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2024-07-09 Council Packet
1 2. of c�,y s Agenda Edmonds City Council REGULAR MEETING COUNCIL CHAMBERS 250 5TH AVE NORTH, EDMONDS, WA 98020 J U LY 9, 2024, 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETINGS BEGINNING AT 7:00 PM ARE STREAMED LIVE ON THE COUNCIL MEETING WEBPAGE, COMCAST CHANNEL 21, AND ZIPLY CHANNEL 39. TO ATTEND VIRTUALLY, CLICK ON OR PASTE THE FOLLOWING ZOOM MEETING LINK INTO A WEB BROWSER USING A COMPUTER OR SMART PHONE: HTTPS://ZOOM.US/J/95798484261 BY PHONE: +1 253 215 8782 WEBINAR ID: 957 9848 4261 CALL TO ORDER/FLAG SALUTE LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF THIS PLACE, THE SDOHOBSH (SNOHOMISH) PEOPLE AND THEIR SUCCESSORS THE TULALIP TRIBES, WHO SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL HAVE HUNTED, FISHED, GATHERED, AND TAKEN CARE OF THESE LANDS. WE RESPECT THEIR SOVEREIGNTY, THEIR RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION, AND WE HONOR THEIR SACRED SPIRITUAL CONNECTION WITH THE LAND AND WATER. 3. ROLL CALL 4 S. 6 7 APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA AUDIENCE COMMENTS THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT REGARDING ANY MATTER NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA AS CLOSED RECORD REVIEW OR AS A PUBLIC HEARING. SPEAKERS ARE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES. PLEASE STATE CLEARLY YOUR NAME AND CITY OF RESIDENCE. IF USING A COMPUTER OR SMART PHONE, RAISE A VIRTUAL HAND TO BE RECOGNIZED. IF USING A DIAL - UP PHONE, PRESS *9 TO RAISE A HAND. WHEN PROMPTED, PRESS *6 TO UNMUTE. RECEIVED FOR FILING 1. Written Public Comments (0 min) 2. Blue Ribbon Panel Deliverables (0 min) APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes June 25, 2024 2. Approval of claim checks and wire payments. Edmonds City Council Agenda July 9, 2024 Page 1 3. Approval of payroll and benefit checks, direct deposit and wire payments. 4. Acceptance of City of Shoreline minutes 8. COUNCIL BUSINESS 1. Legal Assessment Committee Proposed Work Plan (30 min) 2. Fireworks Update and Options (15 min) 9. COUNCIL COMMENTS 10. MAYOR'S COMMENTS ADJOURNMENT Edmonds City Council Agenda July 9, 2024 Page 2 6.1 City Council Agenda Item Meeting Date: 07/9/2024 Written Public Comments Staff Lead: City Council Department: City Council Preparer: Beckie Peterson Background/History N/A Staff Recommendation Acknowledge receipt of written public comments. Narrative Public comments submitted to the web form for public comments <https://www.edmondswa.gov/publiccomment> between June 25, 2024 and July 1, 2024. Attachments: Public Comment July 9, 2024 Packet Pg. 3 6.1.a Edmonds City Council Public Comments —July 9, 2024 Online Form 2024-06-26 03:02 PM(MST) was submitted by Guest on 6/26/2024 6:02:22 PM (GMT- 07:00) US/Arizona Name Value FirstName shelley LastName Larkin CityOfResidence edmonds AgendaTopic bike lanes Comments who decided 100th needed bike lanes?? How much did this cost us? I am on this road 2-3 times a day at various times and guess what the only bikes I have seen were on the sidewalk! The one in Richmond beach I have NEVER seen a bike. City council if a teeny % wants something it doesn't mean they should have it! Because of the new bike lanes we sit in traffic longer causing more admissions! Ridiculous waste of money Online Form 2024-07-01 02:19 PM(MST) was submitted by Guest on 7/1/2024 5:19:49 PM (GMT- 07:00) US/Arizona Name Value FirstName dave LastName teitzeL CityOfResidence Edmonds AgendaTopic Landmark property acquisition Comments Council, I respectfully request these comments be included in the formal record concerning Agenda Item 8.2 on Council's July 2 business agenda concerning the Landmark property acquisition. Item 8.2 offers a resolution prepared by Staff aligning with the Mayor's publicly -stated position that further pursuit of this property purchase should be discontinued at this time. This resolution is a wise recommendation in view of the city's dire fiscal situation, which you will also be updated on during the July 2 Council meeting. It is clear the city's poor fiscal condition will take several years to rectify, and further discretionary expenditures in pursuit of the Landmark property will materially detract from achieving the fiscal health for our city you and our citizens strongly desire. Further, you are nearing a decision point about how fire/EMS services should be provided to our residents. I am convinced, before Edmonds voters decide to vote in favor of annexing into the RFA and absorbing a significant increase in fees paid for these services, they will want to be assured the city has taken clear action to reduce expenditures for all city -related items not considered to be essential. Taking action now to curtail expenditures about the Landmark property acquisition will be viewed positively by voters that the city is taking strong action toward managing our expenses well and that you are taking seriously your duty to bring our budget back into balance. The proposed resolution offers an alternative path to explore improvements in Packet Pg. 4 6.1.a Edmonds City Council Public Comments —July 9, 2024 amenities and infrastructure for S.E. Edmonds, and is a reasonable course in view of our current fiscal realities. I encourage you to vote in favor of the resolution proposed by Staff. Regards, Dave Teitzel Edmonds resident G Packet Pg. 5 s.2 City Council Agenda Item Meeting Date: 07/9/2024 Blue Ribbon Panel Deliverables Staff Lead: Mayor's Office Department: Mayor's Office Preparer: Scott Passey Background/History N/A Recommendation For information only. Narrative Blue Ribbon Panel Deliverables for Council consideration. Attachments: Initial Memo to Mayor Rosen Memo re recommendations and conclusions final Project Plan Final Strategic Approach to Fiscal Resilence for the City of Edmonds Final Scenario 2 Expenditure Model Scenario 2 Model (thousands) Scenario 2 Revenue Model Scenario 2 Summary The Price of Government Packet Pg. 6 6.2.a To: Mayor Mike Rosen From: Mike Bailey, Financial Consultant VIA: Mayor's Blue -Ribbon Panel Date: February 20, 2024 Subject: Initial Assessment of Financial Condition and Related Causes The purpose of this memo is to provide an initial assessment of the current financial situation for the City of Edmonds (City) and to describe the conditions contributing to the condition. Preliminary Assessment of Current Financial Situation We can essentially confirm the City's understanding of their current financial situation. Essentially that expenditures have exceeded revenues for three of the past four years and that the 2024 budget contains several one-time "fixes" that enable it to be a balanced budget. As a result of the 2024 being balanced, it is in conformity with Washington State law. Below is a chart of revenues, expenditures, and fund balances over the past several years. City of Edmonds Revenues/ Expenditures and Fund Balance ■ Revenues ■ Expenditures in Ending Fund Balance 40,000,000 20,000,000 I 1 ■ 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 1 2024 Actual Results Budget Some of the more significant, unsustainable elements in the 2024 adopted budget include: 1. Use of one-time grant funds to provide $6.25 million towards an on -going commitment for fire protection and related services from the South Snohomish County Regional Fire Authority. The $6.25 million represents about 55% of the total amount appropriated for the City's contractual obligation. 