City of Tacoma Washington sent this bulletin at 09/19/2025 10:45 AM PDT
Hello District 2,
It has been a long summer with many days above 80 degrees. I am sure the weather will be turning soon so we can enjoy the cool mornings, sunny afternoons, and changing colors of the leaves. Also, I for one am looking forward to picking our pumpkins from the garden. With the change in seasons comes thoughts about how we as a city will be ready for the changing weather. I am sure no one is thinking about snow in December, and there are no predictions as of yet whether this will be a mild or stormy winter. However, our Environmental Service and Public Works Departments will be here ready to go and serve our community.
Sincerely,
Sarah Rumbaugh Tacoma City Council Member, District 2
The University of Washington Tacoma is a growing, thriving college campus in the heart of Downtown Tacoma. I always love meeting with students who attend UW Tacoma and am especially thankful to the students who organized a walkthrough of campus and showed me the various areas they’d like to see pedestrian and safety improvements. I have been a staunch champion for these types of upgrades, and I am so excited to celebrate the enhanced pedestrian infrastructure we put in this last month!
The new crosswalk, located at South C Street and South 21st Street, improves access to the University of Washington Tacoma and is primarily funded by a Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) federal grant. HSIP grants help us fund local safety improvements, including pedestrian crossings in high-risk areas. A 10% local match from Streets Initiative 1 made the project more competitive. Learn more about on the project webpage.
Since I brought up Environmental Service, I have heard from the community that they are asking more about our Ai, Artificial Intelligence approach to keeping items out of our recycling cans that are not recyclable. Contamination in recycling cans makes serving our customers more expensive. By using cameras to identify contamination, we aren’t slowing down the process of picking up recycling by having staff have to rifle through cans. Funded by a $1.8 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Recycling Education and Outreach Grant Program, the project aims to educate residents about what can and cannot be recycled in Tacoma’s curbside program.
Prairie Robotics, a Canadian software development and engineering firm, was selected to support the project. Their artificial intelligence-powered platform is already in use with waste providers and municipalities across the U.S. and Canada, including Waste Connections, GFL, and the cities of Greensboro, N.C., and East Lansing, Mich. The system provides real-time feedback to residents, helping them recycle more accurately.
The pilot will roll out to residential recycling routes in phases over the next year. Residents in selected areas began receiving postcards in August. As this is an educational initiative, no fees or penalties will be issued for contamination identified during the pilot. The project will continue through the life of the grant and is expected to be reviewed in June 2027.
Engine 1 serves Downtown Tacoma and replaces a unit in service 16 years,
Engine 4 serves Hilltop and replaces a unit in service 15 years, and
Engine 8 serves the South End and replaces a unit in service 15 years.
Based on our fleet’s usage, call volume, and operating conditions, engine replacement is recommended after eight years in frontline service and 13 years in reserve status. With the addition of these three new engines, the average age of TFD’s engine fleet is now 9.3 years old.
As a city, we’ve strategized how to respond to our need for new equipment. In June, the Council acted fast to approve the purchase of two new fire engines that became available on short notice. The normal wait time after ordering a fire engine can be 30-48 months, but because we quickly seized an opportunity, we’re able to access these two engines in about 6 months. I look forward to celebrating bringing additional new engines to Tacoma!
One of the most frequent questions I get from constituents is how we’re responding to issues related to homelessness. I am serving on the Unified Regional Approach to Homelessness response which is a coalition of elected officials and staff from Pierce County. The purpose is to agree and launch a more unified response to homelessness across Pierce County. Today, over 80% of homeless services are in Tacoma. Recently, Pierce County updated its zoning to include temporary shelter as an allowable use in unincorporated Pierce County. This is the first step in meeting the unhoused where they are, because we know that homelessness does not just happen in Tacoma.
I was excited to attend the opening of the Kingfisher Village, featuring 60 tiny homes for those who are homeless in Tacoma. The funding for this project came from the Encampment Resolution Program through the Department of Commerce, in partnership with Pierce County and the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI). The Encampment Resolution Program works to get those who are homeless and living in proximity of our public highways and freeways, into temporary housing and eventually permanently housed.
The Tacoma City Council is currently seeking applicants to fill six positions on the Community’s Police Advisory Committee (CPAC) to represent Council District Nos. 1, 4, and 5; a youth position, ages 16-18; and two at-large positions.
