And now, I present to you, without further ado, the Bremerton City Council’s 2014 year in verse. Get ready for a poetic fix about your city government.

The Bremerton Council, began this past year,
with a reduction in districts, only seven voices to hear,
A Council of nine, was downgraded by two
Reduced by the voters, in a quiet little coup.

The Council took up the call, on many city issues,
Some mad, some glad, some requiring some tissues.
The Pacific Avenue project was wrapping up fast,
But its cost overruns left Council members aghast.

Why did the work require so much more funding?
Public works said disregard all this number-crunching,
There was nothing we could do, it was the clay that was crunchy;
It cost a lot, but look now, the street’s much more lovely.

They shrugged and moved on, headed north up Wheaton Way,
Where it was the planning commission that had something to say.
At Wheaton and Riddell, construction had been restricted,
Higher densities envisioned, but developers resisted,
the Council killed the sub area with a swipe of the pen,
And within the same year, the cranes came again.

Councilman Younger then decided, that it was time,
To put raccoons in his crosshairs, and make it a bigger fine,
To keep feeding those critters, which get freaky in groups,
And haven’t you heard, of the scary stuff they poop?

But if the raccoons brought a 7-0 vote,
Washington Avenue would prove the opposite result.
Option 1, option 3? What the heck do we pick?
Meeting after meeting, nothing seemed to stick,
When the dust cleared, the Council chose the plan,
That looked awfully similar to the one they began.

Then who should appear but the city’s police chief,
Who continued his mission, of giving thieves grief,
To the Council he said, I cannot guarantee,
The safety of passengers driven by cabbies,
But the chief wasn’t through, and asked the Council to bring,
Curbs on morning drunks, and a ban on panhandling.

Out of nowhere it seemed, a proposal was sent,
to allow many a gambler to play to their heart’s content,
But almost the whole Council had the same thing to say,
for the Callow Avenue neighborhood, a Casino? “No way!”

The Council resurrected a plan from last year,
to rename a street for Martin Luther King here.
So what if it’s short, the Council would decide,
Let’s name something for Dr. King, and make it bonafide.

In the fall the mayor’s budget was wrapped in a bow,
New firefighters would help reduce the overtime blow,
But police cameras would wait given records act woes,
And no changes to the auditor, stop stepping on his toes.

For 2015 the Council will see,
another eventful year, no doubt some controversy,
On many different issues, they’re sure to take a look,
and who knows? Maybe we’re lucky, they’ll finally Facebook.

Blogger’s note: I hope you enjoyed this year’s verses. For the 2013 edition, click here.