2. Use of a "contra -account" (essentially a negative entry to offset authorized expenditures) of $3.2 million to balance the budget. While recognizing anticipated salary savings in municipal budgets has some precedent, it has not been the practice of the City of Edmonds and was a means to help balance the 2024 budget. The degree to which it is sustainable is in question. 3. Underfunding contributions to such accounts as the vehicle replacement fund, facility improvements accounts and transfers to other City accounts that have traditionally relied on support from the General Fund. Packet Pg. 7 6.2.a MEMORANDUM Initial Assessment of Financial Condition and Related Causes 4. Decline of the fund balance in the General Fund from as high as $15.9 million at the beginning of 2022 to a low of less than $3 million at the beginning of 2024. Fund balance is a common method to evaluate financial condition as it represents current assets less current liabilities in the fund. The City will need to borrow to provide for day-to-day operations in 2024 and to identify ways to raise revenues and lower expenditures over the longer term to preclude future budget deficits and restore fund balance to policy target levels. As a result of the concerns identified above, the City's current General Fund budget appears to be unsustainable in the amount of at least $10 million, approximately 20% of the City's General Fund. There are other numerous underfunded elements in the City's budget, however these are not uncommon in contemporary municipal budgets (such things as facility upkeep and replacement, infrastructure investments, etc.). Factors Contributing to the Condition Several factors have contributed to a decline in the City's financial health in a relatively short time. These include: 1. Development of initial budgets authorizing the use of one-time resources to pay for on -going costs In our review we analyzed financial records beginning with 2019. In each year the City's original adopted budgets utilized from $2 million ($1.897m in 2019) to $5.7 million (2023) in fund balances to meet authorized expenditures. In two of these five years, the City was able to avoid using fund balances during the year as expenditure was below the authorized amounts. 2. Amendments to the initially adopted budgets in each year added from $1 million to $5.7 million in additional expenditure authorizations largely by further utilizing the City's fund balances. In 2023 the original budget's use of fund balances and subsequent amendments (further authorizing fund balance use to balance the budget) resulted in authorized expenditures exceeding anticipated revenues by $11.4 million (see chart below). These amendments have included significant increases to compensation (pay raises) which were not included in the original budgets. Uses of Fund Balance to Balance Budgets (amounts in thousands) 2019 2019 2020 r2020 2021 W 2022 2022 2023 2023 Original Amended Original Amended Original Amended Original Amended Original Amended (1,897) (3,038) (3,158) (4,117) (2,655) (3,674) Orange = Original Budget Blue = Final Amended Budget (5,130) (5,725) (8,711) (11,425) Page 2 Packet Pg. 8 6.2.a MEMORANDUM Initial Assessment of Financial Condition and Related Causes 3. Increases in authorized positions over the past few years have contributed to these problems. While included in the authorized positions described above, personnel costs grow over time and can grow at rates greater than revenues, especially given the existing limitations on major revenues available to cities (and counties) in Washington State. From 2021 to 2024, employment in the City grew from 241 to 279 which is 38 additional full-time employees (a 15.8% increase). At an average total compensation cost of almost $129,000 per employee (in 2023), that added almost $5 million annually to the budget. 4. Forecasted revenues have missed target estimates in recent years. Revenues "underperformed" budget estimates in 2020 by $1.6 million, 2022 by $3.4 million and in 2023 by $2.6 million. Good revenue estimates are essential in governmental budgeting as they create the basis on which a sound budget plan is built. Expenditures are appropriated (authorized) and form the upper limit of spending authority granted by the council. The amount that should be appropriated is informed by the revenue estimates. Care should be taken to utilize sound methods for these estimates, especially when revenues have underperformed the estimates in three of the last four years. 5. Financial systems are antiquated and contribute to challenges in managing the financial affairs of the City. The City uses financial software provided by Eden Systems, which was used by many local governments in Washington in the past. Eden Systems was acquired by Tyler Technologies in 2003 and the development of technological advances was no longer supported at that point. There are very few local governments still using the Eden Systems software and they are in the process of moving to a more current system. As a result, the finance function at the City does not have adequate insight into financial activity in the "pipeline." Additionally, the older systems require increased time and attention to support the daily operations, taking that capacity away from other finance functions (such as monitoring of revenues and expenditures). Additionally, older systems increase the risk of errors. We know that the City plans to implement new financial systems and these new systems should help to enable the city to improve the management of its fiscal affairs. Additional observations A few additional observations might be helpful in the City's efforts to improve financial performance. 