ordinance 28989: Authorizes reissuance of Tacoma Municipal Belt Line freight switching and demurrage tariffs effective January 1, 2025, and a switching tariff supplement effective January 1, 2026.
    • Ordinance 28990: Amends the municipal code regarding alarm devices, including increasing false alarm service fees, adding an option to not respond to locations with excessive false alarms, and requiring alarm companies to confirm valid alarms before requesting police response, effective January 1, 2025.

Key Outcomes

  • Ordinance 28987 passed unanimously (7-0, with Daniels and Hines absent).
  • Ordinance 28988 passed unanimously (7-0).
  • Ordinance 28989 passed unanimously (7-0).
  • Ordinance 28990 passed unanimously (7-0).
  • Ordinance 28991 was continued to December 3, 2024.
  • A motion to excuse Councilmember Daniels and Deputy Mayor Hines from the meeting was passed unanimously.
  • The meeting was adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

We're all ready, thank you. All right. I'd like to call to order the city council meeting of November 12th, 2024. Clerk, will you please call the roll? Councilmember Bushnell. Present. Councilmember Daniels. Absent, Councilmember Diaz. Here. Deputy Mayor Hines. Absent councilmember Rumba. Here. Councilmember Sidalga. Here. Councilmember Scott. Here. Councilmember Walker. Here. Mayor Woodards. Here. Please join me in listening to the land acknowledgement and flag salute led by Councilmember Walker, followed by a moment of silence. Please join us. We acknowledge that we live and work on the POL plans for the PL people live and work and speak the Lishutzi language. Please join. And remain standing for a moment of silence. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. I will entertain a motion to continue final reading of ordinance number two eight eight two eight nine nine one to the meeting of December third, twenty twenty-four at the request of staff. Is there a motion and a second? So moved. Second. All right. Are there any council questions or comments? Seeing none, all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. All those opposed. The motion is declared adopted. Final reading of ordinance number two eight nine nine one has been continued to the meeting of December 3rd, 2024. Public comment will not be taken on this agenda item tonight. Moving on, are there any additional agenda modifications to the agenda this evening? Seeing none, we'll move on to the consent agenda. There are no consent agenda items tonight. There are also no proclamations, recognitions, or presentations. Moving on to public comment on tonight's agenda. There is one opportunity for people to comment. And as a reminder, community forums have been rescheduled to the following dates. Tuesday, November 19th, Tuesday, December 3rd, and Tuesday, December 17, 2024. Moving on to public comment. Under public comment, you can speak about motions, resolutions, and ordinances on tonight's agenda. The forum is intended to give speakers the opportunity to share their viewpoints and feedback with the city council to aid in our decision making and is not meant to be a back and forth dialogue.

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