Kirkland City Council Candidates respond to first question in online election forum
Kirkland Views is conducting an online forum for the Kirkland City Council candidates. This is an opportunity for the public to get to know the candidates, how they think, and what positions they hold on the issues affecting our city and the region. Questions submitted by the public are vetted by a representative advisory panel, sent to the candidates and their responses are posted on these pages. For candidate bios, and more election information, please visit our Election HQ and Voter Guide pages.
Candidate Question Number One:
Should public money be directed toward charities?
If so, how does a government choose the charity?
Candidate Responses:
Martin Morgan – Position 1
No, I do not believe that public money should be directed toward charities.
If city government feels the need to give away public money,
it should be given to the public such as neighborhood associations.
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Joan McBride (incumbent) – Position 1
Yes, public money should be directed to non-profits, if the community has determined that there is an appropriate city purpose the non-profit can meet. The non-profit must have the expertise to meet the city need and be able to do so in an efficient manner. Like other cities, the non-profits that we contract with don’t receive ‘gifts’ of public funds, rather they receive grants or contracts for services. An example might be the Neighborhood Matching Grant Program. We set a policy, budget, and parameters for the grant program and neighborhood associations go through a process for the money and provide a report on outcomes. The grant programs help neighborhood associations enhance the quality of life within the neighborhood – definitely meeting an appropriate city purpose.
When it comes to human services, our Human Services Commission, reviews requests from service providers and makes recommendations for allocation of dedicated Kirkland funds. The Commission makes recommendations using established policies and goals. Agencies are ‘chosen’ based on a number of criteria, first they must meet the goals set by the Human Services Commission, they must have a track record and ability to report their outcomes and numbers of individuals served in Kirkland. Using contracts for services, the city of Kirkland supports, with limited resources, a number of non profits that provide important services to our citizens from arts organizations to business and neighborhood organizations.
Penny Sweet – Position 3
There should not be blanket prohibition of such funding.
Whether and where to direct dollars should be a local community decision determined by elected officials through a process they determine and implement. Ideally that process must include public input coupled with a needs assessment for the community.
In the past Kirkland has evaluated safety net needs for our community and we are probably overdue for an update to determine if taxpayer dollars are being directed where they should.
Our community should identify the needs faced by people in Kirkland and the surrounding region and direct available dollars to agencies addressing those needs such as KITH, food banks, adult day health, Eastside Domestic Violence Prevention, Hopelink, A Regional Coalition for Housing and others.
The council can define the criteria whereby they will provide support whether by direct funding, grant support, or even in providing promotional support for fundraising events.
There is a long history of governmental support for charities in this country dating back to the 1800’s. I doubt charities could survive without this support.
Brad Larssen – Position 3
This spending decision, like all budget decisions, should be made within the context of the budget as a whole.
The city budget should be developed based on funding basic services that reflect the priorities of Kirkland citizens. The level of service that is funded should be carefully planned based on stable, predictable revenues that are consistently available to fund those services.
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Karen Tennyson – Position 5
Directing public monies to non-profit organizations that address the needs of citizens is a part of responsible government process. At all times, governments owe their citizens careful due diligence before allocating taxpayer funds to any purpose. When economic times are bad (as now), we need to be more conservative about the amounts and the recipients.
Just as with any spending, the government must have a thoughtful priority ranking of “must haves” and “nice to haves.” For example, Kirkland’s support of Hopelink, KITH and like organizations, which support our less fortunate citizens with food and housing, helps the community as a whole. As another example, the Kirkland Performance Center receives funds from the city to help support their programs. The KPC contributes to the economic health of Kirkland by increasing the use of restaurants and other businesses in Kirkland by patrons attending their events. Neighborhood grants enable worthwhile projects, that in many cases, reduce costs to the City for maintenance or infrastructure.