1. The City's Price of Government is relatively low compared to neighboring cities. The notion of the "price of government" became popular in local government finance several years ago as a result of a book by the same name. One of the several contentions in this book is that there is a right "price" for community services. While the book compares total revenues paid by a community for the services they receive (including utilities, etc.), I analyzed the General Fund revenues for the cities of Edmonds, Everett, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace and Mukilteo. While it is difficult to completely normalize the data (from one city to the next), I've attempted to do just that accounting for the method of providing fire services and library services (which differs from one city to the next). In the chart below you can see that the City of Edmond's "price" is 1.67% and only Mukilteo's is lower. Another way to say this same thing is that Edmond's community collectively pays 1.67% of their income for services provided by the General Fund which compares to the average in these cities of 2.95%. Page 3 Packet Pg. 9 6.2.a MEMORANDUM Initial Assessment of Financial Condition and Related Causes Adjusted for RFA / Library levy Edmonds AV 15,352,931,155 Population 43,370 GF Rev 50,005,435 Prop Tx 15,725,753 Community Income 2,983,552,410 Prop Levy 1.024 POG 1.676% Lynnwood 10,434,305,570 40,790 79,422,613 4,725,000 1,540,148,820 0.453 5.157% Everett 26,907,976,118 114,200 142,240,022 51,041,681 4,592,553,000 1.897 3.097% Mountlake Terrace' 5,254,469,888 23,810 28,564,889 3,922,039 1,201,928,800 0.747 2.377% Mukilteo 7,410,005,099 21,590 17,192,155 7,998,789 1,480,383,120 1.0791 1.161% 2. Employee compensation appears to be consistent with neighboring communities. Given that one of the budget amendments in early 2023 was to significantly increase compensation to employees I briefly reviewed whether compensation was in line with the local market. Total average compensation for employees of the City of Edmonds is just above the lowest of the three comparable cities and below the other two. 3. A lack of clarity exists in the monthly financial reports and in the financial information available to the council in the documents provided for budget considerations. Below are some examples of what is meant by this statement. a. Monthly financial reports are provided by the finance office in a timely manner (typically prior to the end of the following month). The reports can be improved to clarify and amplify the types of information that the council and community should have to assess the overall performance of their financial plan. I am making some recommendations to the mayor's office in this regard. b. The budget materials provided to the council (the proposed preliminary budget) should include several enhancements to aid in the review of the proposals: i. The basis for major revenue estimates should be improved to enable the council to affirm they are reasonable. "Major revenues" are described by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) to be those that comprise the largest 75% of total revenues forecasted. ii. The City's inclusion of a multi -year "strategic outlook" forecast in the budget proposal is a GFOA best practice. However, the forecast should include the basis for the assumptions used to develop the estimates enabling an understanding and discussion as to the soundness of the forecasted estimates. It should also be provided for other major budgetary operating funds of the City. iii. A lack of performance or level of service data in the budget makes it difficult to understand what levels of service the community can anticipate in exchange for the revenues they provide. While this represents another GFOA best practice it has become very common practice in urban and suburban Washington cities. 4. Financial policies should be evaluated to ensure they are meeting the City's needs. In my conversations there have been instances where differences of opinion existed with regard to financial protocol or procedure. Examples include whether it is permissible to spend money originally budgeted for positions (which are temporarily vacant) on other budget items; or whether council authority is necessary to use cash from one City fund to provide for a cash deficit in another City fund. The answers to questions like this can vary by jurisdiction and the right answers for the City of Edmonds should be discussed and affirmed by written financial policies approved by the council. The GFOA and the Municipal Research and Services Center Page 4 Packet Pg. 10 6.2.a MEMORANDUM Initial Assessment of Financial Condition and Related Causes (MRSC) have information about the development of such policies as well as numerous examples that can help to inform the discussion. 5. The impact of the City's decision regarding the provision of fire service is central to this discussion. One of the larger budgeted items is the contract with the South Snohomish County Regional Fire Authority. The provision of fire and life safety services is a large expenditure in any general government budget. The current study of this issue will be available later this spring and has significant implications for the financial future of the City. Conclusion and Next Steps This initial assessment provides a starting point for further discussion and the evaluation of alternatives to move beyond the current "fiscal emergency" and develop financial resiliency for the City in the future. There are essentially two ways to improve the financial prospects for the City. These are to raise revenue and / or lower future expenditures. The next steps would be to review and analyze the options for both. Page 5 Packet Pg. 11 6.2.b MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor Mike Rosen, City of Edmonds, WA FROM: The Mayor's Blue -Ribbon Panel SUBJECT: Executive Summary - Recommendations and Conclusions DATE: June 28, 2024 This memorandum represents our recommendations and conclusions as we complete the tasks that you have asked of us in our work with the City of Edmonds (City). We appreciate your support for this work, the openness to our questions and the transparency with which you and your staff have approached these challenging issues. Our Charge You convened the "Mayor's Blue -Ribbon Panel" (the Panel) in response to the Edmond's City Council's declaration of a "fiscal emergency" in the context of their financial policies. In forming the Panel you asked that we: 1. Ascertain the City's financial condition with a focus on the City's General Fund, 2. Determine how the City found itself with this problem, 3. Make recommendations with regard to correcting the situation, 4. Make recommendations for the City's