FC020822FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
February 8, 2022
Elected Officials Participating Virtually
Councilmember Diane Buckshnis (Chair)
Councilmember Will Chen
CALL TO ORDER
Staff Participating Virtually
Dave Turley, Finance Director
Rob English, Acting Public Works Director
Emily Wagener, HR Analyst
Thom Sullivan , Facilities Manager
Jeff Taraday, City Attorney
Sharon Cates, City Attorney's office
Scott Passey, City Clerk
The Edmonds City Council virtual online Finance Committee meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m.
by Councilmember Buckshnis.
2. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
1. Preliminary December 2021 Quarterly Financial Report
Mr. Turley reviewed:
• Noteworthy Items
o REET is up $1,650,646 over last year and $2,501,330 over budget
o Both funds 421 and 422 are over budget due to debt refinancing
o Sales tax is up $1,985,475 from this point last year
o Telephone Utility tax is $131,555 less from this point last year and is $188,181 under
budget. Note that for 2022 we reduced the budget for this by $200,000
o Plan checking fees are up $304,174 from this point last year. Development services
revenues overall are up $426,940 from this point last year
o Parks & Recreation program fees are up $362,225 from this point last year
o All departments but administrative services and community services/economic
development are within or under budget; overall Fund 001 is at 92% of budget expended.
Administrative services is at 115% of our budget expended. This is due to the merger with
the city clerk's office; salaries and benefits are still budged to city clerk's office but are now
being charged under the administrative services department. Community
services/economic development is at 106% of its budget expended; this is due to the
retiring department director's final payout
• January - December General Fund Revenues: $1,436,045 more than budgeted
• January — December General Fund Expenses: $3,899,505 less than budgeted
12/31/2021 fund Balance in the General Fund: $5.3 million better than budget, $2.3 million
increase over 12/31/2020
• 2021 REET — $2.5 million more than budget
Questions and comments followed regarding the prediction that REET revenue will continue to grow,
whether low housing inventory affects REET, placeholder for unbudgeted salaries, funds from the new
bond issuance, investment revenue, restaurant sales tax compared to retail sales tax, and anticipation
of increased inflation.
02/08/22 Finance Committee Minutes, Page 2
Action: Consent Agenda
2. Business Improvement District - Financial Policy Discussion
Mr. Turley provided background on the BID, their website Ed! Edmonds Downtown Alliance:
• What is the Business Improvement District? http://edmondsdowntown.org/about-ed/
o The BID aka the BID, aka Ed!, was formed by council in early 2013 (ordinance 3909 and
ECC 3.75).
o The BID operates with an annual budget in the neighborhood of $80,000 per year. All
revenues come from dues that are assessed to the members, currently $30 to $90 per
quarter.
o The amount of unpaid dues currently is about $75,000, or roughly an entire year's budget.
About $37,000 of this is from businesses that have closed, and the other $38,000 is from
active businesses. We charge 12% interest on accounts in arrears
o Dues are legally assessed to the businesses, and the businesses are legally obligated to
pay the dues, but the City currently has no good way to enforcement payment.
Ms. Turley displayed a list of issues that staff is seeking council guidance on. Questions and
discussion followed regarding the processes to initiate formation of BID (petition or resolution), past
effort to tie business license renewal to payment of BID dues, writing off dues payable from
businesses that closed, whether new businesses are paying their dues, cost to send outstanding dues
to collections, establishing a subcommittee to discuss the BID and related issues, whether
subcommittee meetings would be open to the public, whether a council vote was required to form a
subcommittee, whether the subcommittee meetings could be recorded for transparency, whether the
subcommittee meetings should be noticed.
Committee suggestions included:
• Write off dues payable from closed businesses
• Determine number of businesses and dues owed
• Establish a subcommittee (2-3 councilmembers and one pro and one con BID member).
Councilmembers Paine and Buckshnis and Council President Olson offered to participate on
the subcommittee.
Action: Form subcommittee
3. Leak Adjustment Policy Discussion
Mr. Turley this is high level introduction to a topic that will be discussed over the next few months.
This issue arose due to recent residential leaks that came to councilmembers' attention. The City sells
water to several thousand customers; leaks occasionally occur, usually a broken pipe that goes
undetected until the resident receives a large bill. Current policy is to bill the residents' average,
charge any excess at wholesale rate ($1.50/unit versus $4.23/unit, a 2/3rds reduction) and forgive an
additional $1,000. The City also offers a payment plan for bills over $1,000 with 6 months at 0%
interest (recently revised from 3 months at 12% interest). Staff is seeking council input regarding
updating the City's Leak Adjustment and Payment Plan Policies.
Questions and discussion followed regarding updates made to the policy in 2013, support for further
reductions, how often large bills occur due to leaks, the administrative services director's discretion
allowed by the policy, and the policy to update all financial policies every five years.
Action: Bring back to Finance Committee in March
4. Covid Premium Payments & Vacation for Essential Workers
02/08/22 Finance Committee Minutes, Page 3
Ms. Wagener said this was presented to the PSPP Committee (because there is no financial impact
due to the use of ARPA funds) who recommended forwarding it to the Consent Calendar.