As a member of the Council, I would first insist on proper review of all requests for funds, including a copy of the Organization’s tax return, financial statements and overall budget. We do not do this now, and from my perspective, it is an essential first step in evaluating need and accountability. Second, I would evaluate each request and determine its priority as a need for the City, and our overall ability to provide funding, if at all. There cannot be entitlements; approvals or reductions in funding should not be based on “what we’ve done before” or across-the-board percentage increases or decreases. Our decisions should be based on what is appropriate and what we can afford for our City now and in the future.
Amy Walen – Position 5
Short Answer: It depends on the definition of “charity”.
One of the fundamental reasons for the foundation of a city is to pool resources to pay for services that are for the betterment of all – police, fire, safety, the infrastructure required for civilized life. A city’s resources are basically held “in trust” for these purposes, and should never be used to enrich a particular group. I personally support Komen for the Cure, Salud (providing health care for farm workers), and other causes that I believe in. It would be never be appropriate for a Council member to use the influence of his office to recommend the use of public funds to contribute to his personal causes.
A “charity” is defined as “a foundation created to promote the public good”, and under this definition, there could be a “foundation” that the city could support with public funds if it furthered the city’s mission. The City currently commits funds to provide affordable housing in East King County through nonprofit agencies, such as ARCH.. The Comprehensive Plan states that the City should support these agencies and their effort to provide affordable housing to Eastside residents, particularly low-income.
The “pooling” of resources can greatly amplify the effectiveness of the initiative, beyond what either party could achieve alone. The goal should be to leverage assets to achieve their best possible utilization – getting the most out of what you have, and to promote public-private collaboration.
To determine whether a cause should be supported, the Council must refer to the Comprehensive Plan, its stated Mission: “the enhancement of Kirkland as a community for living, working and leisure, with an excellent quality of life which preserves the city’s existing charm and natural amenities”, and the framework prescribed for it to act within, under state law.
Matt Gregory – Position 5
No. Public entities are to provide public services funded through fees and taxes; they are not in the business of collecting monies to be given to charities, such as does United Way.
With that said, there may be exceptions by which a city could receive benefit on the public’s behalf by giving money, goods or services to a charity. Such a choice, though a public review process, would need to show one of the following:
- a public service can be better provided by outsourcing to a charity, similar to what is done when consultants or functions are contracted out.
- the public receives benefit through a sales tax increase as a result of increased expenditures locally, such as from a significant charity event like a festival or concurs.
- the public realizes altruistic gain by participating in a special event (like allowing right-of-way use) for the benefit of the collective body, such as a charities special parade , bike race, car show, fun run, or challenge walk .
Doreen Marchione – Position 7
The purpose of local government is to provide services that citizens cannot provide for themselves such as public safety, utilities, parks and open space. There are many other services that citizens need that our provided by non-profit organizations.
Who would provide housing for the homeless or food for those in need if we did not have organizations like KITH and Hopelink? The arts are an important part of our lives and we are fortunate to have the Kirkland Performance Center and the Kirkland Arts Center. While the Kirkland Parks Department provides a wide variety of activities, there is still a need for organizations like the Kirkland Boys and Girls Club. There are many other organizations that provide other services to Kirkland residents.
These non-profits are a vital part of our community. In order to be sustainable they need support from the entire community including government. Government can choose which non-profits to fund through an application process that includes criteria for establishing measurable outcomes for the non-profit. The organizations need to serve Kirkland residents and have low administrative costs.
The Council can have an established body like the Human Service Commission make recommendations to them about which organizations to fund based on the applications and past performance in fulfilling their contracts with the city.
Tom Hodgson (incumbent) – Position 7
Yes, government should work with private organizations to provide a safety net for our neighbors who are in need. As we do now, I think it is appropriate for the City Council to appoint representative members of the community to serve on our Human Services Board to make recommendations to best leverage our limited human services funds.
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Submit your Questions for the Candidates*
Submit your questions to the candidates either by email to kirklandviews@gmail.com or use the form below:
* Throughout the campaign, candidates will answer questions as submitted by you, the readers of Kirkland Views. If you have questions you would like answered by the candidates, email them to us at kirklandviews@gmail.com. Candidate responses will be posted on these pages.