financial and budgetary practices that would help return the City to long-term financial health. Our Methods The Mayor and Panel determined to use the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Fiscal First Aid methodology. This is a "12 step" process and serves as the construct for the "12 Step Project Plan" which is one of the work products attached to this memorandum. The Panel worked through the topics and issues that the 12-step approach raises. This represents a very comprehensive method to evaluate issues such as this. The Panel's work included reviewing past and current budgets, requested and reviewed additional deeper analytics of certain expenses (professional services, employee additions, compensation, etc.), review of the fire & EMS service options, and various "what if scenarios". The topics and issues incorporated into the 12-step approach led the Panel to investigate many and numerous elements of the City's fiscal planning and management practices. Specific Responses to the Charge to the Panel 1. Ascertain the condition of the City's financial condition with a focus on the City's General Fund, The City's actual ending fund balance in the General Fund at the end of 2023 is $2.492 million. This is compared to the budget estimate of $3.047 million. 2. Determine how the City found itself with this problem, As illustrated in the table below, expenditures were in excess of revenues in years 2020 through 2023 by a total of $13.9 million. More information about the details of this element Packet Pg. 12 6.2.b Memorandum to Mayor Rosen re: Blue Ribbon Panel — Executive Summary is both below in this memo and in the original memo dated February 20, 2024. ACTUAL (thousands) Revenues Expenditures FB effect * unaudited / i Final Budget 2019 Actual 2019 Final Budget 2020 Actual 2020 Final Budget 2021 Actual 2021 Final Budget 2022 Actual 2022 Final Budget 2023 Actual* 2023 41,113 42,263 42,576 40,937 42,190 43,697 45,080 41,637 52,599 50,005 44,151 41,212 46,693 43,332 45,864 41,726 53,791 45,422 63,984 59,677 (3,038) 1,051 (4,117) (2,395) (3,674) 1,971 (8,711) (3,785) (11,385) (9,672) xeliminary Revenue differences 1,150 (1,639) 1,507 (3,443) (2,594) Budget deficits have continued with current expenditures in the 2024 budget being approximately $12.5 million more than expected revenues as illustrated in the table below. Decisions Impact (millions) RFA funding from ARPA $6.25 Contra -Account* 3.20 Sub -Total "Problem" $9.45 Additional Unbudgeted Impacts Examples: Negotiated union contract, additional police cars and technology, replenishing deferred bldg. maintenance fund, library repairs, new financial software, staff additions, staff salaries 3.05 Revised Sub -total "Problem" $12.50 Used Reserve Funds ** 8.00 * The non -departmental budget included an off -set to authorized expenditures, a negative budget amount of $3.2 million which represented open staff positions at the time, as a budget balancing action. ** Reserve Funds to be replenished up to required Reserve Funds levels as prescribed by current City Council policy 3. Make recommendations with regard to correcting the situation - See below 4. Make recommendations for the City's financial and budgetary practices that would help return the City to long-term financial health - See below and the detailed Fiscal First Aid 12 Step Project Plan. Summary of Observations and Recommendations The following is a summary of our observations and recommendations. More detail on each is found in the attachments. The attachments include: 1. Fiscal First Aid 12 Step Project Plan —this describes the responses of the Panel in the context of the GFOA's detailed Fiscal First Aid 12 step methodology elements. This Plan has attachments as well which document answers to certain questions within the Project Plan. 2. Strategic Approach to Fiscal Resiliency — A series of recommendations for future steps to help resolve the current fiscal emergency and set the stage for assuring the City avoids similar problems in the future. 3. Financial Health Model —A financial planning model that provides historical context and enables modeling various alternative approaches to financial planning for the future. The Packet Pg. 13 6.2.b Memorandum to Mayor Rosen re: Blue Ribbon Panel — Executive Summary Panel recommends that the City makes a habit of evaluating decisions of significance that have fiscal implications with this model. Observations — Fund Balances in the General Fund are Far Below Required Policy Targets. The City finds itself with fund balances in its General Fund below policy target levels largely due to additions to authorized expenditures which occurred in the 2022 and 2023 budget processes. Additionally, these increased expenditures were augmented with additional authorized expenditures in budget amendments in both years. Revenues were not increased nor were sources of funding for the budgeted increases in expenditures identified at the time of the proposed budget amendments. As a result, expenditure budgets have exceeded revenue estimates by almost $20 million during the most recent two-year period. Revenue Estimates Were Overstated. Revenue estimates were overstated in 2020, 2022 and 2023 in a cumulative amount of $7.6 million. Revenue estimates are the basis for balancing a budget against authorized expenditures. Therefore, if it weren't for staff underspending the authorized budgets, deficits in these three years could have been as high as $27.6 million. Spending was less than budgeted amounts by $16 million during these three years which meant that expenditures exceeded revenues by $11.6 million — still a significant problem. Sufficient Information Was Not Available to the Council to Make Proper Decisions. Revenue estimates were not adequately documented which limited the potential for scrutiny of the estimates. Long-range forecasts were provided but contained no insights into the assumptions (which proved to be unrealistic). Inadequate documentation and discussion occurred when budget amendments were proposed. Amendments in 2020-2023 amounted to a net increase of expenditures above revised revenues of $11.3 million. The Budget Process and Related Software Systems are Antiquated. The City has been embarking on an update to their core financial systems for years (the system was purchased by another company in 2004 and subsequently discontinued). The City financially committed to a contemporary budget development and transparency system two years ago but never implemented the software. The software subscription costs are being paid by the City with no benefit from the systems. No centralized procurement systems