Thursday, November 15, 2007
Two More Decisions to Make: Human Services and the Lodging Tax
As the Lakewood City Council marches toward a budget for 2008, there are two more loose strands to consider: how we allocate funds for human services and for tourism.
In the case of tourism, the Legislature requires that money collected from the hotel tax be spent on tourism. It has been a neat way of allocating seed money and marketing money to build economic development. The volunteer lodging tax board presented its proposals last night. You can read the recommendations here. There are a number of neat ideas to promote the community. Remember, tourists come and spend money, and then leave. They support a lot of the things we all enjoy.
Human services funding is more discretionary. Back when Lakewood incorporated, the original council agreed to set aside 1 percent of the general fund for programs that help the needy. For the first couple years I wrote this newsletter, my lists of these proposals got all the reaction of a yawn at a sleep apnea convention. But last year, a couple people decided to use the human services spending as an excuse for gay-bashing. (One of the several groups that would be funded provides a drop-in center for gay youth) And there were lively questions about to what extent these programs serve illegal immigrants. So who knows - this year's debate could also be lively. Meanwhile, you can read what our citizens' committee proposed for human services spending here.
In theory, these proposals will all be discussed on Monday when the council reaches a final decision on the budget. If people decide that Lakewood is the beachhead in the United States for where we can address nationwide issues involving gay people, illegal immigrants and public employees salaries, then it could be a long evening. But that's part of the job, and the challenge of balancing any and all of this is what keeps us all involved.
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In the case of tourism, the Legislature requires that money collected from the hotel tax be spent on tourism. It has been a neat way of allocating seed money and marketing money to build economic development. The volunteer lodging tax board presented its proposals last night. You can read the recommendations here. There are a number of neat ideas to promote the community. Remember, tourists come and spend money, and then leave. They support a lot of the things we all enjoy.
Human services funding is more discretionary. Back when Lakewood incorporated, the original council agreed to set aside 1 percent of the general fund for programs that help the needy. For the first couple years I wrote this newsletter, my lists of these proposals got all the reaction of a yawn at a sleep apnea convention. But last year, a couple people decided to use the human services spending as an excuse for gay-bashing. (One of the several groups that would be funded provides a drop-in center for gay youth) And there were lively questions about to what extent these programs serve illegal immigrants. So who knows - this year's debate could also be lively. Meanwhile, you can read what our citizens' committee proposed for human services spending here.
In theory, these proposals will all be discussed on Monday when the council reaches a final decision on the budget. If people decide that Lakewood is the beachhead in the United States for where we can address nationwide issues involving gay people, illegal immigrants and public employees salaries, then it could be a long evening. But that's part of the job, and the challenge of balancing any and all of this is what keeps us all involved.
