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2024-05-14 Council PSPHSP MinutesPUBLIC SAFETY, PLANNING, HUMAN SERVICES & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MEETING May 14, 2024 Elected Officials Present Councilmember Neil Tibbott (Chair) Councilmember Chris Eck Council President Vivian Olson(ex-officio) Councilmember Susan Paine Councilmember Jenna Nand 1. CALL TO ORDER Staff Present Michelle Bennett, Police Chief Shane Hawley, Police Commander Rod Sniffen, Assistant Police Chief Jessica Neill Hoyson, HR Director Emily Wagener, Human Resources Analyst Scott Passey, City Clerk Guests Present Bill Sturgeon, Fitch & Associates Bruce Moeller, Fitch & Associates The Edmonds City Council PSPHSP Committee meeting was called to order virtually and in the City Council Conference Room, 121 — 5th Avenue North, Edmonds, at 3:30 pm by Councilmember Tibbott. 2. COMMITTEE BUSINESS 1. Amending ECC 5.24.010 - Firearms and Dangerous Weapons Councilmember Tibbott requested future agenda memos include a narrative. Commander Hawley relayed this amendment adopts four state firearm ordinances into the City code, allowing them to be charged in the municipal court as misdemeanor crimes related to possessing dangerous weapons at voting facilities, open carry of firearms on state capitol grounds and municipal buildings, unsafe storage of firearms, and large capacity magazines. Questions and discussion followed regarding support for the amendments, and current ability to enforce and charge in district court. Committee recommendation: Consent Agenda 2. SN0911 ILA Updates Assistant Chief Sniffen explained jurisdictions stated the ILA was unfairly balanced because the formula used to determine who has voting members on the caucuses (board) is done by population. When populations were revisited, it moved Lake Stevens into a caucus and moved Lynnwood out of a caucus; there is no impact to the City of Edmonds or who serves on the board (currently AC Sniffen and Councilmember Nand). The change to the ILA requires approval by the member jurisdictions. Councilmember Nand briefly commented on the operation of SN0911 Board. Committee recommendation: Consent Agenda 3. 2024 Wage Corrections for Chief of Police and Assistant Chiefs Ms. Neill Hoyson explained in 2022 the council approved a separate wage schedule for police command staff (consisting of commanders, assistant chiefs and chief at that time; command staff is now only 05/14/24 PSPHSP Committee Minutes, assistant chiefs and chief as commanders are a represented group and are bargaining their contract) with the intent to create a differential between the sergeants to address the issue of compression when wages increase for union members. When the schedule was created, a delay in approval of the contract was not anticipated which resulted in command staff not receiving their wage increases on January 1 at the same time as other non -represented employees.. Because the command staff is not a bargaining unit, they legally cannot be provided retroactive pay. The way to address the intent of what council approved is to increase the wage adjustment over the remainder of the year to address the amount missed during the delay in approval of the contract. She recommended council approve the additional wage adjustment for the assistant chiefs and chief to provide the funds lost during the first three months of the year, a total of $21,000 which is currently unbudgeted. Questions and discussion followed regarding the funds not being budgeted, the police department currently underbudget, the budget did not consider that settlement of represented commissioned group would impact wages of command staff, $3M in the budget that assumes vacant positions, a suggestion to identify the funding source in the agenda memo when this is on the Consent Agenda, and how this will be addressed in the future. Committee recommendation: Consent Agenda 4. Fleet Mechanic Job Description Revision Ms. Wagener explained the title was updated to match what was agreed upon during the most recent bargaining cycle. Minimum qualifications were updated to include CDL certification and air brake repair and air condition certification and the time to obtain those certifications was changed from 6 months to 12 months to be consistent with similar jobs within the City. The authorized Emissions Specialist Certificate and ASE Certificate within six months of hire was removed as it is no longer required by the state. Questions and discussion followed regarding whether the position has been filled and support for updating the job description to be consistent with other positions. Committee recommendation: Consent Agenda 5. Options for City of Edmonds Fire/EMS Services Councilmember Tibbott explained this agenda item includes a resolution expressing the PSPHSP's recommendation to authorize the mayor to pursue a preferred option and begin gathering information and identifying a process. The intent is not to obligate the City to any particular option at this point and not to discontinue further public dialogue and input or state that the study of this issue is complete. The intent is to start a transparent public discussion among councilmembers regarding this resolution. This is an opportunity to discuss the Fitch report, ask questions and make observations. The committee expects to continue this discussion with full council in order to make decision. The committee will recommend a preferred option in the resolution and the resolution will go to full council where there will be opportunity to deliberate on the preferred alternative. The issue of fire service has been discussed by council for over 10 months and the council is now beginning to collaborate and consolidate that information into a decision making process. Bruce Moeller, PhD, Fitch & Associates, responded to a council question regarding the cost of the RFA compared to the annual cost of establishing an Edmonds Fire Department • Annual estimated cost of an Edmonds Fire Department would be $19.2M with annual operations and personnel cost of $18M, debt service of $2.2M offset with revenue from ambulance transport. 