are in place. No methods to evaluate the effectiveness of City programs using program metrics exists. An apparent lack of collaboration within City operations at several levels likely contributed to inefficient services to the community. Recommendations —A detailed series of recommendations are incorporated into the project documents attached to this memorandum. The current budget imbalance needs to be resolved with a combination of: 1. New sources of non -tax revenues: Red light cameras, increased fees, and other revenue increases, 2. Expense reductions: head count reductions, furloughs, professional service and other non - compensation reductions, Packet Pg. 14 6.2.b Memorandum to Mayor Rosen re: Blue Ribbon Panel — Executive Summary 3. New taxes: The 1% annual increase for EMS, and GF should be done for 2025 and 2026. Additional property levy for GF and / or joining SCF will require a vote and would not impact the revenues until 2026. (Note: with the lag of significant revenue increases until 2025, The Panel recommends "bridging" the 2025 budget with borrowing internally from available surplus resources in other City funds). A summary of detailed recommendations include: 1. Continue generic treatments already implemented a. Scrutinize hiring and limit to only essential positions; b. Monitor overtime use and limit as appropriate; c. Evaluate transfers to reserve replacement funds until fiscal stability is achieved; d. Scrutinize expenditures above a prescribed threshold, currently at a recommended $1,000; e. Do not increase budget authority (amendments) without a corresponding increase in anticipated revenues unless absolutely necessary; 2. Develop a Financial Health Model a. Such a model has been developed by the Panel and is attached, b. Determine if it is in the community's best interest to have relatively high reserve level targets for the City's general government, especially in the context of the current challenge to rebuild them; 3. Develop and evaluate a monthly cash -flow model a. Such a model is developed and is now in use by the Finance Committee; 4. Develop financial policies that clarify boundaries and guidelines a. Certain financial policies have been developed and are being considered by the Finance Committee; b. Develop citywide procurement policies that improve the efficiency, clarify City systems and improve accountability, c. Once policies are in place, illustrate the status of compliance in future budgets and determine how best to hold parties accountable for compliance; 5. Incorporate future operating budget impacts into the evaluation of capital improvements and ensure adequate resources will be available to support the operations and maintenance of capital improvements before they are approved; 6. Utilize a contemporary approach to budget development such as Priority Based Budgeting (PBB) a. Incorporate a method to stratify City programs to inform budget choices and stop or reduce low priority services, b. Improve internal collaboration, c. Obtain objective evaluations of the value to City programs and related costs to the community, d. Scrutinize certain expenditures using a "zero -based" model (do not assume the current level of funding is correct), e. Develop performance measures that enable evaluation of the effectiveness of City programs and incorporate into the budget process; 7. Evaluate revenues in the context of the "price of government" (POG) 0 Packet Pg. 15 6.2.b Memorandum to Mayor Rosen re: Blue Ribbon Panel — Executive Summary a. Emphasize the taxpayer / ratepayer perspective when evaluating alternative revenue scenarios, b. Improve transparency in revenue forecast estimates; c. Understand the level of general government subsidy for each City program, d. Determine if the available general government revenues are sufficient to provide for the desired service levels where gaps exist between program revenues and program costs, e. Evaluate current City assets and determine the most effective means of meeting the City's needs with these assets (some might be sold, consolidated or repurposed), f. Propose enhancing general government revenues if necessary; 8. Make updating related technology a priority; 9. Evaluate the degree to which maintenance has been deferred on City assets such as buildings, roadways and systems, a. Consider a funding strategy that maintains City assets properly, b. Develop a bond strategy to address the long-term capital needs of the City; 10. Incorporate risk assessment and management while implementing these recommendations a. The level of change being recommended is high which increases risk, b. The nature of the changes are complex and increase risk, c. Insufficient training and technology tools are in place which raises risk; 11. Develop a communication plan to achieve a high level of transparency of this work and the implementation of recommendations a. Consider establishing a standing City commission or committee to observe and advise the City on financial matters, b. Rebuild public trust in the City's ability to manage fiscal health. 12. Evaluate if costs (including payroll) are being incurred in the general fund to oversee and supervise activities of other funds, such as the utility funds. Such costs should be transferred to the specific fund and then considered in determining needed revenue of the specific fund 13. Investments: a. Review performance returns of each of the cities investments and strive to increase returns without incurring more risk. Example, A substantial balance until very recently was invested in the Snohomish County LGIP earning less than half the rate of the Washington State LGIP at 5.41 %. 14. Budgeting and future year forecasts should include investment in capital expenditures that are anticipated to be funded by general fund revenues. 