Mayors, city leaders from across the country meet in Tacoma
Mayors, city leaders from across the country meet in Tacoma
Mayors, council members, and city administrators from various cities across the country convened in Tacoma on Thursday for the National League of Cities (NLC) summer conference.
TACOMA, Wash. - Mayors, council members, and city administrators from various cities across the country convened in Tacoma on Thursday for the National League of Cities (NLC) summer conference.
The opioid crisis and homelessness impacting American cities rounded out the top of the agenda.
While a non-profit, the NLC serves primarily as a lobbying group, taking their collective issues to state and federal leaders.
"What’s happening all across the county, with regards to preemption or states deciding what’s best for cities, is that somehow a remote body, be that in a state capital or even in the nation's capital, has decided they know better what’s important for our residents than we do," said David Sander, the Vice Mayor of Rancho Cordova, California.
"As I talk to local leaders around America, there is one common denominator: that common denominator is that we can’t police our way out of what is going on with crime," said Sharon Weston Broome, the mayor of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The NLC organized approximately 300 local leaders from across the United States during Thursday’s Tacoma conference—which is familiar territory for NLC President Victoria Woodards, the Mayor of Tacoma.
Summer program for Tacoma teens created with hope of reducing violence
There’s a new way for teens to stay active in Tacoma. Through September 1, sixth to eleventh graders can utilize a new program called Summer Teen Late Nights, for a free meal and various activities at locations throughout the city.
"All of our cities are facing a shortage of police officers, an increase in property crime-- in my own city, we’ve seen an increase in homicides," Woodards said.
Beyond the agenda setting, Mayor Woodards said NLC has proved practical, working as a forum for municipalities to exchange ideas.
"One of the things that we learned early on as being a part of this cohort of cities who are addressing the opioid crisis, we learned from another city across the country about "Safe Stations" and what they were doing with their fire stations, we were able to take that idea because we learned about it as a partner with NLC and bring that back to Tacoma," Woodards said.
Tacoma's "Safe Station," established in 2019 at Fire Station 1 on Fawcett Avenue, offers 24-hour opioid addiction treatment, provided by firefighters. It’s one of just a few dozen in the nation to do so.
Friday, the NLC is scheduled to release its annual State of the Cities Report, which will outline its top priorities moving forward.