Tacoma City Council Study Session – March 10, 2026
Tacoma City Council Study Session – March 10, 2026
This study session, held on March 10, 2026, was called to order by Mayor Ibsen at 11:30 AM. The council discussed four major topics: follow-up from the 2026 Council Retreat, reenvisioning the Community Forum, an update on the East Portland Avenue project requiring eminent domain, and an adjustment to the Bill Credit Assistance Program (BCAP). No formal votes were taken during the study session; directional guidance was provided for staff to develop next steps.
Discussion Items
-
2026 Council Retreat Follow-Up – Strategic Director Jacques Cologne presented the results of the February 20 retreat, outlining council priorities for the budget and city manager’s work plan. Key themes included: improving media and communications (with a focus on both outward messaging and community engagement), addressing homelessness through the Unified Regional Approach (URA), making Tacoma the best place to do business in the Puget Sound, and advancing community safety (including youth violence prevention, therapeutic courts, and domestic violence programs). Council members provided additional detail: Councilmember Walker emphasized the need for consistent community outreach across all projects; Councilmember Hines questioned the “why” behind communications; Deputy Mayor Bushnell called for a refreshed media strategy and noting the realities of the Seattle media market; Councilmember Palmer suggested social media and measurable baselines; Councilmember Rumbaugh separated “rebuilding hope,” therapeutic courts, and domestic violence as distinct priorities. Council also discussed the need for measurable outcomes tied to outputs, especially regarding homelessness. The mayor summarized three overarching umbrella priorities: homelessness/URA, business climate, and public safety (root causes), with communications as a cross-cutting theme. Council agreed to a two-track next step: (1) a committee-of-the-whole study session to identify ownership of specific priority items, and (2) empowering the city manager’s office to refine the work plan, to be reviewed by the Operations and Administration Committee (OSAC) before returning to the full council.
-
Community Forum – Mayor Ibsen led an open discussion on redesigning the community forum. Councilmembers shared a range of ideas: Councilmember Rumbaugh emphasized that the forum should serve the public’s need to raise concerns and receive responses; Councilmember Walker noted the value of handling hyper-local service issues; Councilmember Hines proposed separating community forum from council meetings, using online options, and rotating locations to council districts (e.g., high schools) during lighter months; Councilmember Diaz suggested a rotating district schedule (one per district per year) to improve accessibility and reduce burden on tech staff; Councilmember Sidalgay stressed the need for intentional outreach in historically underrepresented districts and recommended recording but not necessarily live-streaming; Councilmember Palmer added language interpretation and proactive accessibility. Ideas included: having a dedicated council response time on the agenda, holding forums at different times (e.g., weekends), and offering food. The mayor summarized key elements: a clear purpose that serves both policy input and service resolution; equitable, district-based locations; decoupling from council meetings; a balance of topical and open-ended discussion; and aligning with neighborhood council structures. The next step is a first draft to be presented to OSAC on Friday, March 13, followed by public feedback.
-
East Portland Avenue Project (Eminent Domain) – Susie Rogers, Real Property Manager, presented an update on the East Portland Avenue road improvement project between East 64th and East 72nd Streets. The project includes resurfacing, ADA ramp upgrades, traffic calming bulb-outs, and a new HAWK beacon at East 68th Street. The city has acquired all necessary property rights from eight parcels except one (the Tuscany Apartments, owned by a Washington LLC). Despite over a dozen attempts to contact the owner since September 2025, the city has not received a response. The city requires a 204-square-foot fee acquisition for the signal control cabinet. Rogers recommended approval of an emergency condemnation ordinance to allow the city to proceed with eminent domain, as required to avoid losing state and federal funding. Councilmember Sidalgay requested clarification that this is a separate project from the larger I-5 to 56th design. Other council members noted that eminent domain is a last resort and often leads to settlement. The ordinance will be presented for first and final reading at the evening council meeting.