CPAC is an advisory panel to the City Council as it pertains to Tacoma Police Department (TPD) policy. CPAC is responsible for:
Reviewing police policy, procedures, rules, training, completed investigations, and programs at the request of the City Council or City Manager.
Promoting awareness of the public complaint process, and receiving and reviewing policy complaints by members of the public.
Providing advice to the City Council, the City Manager, and the Chief of Police on police policy, procedures, rules, training, and programs.
Fostering understanding between TPD and the community, and promoting TPD services and resources.
Convening community conversations on services, programs, policy, procedures, rules, training, and issues of public safety.
I serve on the board of South Sound 911 along with Council Member Joe Bushnell. This is a regional agency which answers nearly 1 million emergency and non-emergency call annually for law enforcement and fire/EMS agencies across Pierce County. The mission of SS911 is to provide a modern, unified emergency communication and response system to protect and serve our communities and partner agencies. As part of the board, I serve as the chair of the finance committee and I was asked to serve on the hiring committee for the newest Executive Director, Kevin Yamamoto. Kevin is a local government attorney, and he served as city manager and city attorney at the City of Puyallup. Since joining SS911, Kevin has been instrumental in creating good working relationships with employees in communications and leadership. I look forward to serving with him.
Last week, I voted to approve a Lateral Incentive Program for the Tacoma Police Department (TPD). Like departments across the nation, TPD has struggled to maintain staffing levels and fill all budgeted positions. The program seeks to address these staffing shortages, while also reducing the reliance on overtime hours and increasing levels of service through the targeted hire of officers already located within the region for faster, more efficient deployment.
Lateral officers hired through the program will receive a $50,000 hiring bonus distributed over two years, as well as additional leave benefits, though they must still complete TPD’s rigorous recruitment process and meet the department’s high hiring standards. TPD maintains accreditation with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), which only two percent of agencies nationwide hold. The Lateral Incentive Program is available for law enforcement officers currently employed in Washington state and commissioned by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC).
“City Council’s support of the Lateral Incentive Program makes long-term staffing stability at Tacoma Police possible,” said Interim Police Chief Patti Jackson. “This program allows us to recruit experienced officers from across the state more efficiently, reduce overtime demands, and provide our officers and their families with greater balance and wellbeing. Most importantly, it ensures we can consistently deliver the level of service our community both expects and deserves.”
Prospective applicants seeking more information about the Lateral Incentive Program or Tacoma Police Department recruitment can visit tacoma.gov/police or contact Officer Taylor Reeves at treeves@tacoma.gov or (253) 881-8861
Pierce Transit held a summit this August, featuring local leaders and Pierce County officials to explain how they're preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Seattle. Pierce County officials expect their county and Tacoma to be one of the focal areas where the estimated 750,000 visitors for the quadrennial tournament will spill into for lodging.
County Council Member Denson, Devon Isakson, Pierce County Social Service Supervisor, and I joined the North End Neighborhood Council at their September meeting for a community discussion on homelessness. Thank you to everyone for engaging so thoughtfully in this discussion as we seek to solve this challenge through regional cooperation and while treating every human with dignity and respect.
It was my honor to attend and speak at the Tacoma Rescue Mission (TRM) groundbreaking to expand the single men’s wing shelter at their downtown location. The funding for this project includes City of Tacoma’s Grant Package for $4 million in Community Project Funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and $3.5 million from the City’s General Fund. This project Tacoma Rescue mission will increase their capacity by 100 beds and will host a total of 260 beds.
Duke Paulson, Executive Director of Tacoma Rescue Mission, myself and CM Bushnell at the same groundbreaking event. Duke brought the vision for this shelter expansion, rooted in TRM’s core values of courageous love in action, relationship, dignity, safety, and compassion. Without him this project would not be where it is today.
We had another fabulous Art on the Ave event this year! I ran into Sergeant Correa. I appreciate him and all the other TPD officers who help make these special events possible.
It was wonderful to see Council Member Sandesh Sadalge and the Asian Pacific Cultural Center (APCC) Executive Director Lua Pritchard at this year’s Samoa Cultural Days event!
I participated in this summer’s litter pick up in the Stadium Business District and was excited to see so many people attend. Here I am pictured with my friend and Stadium resident, Debrah Schneider, who was one of the volunteers at the event. Many hands make light work, and it is always interesting to meet people and find out more about why they choose to live in Tacoma.