05/14/24 PSPHSP Committee Minutes, Page 3 Assumptions regarding costs reflect: o Bulk of cost (70-85%) is personnel. Fitch report identified need for 56 personnel, 51 operational personnel (in the firehouses working shifts) and 5 administrative. o Used average wages/benefits SCF RFA is providing today. With nationwide challenges with recruitment and retention, it will be difficult to hire personnel unless the City offers wage and benefits competitive with surrounding communities. o Retained same levels of service. Dr. Moeller and Mr. Sturgeon responded to council questions and discussion followed regarding the function of five administrative staff, additional City administrative staff (finance, HR and mechanic) that would be required with an in-house fire department, depth provided by the RFA related to hazmat and technical rescue, determining actual dates for timelines, scarcity of qualified applicants, timeline to purchase fire and aid apparatus, average time to fill a firefighter position, sending a resolution to SCF with the required RCW language if the recommendation is to join the RFA, assessed value calculations and impact of a benefit charge, levy amount for establishing an in-house fire department versus joining the RFA, hiring firefighters/paramedics versus paramedics, unit hour utilization factor in determining when staff needs to be added, and decision points in determining when to add staff or equipment. Councilmember Tibbott read the resolution: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON, STATING THE DESIRE TO PURSUE THE MOST PROMISING OF THE FIRE SERVICE ALTERNATIVES AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO PURSUE NEXT STEPS REGARDING THIS ALTERNATIVE. WHEREAS, on December 19, 2023 South County Fire provided notice to City of Edmonds of its intent to exercise its right under the contract terms to cancel the contract in two years' time; and WHEREAS, the Council hired Fitch and Associates to conduct an unbiased and objective analysis of the options available to the City with a vote approving the action on November 30, 2023; and WHEREAS, Fitch and Associates collected data, spoke to stakeholders, and conducted data analysis related to such options, and presented to Council on April 16, 2024; and WHEREAS, the related final report was in the May 7, 2024 council packet and input on our options was solicited from the public at this meeting; and WHEREAS, Council discussed the Fitch report and the topic of the future of Edmonds fire service at the council meeting with South County Fire and Rescue on March 26, 2024, with Fitch and Associates on April 16, 2024, with the South County Fire Board of Commissioners on April 23, 2024, and at the PSPHSP Committee meeting on May 14, 2024; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED 1. That the City Council of Edmonds Washington selects as the preferred alternative for future Fire and Emergency Medical Services, and authorizes the Mayor to pursue next steps toward that end; and 2. The Council and public receive periodic updates on the work and the details of any transition as the steps happen and as details become known. Councilmember Tibbott asked Mr. Sturgeon to offer his opinion on which of the three options would be best related to continuity of service as well as an ongoing long term solution. Mr. Sturgeon answered SCF is a well -managed, excellent fire department providing service to the City. They have the capacities and depth to do planning, procurement, logistics, etc. that would require a lot of time; time is of the essence although he did not believe SCF would leave the City high and dry; and SCF runs a lean model with cross staffing at two stations. He recommended the City annex into the SCF RFA. Committee members relayed factors considered in making a recommendation to select annexation into the SCF RFA as a preferred alternative including Fitch's unbiased report, the City's budget situation, cost to the community, services the City is already receiving from SCF, time required to fill positions 05/14/24 PSPHSP Committee Minutes, Page 4 and purchase trucks and equipment, keeping the community safe, economies of scale, SCF high level of skill in a variety of areas, SCF's long range planning which is important for growth, cooperative agreements SCF has in place with surrounding municipalities, and funding mechanism to operate fire service. Committee recommendation: Full council with the addition of annexation into the SCF RFA as the preferred alternative in the resolution 6. Ordinance Amending ECC 5.05 to Ban the Deliberate Breeding and Sale of Companion Animals Councilmember Nand explained the reason she was interested in adding this legislation to the City's code is the state regulation related to the prevention of cruelty to animals allows up to 50 animals on a property with intact sexual organs for the purposes of breeding as long as each animal is caged in a space that is large enough to stand and move around (RCW 16.52.310), a situation often referred to as a puppy mill. Information provided by the City's animal control officer indicated there is less of a problem with breeding occurring in Edmonds because property is expensive. However, residents are targets for animals produced by puppy mills. She relayed a Snohomish County councilmember's interest in proposing legislation Edmonds passes related to banning backyard breeding and sale of animals at the Snohomish County level. The narrative in the agenda memo outlines pros and cons such as the significant amount the City pays to its contacted shelter related to unwanted companion animals that end up in the City's custody. Everett and Bothell have attempted to address breeding activity and the sale of animals with similar restrictions. Questions and discussion followed regarding the level of the problem in Edmonds, reducing the cost paid to the animal shelter, whether this amendment would prohibit responsible breeders, whether there are backyard breeders in Edmonds, Councilmember Nand's experience rescuing her rabbits from a breeder, deceptive practices by breeders, option 1 (ban the deliberate breeding and sale of companion animals for profit) versus option 2 (restrict the deliberate breeding and sale of companion animals for profit), preventing inhumane treatment of animals, accidental litters, civil penalty for violations, concern with creating laws that penalize people with good intentions, cruelty in deliberate breeding, adopting other animal welfare laws such as prohibiting cat declawing, addressing abuse and neglect while considering a ban or restriction, and concern with staff required for option 2. Committee recommendation: Full council 3. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 5:20 pm.