Posted by Rob Butcher on Monday, June 22, 2009 at 7:20 am
Filed under Elections · Tagged with Elections
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Rob,
Thanks, this is a very good forum and format for voter information. If you can keep candidates “on topic” we’ll be better able to “separate the sheep from the goats.”
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Thanks, Jim.
My hope is this series of candidate questions will be an asset to the community. If you haven’t already submitted your questions to the candidates, please do so in the Candidate Question Form in the article above. Let’s hope there is not a challenge keeping some of the commenters “on topic” too! As a reminder to any commenter who wishes to stray off course and discuss issues that may be “off topic”, the Election Forum is open to all to post and start your own threads. I have created a section called Kirkland City Council Discussion for that purpose.
Thanks for your comments.
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What kind of a politician is Martin Morgan? His answer was short, clear and to the point.
Mr. Hodgson’s answer was short and to the point – too bad it was wrong. As an aside Tom, money spent for legal defense of the city is NOT considered ‘charity’.
Ms. McBride and Ms. Tennyson seem to confuse charities and non-profits. While all charities are non-profit organizations, the reverse is not true. CiViK is a 501 (c) non-profit, but I certainly don’t think (or at least I hope) Ms. Tennyson has no intention of directing tax dollars to them.
Ms. Sweet lists true charities (KITH, food banks, adult day health, Eastside Domestic Violence Prevention, Hopelink) and one would hope that neighborhood associations could be depended upon to make a choice to support those organizations.
Ms. Walen makes a clear argument in her second paragraph (”One of the fundamental…”) but I wish she (and most others) had said “The People should choose where the people’s money goes” This can be done by neighborhood groups refelecting their beliefs.
What if one neighborhood wants to give Tent City 4 $2,000 but another neighborhood thinks they should get a job – any job – before sucking on the public teat of generosity and compassion?
Growth of government is NEVER a recipie for lower costs and more effective spending.
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Well said. Thanks
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John, I could not have said it better, There seems to be some confusion about the difference between a charity and a non-profit. Some of these current council members seem unaware that there is a difference. That in its self if very concerning to me.
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I thought this was an interesting question. Ms. Tennyson and Ms. Sweet seemed to have a firm handle of the question. They both identified their views and seemed to want a more clear process of identifying and helping out specific charities. However, Ms. Tennyson was the only candidate to state what she would do if she was a member of the Council.
Ms. Walen’s response was more robotic than anything. It looked as if she just “copied and pasted” half of her answer. Though, she might not have a good grasp of what the community is really like here in Kirkland. I hope she answer the next question as if she is part of the community rather than looking up legal documents.
Mr. Morgan’s answer was simplistic and I felt he may not have had specfic charities or non-profits such as Hopelink or Eastside Domestic Violence Prevention. I don’t know if he has the fore-thought to understand the complexities as a Council member.
I can’t wait until the next question, this is such a great way for the community to stay involved!
-Kirklanteer
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Mr. Morgan is a working class man with a very simple answer. No where do I see a lack of understanding. He simply thinks that the city choosing a charity is not part of their responsibility. That, in my mind is the correct answer. Do we know which charity the city council has chosen to give our 1 million dollars?
Why the cover-up name? Why not come out of the closet?
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Kirklanteer:
Do you work for Ms. Tennyson’s campaign?
If so, that would be an important bit of information to include in your post along with your real name.
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You had good things to say about Mr. Morgan. Do you work for his campaign? This is ridiculous. I thought a few people had good things to say and some people did not.
Do you disagree with what I wrote?
If there was someone grossly incompetent and I had criticized them, would you write that I worked for their opponent?
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Me thinks thou doth protest too much.
It was a simple question and since you choose to use a pseudonym we have no way to know WHO you are. My cards are all on the table.
When you use phrases like “Ms. Tennyson was the only candidate to state what she would do if blah blah blah” vs “Mr. Morgan’s answer was simplistic” sounds a tad less than open minded.
