A group quietly formed last fall as a business counseling committee to Vancouver City Manager Pat McDonnell's office is set to expand its membership and influence over city government.
During a State of the City speech on March 4, Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt announced plans for an expansion of the nine-member Business Leadership Advisory Council – one of Leavitt's key promises to the business community during last year's mayoral campaign.
In the weeks since his speech, the mayor's office has been swamped with inquiries about joining BLAC, which Leavitt says will be expanded by as many as 10 new members over the next few months.
"We could make it as large as the number of folks that want to participate, but we don't want it to be too unwieldy," Leavitt told the VBJ last week. "The city manager will look over the list and allow those folks to join as seems appropriate."'
The city envisions a fully-functional and expanded BLAC as acting as a sounding board and advisory body to the City Manager and key staff regarding policy and operational issues, including significant property transactions involving city-owned land and facilities, proposed tax measures and economic development.
The group held its first meeting on Oct. 15, missing scheduled monthly meetings in December and February. In total, the committee has met four times since BLAC was created. "The council members are very busy individuals," said Betsy Williams, assistant city manager and BLAC coordinator. "The meetings are cancelled if fewer than five can attend."
Leavitt says he wants the city manager's office and city council to take BLAC's recommendations seriously, and hopes to release names of new BLAC members by the end of April. "These are diverse folks that have specific expertise in the business community," he said. "They would help the city build stronger relations and improve dialogue with the business community."
Meanwhile, the city manager's office has also made a goal in bringing the orientation process for existing BLAC members to a close. "It's a two-way communication," Williams said. "These meetings are already helping us understand what business leaders are hoping to achieve through the city in terms of economic development and other services."
Williams notes that much of the council's time has been spent discussing the city's strategic plan, which will tackle a projected budget deficit of up to $12 million by the 2011-12 fiscal year. "We're asking the committee to help identify priorities to hear their perspective on how we might address the shortfall," Williams said.
As part of his participation on BLAC, attorney Don Russo of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt assessed a list of goals in the city's budget, which included livable communities, safe communities and functional transportation systems. "I don't see how you could rate those because they're all interrelated," Russo said. "We're going to have to make recommendations for cuts in all of those areas."
Whatever form the BLAC takes in the future, the committee will have to make tough choices to address a structural deficit that goes beyond the economic downturn, according to Williams. "One concern council members raised is that our personnel costs are high, and they suggested that we look into adjusting healthcare benefits," she said.
Williams also notes that BLAC members have had quite a few conversations about streamlining the city's permitting process.
"Permitting is a huge, huge issue in terms of timeliness," Russo said. "We're getting started on recommendations for a city office that's a one-stop shop for new companies to go to get all the permits they would need."
Another BLAC member, Vancouver Downtown Association executive director Lee Rafferty, looked forward to playing a larger role in developing city policy. "We've been in the mode of learning more about the city, but by the April meeting we should be getting into much more meaty issues," Rafferty said.
Still, Russo emphasized the need to stay focused, even as the group planned to add more members and to expand its advisory role. "We're trying to work together as a group," he said. "We're very early in the process, but I think we're all hoping to have some solid recommendations soon."
Leavitt says he appreciates BLAC's opportunity to weigh in on the city's strategic plan and hopes the group will tackle other special issues that the city faces.
"What's inspiring for me is that there are folks coming out of the woodwork wanting to get involved," Leavitt said. "There are lots of folks that have expressed an interest in shaping the future of our city from a business perspective."