-
Bill Credit Assistance Program (BCAP) Update – Deputy City Manager Alison Griffith reported that BCAP, a utility assistance program providing credits for wastewater, stormwater, solid waste, water, and power, has seen increased usage due to expanded eligibility. Environmental Services (ES) funds are anticipated to be fully expended within three months. The city will use operational savings within utility funds to sustain the program through 2026, and the program’s funding will be addressed in the 2027-28 budget process. Councilmember Hines confirmed the funds come from ratepayers, not the general fund, and praised the program’s success in reaching more residents. The council discussed a potential opt-in donation option (e.g., rounding up) and confirmed that TPU already allows customer donations.
-
Agenda Review and City Manager’s Weekly Report – The council reviewed the evening’s agenda, which included a ceremonial recognition of girls’ flag football teams and two public comment periods. No modifications were made.
Key Outcomes
- Retreat Priorities: Council directed staff to proceed with two concurrent tracks: (1) a committee-of-the-whole study session to identify council member ownership of specific priority items, and (2) the city manager’s office to develop a refined work plan for OSAC review. Additional detail on communications, business climate, and public safety was provided.
- Community Forum: The mayor will bring a first draft proposal to OSAC on March 13, incorporating feedback on purpose, district-based rotation, decoupling from council meetings, online options, intentional outreach, and language interpretation.
- East Portland Avenue Project: A final action ordinance authorizing the use of eminent domain for the Tuscany Apartments parcel will be presented for approval at the evening council meeting.
- BCAP: The program will continue through 2026 using operational savings; a sustainable funding model will be developed during the 2027-28 budget process. Council asked staff to explore a round-up donation option.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to call to order the city council study session of March 10th, 2026. Clerk, please call the roll. Deputy Mayor Bushnell. President. Councilmember Diaz. Councilmember Heinz. Councilmember Palmer. Councilmember Rumba. Here. Councilmember Sidalgay. Councilmember Scott. Here. Councilmember Walker. Here. Mayor Ibsen. Here. Our first agenda item is our follow-up from the 2026 Council Retreat. I'd like to call on Strategic Director Jacques Cologne to begin the presentation. Thank you, Mayor Ibsen, Deputy Mayor Bushnell, members of Council for the record. My name is Jacques Cologne. I serve as the director of the Center for Strategic Priorities in the City Manager's Office. And today I'll be presenting to you on the results of our 2026 City Council retreat, which we had on February 20th. So for today, if you might recall, we started the day with uh disk assessments where we talked about working styles. We are not going to go back and cover that portion of the agenda. But after that, you all talked about a theory of action as a council. We then transitioned into some priority setting exercises to help you identify some themes and prioritize, and then we identified some next steps at the retreat. For today, we'll cover all of those and find and talk to you about next steps that you would like to see. And specifically for today during this presentation, I'll be looking to council to help provide feedback on whether number one, these results accurately reflect and capture your priorities as well as desired next steps for you in translating these into action. So a quick reminder. And just a quick color reminder. Red dots were to help identify issues that you felt like you could take ownership of. Yellow dots indicated issues that you wanted to support owners of that issue. Blue dots reflected things that you wanted to see reflected in the city manager's work plan. And then green dots reflected high budget priorities. So when we talk about the purpose of the results of the retreat, those are the three areas that we will talk about. In the first area, creating clear pathways to action. In the second area of the work plan, identifying what are those highest priority items for reporting back to you as council. And then on the budget, identifying a small number of clear budget themes that allow us to move forward with some shared priorities. During the council's theory of action discussion, a lot was talked about. Before before we get into the results, I do want to remind you that when we talk about a theory of action, what we are talking about is how an organization intends to work to create the outcomes at once. So the how of how you want to address your priorities. One was identifying a clear vision for the city. In some ways, this vision has already been articulated through Tacoma 2035, with you as council, of course, continuing to refine that vision over time to reflect the needs of the community and your priorities. The second is a desire to use your platform to support positive narrative for Tacoma. A lot of things were said at the retreat about reshaping the narrative around Tacoma. As an example, I recall one of you talking about how the reputation of the Tacoma Aroma is something that we should directly address and retell that story about what Tacoma is now as opposed to what people think Tacoma is or was once upon a time. And then finally, to be effective in advancing your priorities, there was discussion about the need for focus. That came up in many different ways. You can see underneath that bullet point, there are several direct quotes from you at the retreat, talking about things like the time span of a council term not being the same time span as the problems that you're trying to address.
openpublica.com