I’m just saying IF you work for Ms. Tennyson, you should print your name and not use a pen name like Kikrlanteer. If you are not on her campaign, there should be nothing to prevent you from stating “I have no connection with Ms. Tennyson’s campaign.”
I publish the Eastside Sun and have interviewed MANY of the candidates and do not work for or donate to ANY of their campaigns.
I accept ads from any of em!
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Mr. Morgan has the right idea. Since the amount of money the city redistributes to charity is more than a million, he might want to think about using some of it to lower taxes instead of giving away the full amount.
[Edited for content] While many non-profit agencies the city supports are credit worthy, the city should not take money from taxpayers who may want to contribute to agencies of their choice.
More money could be made available for neighborhoods.
When she says she believes in the public process, [Edited for content]
One of her special interest is affordable housing. 25% of Kirkland housing units are now categorized as affordable and subsidized with taxpayer money. Since when is it best for government to encourage housing that does not balance it’s own budget. Services have to be paid for. When it comes to balancing the budget, affordable housing is a liability, not an asset. The more affordable housing we have, the less money we have to run government. Miami-Dade County almost went broke because of too much affordable housing. As a Councilmember, Ms. McBride needs to support those who pay the bills if we are to have a sustainable budget.
The Growth Management Act has designated the counties, not cities, as the agencies to distribute affordable housing. Heavily subsidized bussing allows low wage earners to commute to a job anywhere within the county.
Ms. McBride’s thinks all government services are essential. She’s wrong.
[Edited for content]
Ms. Sweet said there should not be a blanket prohibition on charity funding. Why not? Charitable organizations should rely on volunteer contributions, not on someone or the government taking money out of our pockets to pay for something other than we support. Every December when the budget is adopted, non-profit organizations with their professionally paid beggars line up to beg for city funds, money that has been taken from us for city purposes. Let us contribute to who we want, not to the city wants.
When Ms. Sweet says there is a long history of governmental support in this county dating back to the 1800’s, she fails to acknowledge the constitution does not designate and may prohibit the federal government as being a charitable organization.
Talking about charities ability to survive, how about the families’ ability to survive given our current economic situation if you take more and more money out of our pockets to pay for special interest.
Mr. Brad Larssen is correct when saying budget decisions should be made with the contest of the budget as a whole. However, he doesn’t not address the amount of fee and tax increases it takes to fund governmental non-essential services. He should tell us what he considers essential, non-essential, and core services that are necessary in a sustainable budget.
Ms. Karen Tennyson supports directing public monies to non-profit organization that address the needs of citizens is part of responsible government process. She doesn’t address the needs of taxpayers. She supports the $50,000 subsidy to the Kirkland Performance Center that was supposed to be a business able to support itself on its own without a subsidy more than 3 years ago. Is the Kirkland Performance Center (KPC) a non-profit organization? I think not. Not everyone goes to the KPC so why should everyone be taxed? Without the subsidy, the KPC is running in the red. It is a non-essential service that people may not use, want, or need. To tax all of us is not appropriate.
Ms. Walen’s short answer is well thought of; however, in describing the “city’s mission”, it should be within the context of what is an essential and a non-essential service of government. The government needs to be defined. In my opinion, it does not include tax money to be redistributed in the form of charitable gifts to non-profit organization. The pooling of resources is a great idea for government services and should not include charitable organizations that have the responsibility to pool their own resources without tax money. The Comprehensive Plan does say the City should support non-profit organizations, but not at the expense of essential “government” services.
Mr. Gregory answer is a good one. The public review process needs to be used to show if a charity can best be done when they are contracted out. Something he left out is that whatever contract is made that the money comes from the charity, not from the city. They are in the business of doing good but at what cost to government. When a charity puts on a festival, it brings in revenue to the city. The revenue should be identified as being for the charity or taxable to the city. The money the Kirkland Performance Center brings in is not taxed. That’s wrong. The altruistic gain by participating in special events should be cost neutral.