15. Capital Budgets, including all funding sources and impacts on general and other funds ongoing maintenance of such investments should be forecast for a 5 year period and updated each budget cycle. A significant community service involves fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The City has moved from an in-house model to a contract with the South Snohomish County Regional Fire Authority (RFA). While the contract has become more expensive overtime the RFA has determined that the contract payments are insufficient to cover the costs. Consequently, the RFA provided notice that the contract would be terminated at the end of 2025. While this is a significant Packet Pg. 16 Memorandum to Mayor Rosen re: Blue Ribbon Panel — Executive Summary 6.2.b community service and a large budgetary expense, the Panel does not believe the problems it was asked to evaluate were significantly impacted by the contract with the RFA. The Panel recommends that these matters be resolved independently of each other. Conclusion It was appropriate for the City Council to declare a fiscal emergency last October. The severe depletion of the City's fund balances and reserves is a legitimate concern. The degree of the financial challenges that the City is facing should not be underestimated. The work to restore financial stability will be difficult and it will be important for the administration and the Council to do the difficult work in a timely fashion to achieve that goal. The impact on taxpayers and ratepayers could be significant if the City chooses to propose revenue increases and the impacts of services level reductions need to be weighed should the City include expenditure reductions. These decisions should be considered carefully. Even though the complexity of the fiscal emergency presented a significant challenge to the panel to conduct its work in a timely and thorough manner, we were determined to be systematic and complete in our efforts. In closing, we want to express our appreciation for the support and space provided in order for us to complete these tasks and we encourage the City to stay diligent in its efforts to improve the Long- term fiscal health of our City. Edmonds has a lot to offer and we recognize this can only be realized with a fiscally strong and stable city government. Attachments: 1. Strategic Approach to Fiscal Resiliency 2. Fiscal First Aid 12 Step Project Plan 3. Financial Health Model 4. Memorandum to Mayor Rosen from Mike Bailey re: Report of Findings to Date (February 20, 2024) 5. "Price of Government" descriptions 6. Blue -Ribbon Panel Members Packet Pg. 17 City of Edmonds, Fiscal First Aid Project Plan 6.2.c 12 Steps to Financial Resiliency Recognition A. Make a rapid determination of the problem and assess its severity. o Where do revenues stand currently and what can we expect for the next six months? On -going revenues are realistically about $10 million below budgeted expenditures. Revenues were under -collected compared to budget in 2023 by about $2.5m. The scale of the immediate problem is set at $12.5 million and reserves are below policy thresholds by about $8 million. This equates to a $20.5 million problem. In addition, many maintenance items have been deferred for several years. o Are expenditures within budget? Yes, departments tend to spend within budget however salary savings from vacant positions are spent elsewhere. Additionally, budget amendments complicate this as they are approved against fund balance and authorize expenditures beyond resources even after a deficit funded budget is approved. ■ Can we "rein in" expenditures? The mayor's office is implementing measures to control expenditures. Both a hiring review and a spending review are in place. The 2024 budget sets a salary savings level of $3.2 million however the mayor's goal is $4 million. o Are we collecting all revenues as appropriate in a timely fashion? Under -collection of revenues due and owing to the city do not appear to be a problem. That said, fines and forfeitures have been declining significantly and are well below historical averages and budget estimates. Council may want to consider a policy decision regarding the nature of this revenue source (and set estimates at levels that align with policy). o Are current plans for revenue growth realistic? Revenue has been under -collected compared to budget for three of the past four years. This under -collection has been significant and could occur again in 2024. Revenue growth is limited by Washington State law and has not kept pace with authorizations in expenditures. The City has added positions and provided raises in compensation without corresponding increases in revenues. The budget amendment that approved this was utilizing fund balance. Revenue growth over the past five years has averaged about 5% annually. o What is the size of the imbalance we are anticipating? The fund balance is anticipated to be almost $6 million below policy target at year-end 2023 and $8.2 million below at the end of 2024. Additionally, a contra account in the adopted 2024 budget for compensation exceeds $3m. o What funds are at risk? It appears that the General Fund is the primary concern. Related funds (internal service funds that receive payments from the General Fund may have a related impact) Transfers to other funds was largely suspended in 2024. o The Street Fund finished the year in a deficit as well. It accounts for both maintenance and significant repair. The underfunding of roadway maintenance is a concern. The other (non -General) funds have not been deeply analyzed. B. Consider deeper questions about financial distress. Packet Pg. 18 City of Edmonds — Fiscal First Aid Project Plan o Is this temporary or long-term (structural or cyclical)? This is long-term and structural, and without being addressed in a significant way will become much worse over time (a short amount of time). o Is the government "rightsized"? It is unclear at this point as there is no data as to service levels or effectiveness. Comparisons of staff levels compared to neighboring cities seems consistent. Compensation compared to neighboring cities seems in line. C. Enlist others in the process? o Craft a message to help in understanding of the problem An initial diagnosis of the situation is being developed and was shared by the mayor at the State of the City address. Additionally, a council meeting on April 2"d discussed the diagnosis. o Develop confidence that there is a clear understanding of the problem. o Engage the audience(s) Council was informed of the plan to identify the issues and recommendations to remedy them. o Develop graphics and simulation to help with understanding the problem A report has been developed and related graphics and simulation will be developed (see exhibit 1). The mayor has assembled an interested group of citizens known as the "Blue - Ribbon Panel". They have done a good job of illustrating the problem with graphics. Mobilization A. Building a Core Recovery Team My experience suggests that the staff leadership team will need to step up to this challenge. However, they need to form a new team as they now have a new leader / mayor. o Look for existing teams which may meet this need The Mayor has appointed a "Blue -Ribbon Panel" to assist with the evaluation and recommendations. Additionally, recommendations are being made to engage the key stakeholders: council, mayor's office, city staff leadership. A very public discussion about the future financial