Action: Consent Agenda
5. 2021 Public Defender's Office Annual Report
Kathleen Kyle, Snohomish County Public Defender Association, presented:
• Why funding of public defense is important
o Required bylaw
o Required by a just society
o Work to ensure the most vulnerable are treated with consideration
o Mission to provide the highest quality of representation to people facing loss of liberty
• 2022 & 2023 budget proposals
o Cost drivers f
■ Increased staffing & overhead costs
■ Difficult to forecast workload trends due to COVID emergency orders and impacts to
enforcement priorities due opposing trends:
- Increased number of pending cases
- Decreased number of incoming referrals
- Increased need for community support
- Decreased availability of community services
0 2021: $31,764.56/month
0 2022: $33,545/month
0 2023: $36,290/month
Photographs of the 2022 Edmonds Team
• Data Review
o Cases Assigned by Year
■ 2017: 621
■ 2018: 634
■ 2019: 669
■ 2020: 557
■ 2021: 483
o Comparing 2020 to 2021 Case Assignments
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
2020
144
85
173
155
2021
155
130
103
106
o Comparina Top 3 Case Tvaes in 2021 to 2020
Theft
Assault
DUI
2020
114
65
57
2021
124
73
44
o 2021 Investigation and Social Worker Requests
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Investigation
49
80
22
23
Social Work
3
24
10
12
o Reduced DWLS 3 Prosecutions year-to-year comparison
■ 2019: 165
■ 2020: 94
■ 2021: 19
0 2022 Open Assignments by attorney
■ Open caseload: 124
■ Open caseload: 151
02/08/22 Finance Committee Minutes,
e4
■ Open caseload: 159
OTHER WORKLOAD MEASURES
310
Increased 51 Dismissals
Discovery r Interpreter
Requests L- --A
AM
174 577 Show
Investigation Cause 2 Triais
Requests 45 Social
Hearings Worker
Requests
o Education/Training
■ 22 continuing legal education classes
■ 24 CPDA coffee breaks
■ 19 antiracism training sessions
Current challenges
o Increase in volume and types of discovery
o Impact to workload
■ The law office assistants who receive and log each item.
■ The law office assistants who redact discovery for clients to review.
■ IT who builds and maintains the servers and database systems where documents are
stored.
■ Legal Assistants who assist in organizing discovery in preparation for trials and
sentencings.
■ Attorneys, investigators, and social workers who have to review it.
o State v. Blake - Simple drug possession laws are unconstitutional
■ Photo of Blake re -sentencing and vacate team
o Coordinate multiple systems
■ Mitigate impact to vulnerable people & public and private investment when systems
intersect:
- Courts
- Service Organizations
- Medical and Behavioral Health Services
- Churches
- YWCA
- Job Support Organizations
- Food Banks
- Housing Programs
- Other public programs
Community Involvement
o Snohomish County Human Services - Trueblood Housing Vouchers
o Housing Consortium of Everett & Snohomish County
o Snohomish County Juvenile Court Cultural Advisory Committee
o Snohomish County Corrections Citizen Advisory Committee
o Washington State Bar Association, Council on Public Defense
o Washington State Sex Offender Policy Board, subcommittee members
o Washington Defender Association
o Washington Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys
o Washington State Bar Association Character and Fitness Board
o Teach in programs at UW School of Law and Edmonds College
o Public defenders volunteer at:
02/08/22 Finance Committee Minutes, Page 5
■ Cocoon House, board member
■ Snohomish County Legal Services, board member
■ Washington Innocence Project, board member
■ Puget Sound Prisoner Support
■ Washington State Sex Offender Treatment Provider Committee
■ American Academy of Trial Lawyers Fellow — Natalie Tarantino
■ Guest lecturers at University of Washington, Seattle University, and Edmonds
Community College
■ Jackson High School Mock Trial Coaches
Questions and comments followed regarding social implication of cases assigned by year trending
down, crime not declining on Highway 99, and appreciation for public defender's office working with
other organizations.
Action: Full council
6. Public Defense Contract Renewal
Ms. Cates relayed this is an amendment to extend the current agreement until December 2023. There
are no substantive changes to the agreement other than the dates and amounts.
Action: Consent Agenda
7. Presentation of Washington Department of Commerce Energy Retrofit Grant for
Public Safety Solar Plant
Mr. English explained a preliminary structural analysis of City buildings conducted by a consultant
identified the Public Safety Complex as the most viable location for a solar program. In 2021,
Department of Commerce announced a $3.5M grant program for installing solar on public buildings;
staff applied and was awarded $119,645 grant for the Public Safety Complex. The estimated cost of
the project is $470,000; the $119,645 grant will fund approximately 25% of the project. If council
accepts the grant, the $230,000 in bond proceeds programmed in DP #72 for solar work would be
used which leaves a shortfall of $120,000 in 2023 for this project. This presentation will also be made
to the PPW Committee as it is a public works project but is being made to the Finance Committee due
to the financial component.
Mr. Sullivan commented the Department of Commerce's grant funding ceased with the ESCO process
in 2010. It is unheard of to receive a facilities -related grant for up to 25% of a project. Questions and
comments followed regarding extending the grant expiration date, congratulations on receiving the
grant, life expectancy of solar plant, proposed budget amendments to study moving city hall and the
police department, plans to run the solar installation as an ESCO project, and dedicating funds in DP
#72 to this solar project.
Action: Full council
8. 2022 Parks, Recreation & Open Space (PROS) Plan Capital Program
Action: Info only
3. ADJOURN
The meeting was adjourned at 6:31 p.m.