Ms. Marchione says the purpose of local government is to provide services that citizens cannot provide for themselves such as public safety, utilities, parks, and open space. She fails to mention that individuals have a responsibility to take care of themselves and not be a liability to society depending on government to bail them out. [Edited for content]. She attended council meetings during the budget process asking for contributions to her non-profit business. Hopelink is a business that determines where their money is spent. Without seeing their budget, I believe they had money to fill their empty shelves but they spent it on something else. By creating a budget shortfall in a crucial area of their budget, it becomes a reason for asking for more money. The city does the same thing – diverting money from the general fund to pay for special interest instead of funding “core” services.
The people they serve should be entirely or partially responsible for whatever situation they are in. Without means testing, there’s no way of knowing if a recipient of a charity or entitlement of taxpayer money is warranted. For that reason, I prefer to give my money to another charitable organization.
The Kirkland Boys and Girl Club is a worthy organization; however not everyone has kids. If the parents of kids cannot afford their services, to tax everyone would be unfair especially if they made it their choice to not have children.
Almost everything Ms. Marchione supports she says is a vital part of our community. So are families that have to pay for bad decision, and something they don’t want, need, or use. To say the organizations fulfill their contracts with the city is only true if the city overlooks other needed essential expenditures.
Tom Hodgson says that private organizations provide a safety net to our neighbors in need. The safety net should not become an unwarranted entitlement especially if it means not funding essential services. Human services needs means testing, not just handing out goodies to become a reason to raise fees and taxes. Remember the free cheese being given to people in motor homes. I do and we don’t need more subsidies to people who should be taking care of themselves were it not government doing it for them. That’s not participating in Obama’s “era of responsibility.”
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So, hypothetically, if the KPC brings people to town who spend money on dinner and wander through the shops, the city’s contribution could be seen as an investment in a city feature that provides a return, couldn’t it? Your tax dollars are generating revenue. Does it tip in our favor? No idea.
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DAMN good point Tia.
Nothing like a return on investment to make an organization worthy of support (are you listening General Motors, AIG, Chase etc?)
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We need to first determine what services government ought to provide. Government services must be essential (important enough that we’re willing to use force, such as taking people’s property or jailing them if they refuse to contribute their share of the cost, which is the reality with all government acts). Government services must be authorized by the constitution, and must not compete with services provided by the private or non-profit sectors.
Once we’ve determined which services should be provided, we then need to determine the most cost-effective means of providing those services. Sometimes, it is more cost-effective to contract out than to use government employees to provide an essential service, particularly when economies of scale can be achieved by pooling resources with other jurisdictions. Sometimes, that contracting out will be with non-profit or charitable organizations. But this “direction of public money toward charities” should ALWAYS be for specific, restricted, contracted purposes, not unrestricted gifts, and should be directed to the lowest qualified bidder as with all other government contracting.
The fundamental problem here, I think, is that too many councilmembers and candidates have too expansive a view of what constitutes an essential government service.
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Toby,
With the exception of the military, can you name ANYTHING gov’t does
ore cost effectively than the private sector ?
Don’t say health care cause 60% of the cost is gov’t caused or mandated
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I don’t disagree with you, John. But there ARE a number of things the government needs to have done that simply don’t exist as private sector services, and in those cases it does make sense for them to be performed by government employees — police, fire, and courts among them.
It’s interesting to note that when the bills was passed in the state legislature providing for collective bargaining of wages of state employees, part of the deal was that services would be examined to determine which it would be more economical to contract out — and that government employees would be able to bid on the contracts. To the best of my knowledge, not a single state government job has yet been converted to a contracted function. And it’s not because the government employees underbid the private contractors — it’s just because nobody has actually tried.
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Toby,
With the exception of the military, can you name ANYTHING gov’t does more cost effectively than the private sector ?
Don’t say health care cause 60% of the cost is gov’t caused or mandated
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