operations of the City is recommended to occur this summer o Identify potential participants Mayor has appointed a Blue -Ribbon Panel of qualified residents to advise and engage on this topic. The community, staff leadership team and City Council are integral participants. o Consider the role of elected officials on the team The mayor's Blue -Ribbon Panel is appointed by the mayor and is advisory to him in this work. o Cover day-to-day operations The 2024 budget has numerous flaws for long-term financial resilience however it will provide for the day-to-day operations in 2024. Caution should be taken in the approval of any amendments to the budget. A cash flow for 2024 has been developed to manage the ability to remain solvent during the year. Several months reflect a cash flow deficit for the City's General Fund. o Consider the need for personnel replacements Under review and is the prerogative of the mayor. o Consider the need for legal advice B. Developing other teams Packet Pg. 19 6.2.c City of Edmonds — Fiscal First Aid Project Plan o Develop a realistic priority for the team's work The team will work using the GFOA' 12 steps to fiscal resiliency. The work is to be completed by the end of June 2024. o Share expectations Council will be notified at public meetings and the mayor will provide press notices o Clarify goals The goal is long-term financial resiliency for the City as a whole. o Formulate operating guidelines A charter for the Blue -Ribbon Panel has been developed ■ How will decisions be made ■ How will work be performed ■ How can concerns / issues be raised ■ How will differences be resolved ■ How will accountability for completing the work be created ■ Take minutes for each meeting ■ How to keep major stakeholders in formed A periodic update on this work will be provided by the Mayor's office to the Council. A recommendation to the City Council by the BRP has been made to make an update on this work a standing council meeting item. C. Analyze Stakeholders — the mayor will address stakeholders either directly or through the State of the City address. o Identify critical stakeholders (internal and external) o Diagnose the stakeholders position o Engage stakeholders ■ Communicate thoroughly ■ Articulate a vision ■ Balance transparency with discretion ■ Engage people 3 Generic treatments • Characteristics include: short time to benefit, not complex, reversible o Hiring freeze (or chill) All hiring of permanent staff requires the Mayor's prior approval o Deferring capital projects Under review o New fees for service Traffic cameras for busy intersections have been previously proposed. Traffic cameras in school zones has already been approved and a conservative estimate of revenues has been included in the 2024 adopted budget. Annexing to the Regional Fire Authority has been previously proposed and the council has initiated a study of this issue with implications beginning in 2026. o A comprehensive review offees will be part of the 2025-26 budget process. The Blue - Ribbon Panel recommends the mayor analyze all cost recovery options for City programs. o More aggressive revenue collections Revenue collections do not appear to be a contributing factor 4 Initial diagnosis A. Engage others in the diagnosis Packet Pg. 20 s.2.� City of Edmonds — Fiscal First Aid Project Plan o Seek additional perspectives of the diagnosis Blue -Ribbon Panel has conducted a diagnosis which clarified that staff additions, compensation increases and increases in services costs (including fire service costs) have contributed to the fiscal emergency. o Consider consulting with other department directors and city leaders Discussions with the department directors have occurred. It was insightful. Discussions with the department directors are on -going. B. Forecasting is essential o Establish a detailed short-term forecast (cash position) Such a cash flow plan has been developed. o Develop a long-term forecast (3 to 5 years) A long-term forecast is developed by the city however no assumptions are documented. A long-term forecast "Financial Health " model is being created by the BRP and will be used to make target budgeting recommendations. ■ Develop various scenarios (or an interactive model for scenario planning) An interactive model with clear scenarios has been developed and will serve as a basis for fundamental recommendations. ■ Develop a clear set of assumptions for each scenario Assumptions for the scenarios are clearly documented. Alternative scenarios are incorporated into the model. C. Develop a "Financial Health Model' o Describe fiscal stability for the city The council, mayor's office and staff leadership team will be asked to interact with the financial health model. Near term treatments o Control personnel costs ■ Vacancy control Vacancies are only being filled upon prior approval of the mayor. ■ Monitor and limit overtime use The mayor and leadership team should review and discuss all expenditures and focus on both overtime and the use of resources originally budgeted for positions. The BRP recommends that overtime be ` zero -based " for the 2025-26 budget. ■ Address healthcare costs The city is a member of the AWC healthcare program — likely the most economical choice. ■ Review the use of consultants and temporary staff Professional services costs have increased substantially. A zero based approach to these expenditures should be used for the 2025-26 budget. The RFA (a contributor to professional services increases) has advised that they are ending the relationship with the City of Edmonds. Afire -serve model is under review by the city council. o Enhance purchasing practices ■ Audit routine expenditures A pre -audit of all expenditures occurs however it is focused on legal and policy compliance. The pre -audit can be expanded to evaluate the merits of expenditures though it is too late to prevent the expense from being incurred. Packet Pg. 21 City of Edmonds — Fiscal First Aid Project Plan 6.2.c ■ Develop a procurement process that enables pre -approval of expenses under certain circumstances (such as larger expenses or those that will create future obligations). The city' financial systems are antiquated and do not support modern business practices intended to help scrutinize obligations. While the system appears to provide reliable data and information it is not efficient and contributes to problems such as those noted in the audit related to payroll documentation. ■ Investigate risk management practices and worker's compensation claims The city belongs to riskpools — common to most Washington cities. It is unclear the degree to which the City retains some