Happy holidays, and welcome to our 2007 Year-In-Review.
This year may go down as the year of transportation funding. By now, I hope you know the story. The amount of resources we have available today for basic street maintenance and safety hasn’t changed in 24 years, despite inflation and significant cost increases.
The cost of transportation, it turns out, is just like everything else. It’s subject to market forces that require periodic adjustment of cost and funding.
After more than a year of study, public input, and refinement, an 89-person steering committee comprised of every transportation interest we could think of unanimously recommended our funding package to city council for a vote on January 9, 2008.
While we still await council’s formal vote, I am confident my colleagues will embrace this package. They understand the amount of public input and scrutiny it has received and the importance of this effort. Although it’s not a done deal until the votes are called, we can celebrate the herculean effort transportation staff, our steering committee members, and so many in the community have put into achieving this recommendation to council.
So transportation has absorbed a lot of time, but we’ve been earning other very significant accomplishments along the way.
Let’s start first with the environment.
The Bureau of Environmental Services’ Eastside Big Pipe project is progressing on schedule and budget. At the same time, we are moving the bureau to even more sustainable management practices.
We call this the “Grey to Green” transition. We manage stormwater as close to the source as possible using nature’s own tools (trees, bioswales, ecoroofs, etc.) instead of channeling it underground in concrete pipes for chemical treatment. This transition will take decades to fully execute throughout the city, but saves taxpayer dollars now and beyond in addition to providing aesthetic and other benefits.
As part of “Grey to Green” we adopted a Green Streets Policy this year, strengthened the Watershed Investment Fund, developed the award-winning Mt. Tabor School rain garden, and awarded a record amount of grant money for community-led sustainable stormwater projects.
All told, “Grey to Green” represents a fundamental change in how we do business and I’m proud of the work BES and my staff have done to get this going.
Of course, economic development remains a core priority for me—it always will.
We eliminated what was the nation’s only local tax on venture capital--the seed money startup companies need to test new ideas in the market. Frankly, it’s exactly the kind of capital that should not be taxed if you want to encourage job growth and productivity. Multnomah County followed suit by eliminating their tax as well.
When you elected me, I promised to establish liaisons from each of my bureaus to neighborhood business districts. I’ve kept my word and we’ve now expanded the liaison capacity to every neighborhood business district in the city. Serving a concierge-like role, our liaisons help navigate the city bureaucracy for busy small business owners so they can focus on their businesses. It reflects my belief that government should help, not hinder, economic development and I’m proud to say the program has been well-received in the neighborhoods.
Arts and culture are still under-funded in Portland, but we’re making headway. The most noteworthy accomplishment in 2007 was launching our Creative Capacity Strategy. More than ever before innovation is key to economic success, but it doesn’t happen on its own. Our challenge is to create a local environment that celebrates—and funds—creativity. This strategy is our blueprint for success.
If 2007 feels like it’s been only about transportation funding in my office, I can certainly understand. However, let the record reflect the broad range of important work we’ve accomplished on behalf of every Portlander.
The work doesn’t get done without the support of great staff in my office and in the bureaus as well as my fantastic colleagues on city council. Thanks to Mayor Tom Potter, City Commissioners Randy Leonard, Dan Saltzman, and Erik Sten. And most of all, thank you for your support.