Mayor offers resolution on relationship between city and TPU

Mayor Bill Baarsma has introduced a resolution that he hopes will clear up any confusion between Tacoma Public Utilities (TPU) and the city government.

In November 1992, Tacoma voters approved Proposition 3, which stated Tacoma Public Utilities shall use the services of the city general government for finance, purchasing, legal, human resources and other offices and agencies, except when otherwise directed by Tacoma City Council.

Baarsma noted that while a review of the city charter was conduced by a citizen committee at around this time, this measure was put on the ballot by the council outside that process. It was a 5-4 vote, with Baarsma, who was on the council at the time, casting one of the votes in favor.

The matter was contentious, he recalled. So many people showed up to testify that the meeting went past midnight. Ted Coates, who was TPU director at the time, was so strongly opposed that he compared the council to the Politburo, the ruling body of the former Soviet Union.

The measure was written by then City Manager Ray Corpuz and received strong support from Karen Vialle, who was mayor at the time, according to Baarsma.

At the time TPU and general government each had their own departments handling matters such as purchasing and human resources. Baarsma said Corpuz wanted to consolidate such services to reduce costs. Just consolidating purchasing resulted in savings of $400,000 to taxpayers, according to Baarsma.

The council recently ordered a general management survey of all utilities under the jurisdiction of the TPU board. It concluded that no further consolidation is needed. Baarsma’s resolution states that TPU is authorized to have its own information technology staff, can continue to manage customer billing for both utilities operated by TPU and general government, and can have its own lobbyists. Baarsma’s original resolution called for the city manager and TPU director to ensure that the legislative agenda of TPU does not conflict with that of the general government. At the request of Councilmember Jake Fey, this has been changed so that the council, not the city manager and TPU director, make this determination.

In addition, TPU would be able to manage its facilities separately from the facility management services of general government.

Baarsma hopes the resolution clears up any confusion on the matter, and provides for adherence to the charter. “I am a student of the charter,” he noted. “I want us to comply with the charter and close this door.”

Baarsma would like City Manager Eric Anderson and TPU Director Bill Gaines to meet to set strategic goals for the budgets of both entities.

Baarsma stressed the importance of good working relationships between the two entities. Electricity sales by Tacoma Power is a major source of revenue for the city, he noted, and will continue to provide a stable financial base for the city long into the future.

He would also like TPU to adopt other changes to link it closer with general government, such as using the same telephone prefix as city offices and use the city logo on vehicles and letterhead.

The council is expected to vote on the resolution during its July 29 meeting.

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