The Tacoma City Council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution to halt the consolidation of resources between Tacoma Public Utilities (TPU) and the city government.
Consolidation began after Tacoma voters approved Proposition 3 in November 1992, which stated that TPU should use the services of the city government for finance, purchasing, human resources and other offices and agencies, except when otherwise directed by Tacoma City Council. The purpose of the proposition was to save taxpayers money – the consolidation of purchasing alone saved $400,000.
The consolidation has continued since the proposition passed. But a general management survey, recently ordered by the council, concluded that no further consolidation is needed. The council, therefore, voted to halt the consolidation and allow TPU to have its own information-technology staff, to continue to manage customer billing and general government, and to maintain its own lobbyists. Henceforth, the council is charted with insuring that TPU’s legislative agenda does not conflict with that of the city government.
“Council never really took affirmative action to end that process (of consolidation) and this will accomplish that task,” said Mayor Bill Baarsma, who first introduced the resolution earlier this month. “It will essentially close the door (on further consolidation).”
When the council first took up the issue more than a decade ago, it was contentious. Then-TPU Director Ted Coates compared the council to the Soviet Union Politburo. When he introduced the resolution, Baarsma – who supported the measure in 1992 – stressed the importance of a good working relationship between TPU and the city.
Although consolidation will effectively stop, Baarsma said he would like TPU to adopt other changes to link it closer with the general government of the city, including using the same telephone prefix as city offices and using the city logo on vehicles and letterhead.