of this exposure. Workers compensation is a potential area for further study. o Pooling resources and partnering ■ Cooperate with other governments to achieve economies of scale The city currently in engaged with many other governments and is analyzing annexing to the Regional Fire Authority. Several regional service relationships exist already. Additional local government partnerships are a potential alternative. These opportunities should be explored during the budget process. ■ Pool department resources Mayor is considering a reorganization. ■ Look for ways to partner with private enterprise / volunteers A potential lens for the 2025126 budget process. o Better manage capital spending, equipment and debt Capital contributions from the General Fund are minimal — which is a longer -term problem as it has contributed to deferred maintenance of City assets. ■ Better align capital spending with resources. Incorporate support for capital maintenance needs into the Financial Health Model. One concern is the lack of planning for operating budget impacts from completed capital projects such as in parks. ■ Use long-term capital improvement planning to make better decisions The City does not develop a capital improvement plan. The CIP will be a collaboration between Public Works, Parks and Administrative Services in the 2025-26 budget. ■ Develop an equipment replacement schedule Such a schedule exists however consider reducing the replacement budget temporarily if necessary. ■ Improve fleet management An option for review as fleet increases were significant in recent years. — reducing the replacement budget as a temporary alternative should be considered. ■ Review opportunities to refinance debt Higher interest rate environment today. Utility revenue backed is being refinanced to achieve savings. o Enhancing revenues ■ Obtain state or federal aid Not likely Examine fees for service Under consideration: Packet Pg. 22 City of Edmonds — Fiscal First Aid Project Plan 6.2.c • Traffic enforcement cameras at intersections • Cost recovery ratios will be reviewed as part of the 2025-26 budget process which may lead to recommendations to revise fees. • Other (?) New taxes with a strong connection to a desired service Considering ballot measure(s): • Annexing to the RFA — essentially shifting the propery tax burden for fire service and freeing up tax capacity within the city. o Alternatively retain fire & EMS service and propose a public safety levy for this purpose. • Levy lid lift to realign property taxes with past inflation • Public safety levy if a case can be made that public safety would be impacted unless a levy is approved. Improve billing and collection methods Likely not a contributing factor Audit tax revenue sources This is an option however it is not likely to have a significant impact. 6 Detailed diagnosis / Fiscal First Aid o Political / internal causes ■ Governance Crisis Prior administrations proposed budgets and budget amendments that caused this problem. The council essentially adopted the proposed financial plans that included both current year and future deficits. ■ Excessive Personnel Costs Increases in both employee counts and compensation were added without corresponding increases in ways to pay for them. Either no analysis was done on the future impacts of these decisions or it wasn't considered. That said, compensation does not appear to be excessive. ■ Past Awards of Unsustainable Retirement Benefits Not applicable in WA state for the City of Edmonds ■ Poor Morale and Commitment A lack of leadership within the administration likely contributed to this condition. A cohesive leadership team should be built and engaged in the long-term fiscal well-being of the City. ■ Overexpansion This is a fundamental cause. Increases in staff counts and city programs were approved and funded by one-time resources (namely fund balance). ■ Economic Development Incentives Based on the conversation with department directors there appears to be conflicting policy around economic development. Recommend that council clarify the policy goals regarding economic development. ■ Implicit Development Subsidies The level of development subsidies should be analyzed as part of the 2025-26 budget. The PBB process will illustrate the degree of subsidy for all city programs. o Internal, economic / technical causes Packet Pg. 23 City of Edmonds — Fiscal First Aid Project Plan 6.2.c ■ Management Challenges Management turn -over in key roles was negligible during this time. ■ Weak Budget Development Practices Budget development practices were indeed weak. Limited information about revenue estimates is provided. Revenue estimates were aggressive. The consequences of current decisions on future fiscal solvency is not explored. (There is a long-term financial forecast for the General Fund, but the assumptions that it is built on are not revealed in the budget). No means to determine the feasibility of City programs (i.e. performance metrics) are presented to provide context for budget decisions. ■ Lack of Innovation and Adaptability Department directors expressed a lack of awareness with regard to the financial problems. They suggested that they would welcome being included in future discussions about innovation and adaptability. ■ Poor Performance No program performance information is available. There appears to be little, effective personnel performance evaluation occurring as well. ■ Ineffective Information Technology Systems This is a significant shortcoming. The financial systems are antiquated leaving a largely paper -based system and no procurement best practices. Access to information is limited at best. Budget systems were subscribed to some years ago at a significant cost but not utilized. ■ Failure to Fund and Manage Retirement Benefits Prudently Largely not applicable — one potential risk is payouts upon separation. ■ Deteriorating Infrastructure Deferred maintenance is a significant long-term problem that our efforts are not intended to address. ■ Overbuilding Infrastructure This does not appear to be a concern however the future operating costs of completed capital improvements are contributing to the fiscal stress. ■ Low Bang -for -the -Buck Development Decisions Unsure that this is a contributing factor o External, political causes of financial distress ■ Poor Communication With the Public The public was largely unaware of this issue though some in the community have been expressing concern regarding city finances vocally and for quite some time. ■ Interest Groups No interest groups have been involved to this point. ■ Decline in Local Fiscal Autonomy State imposed limits are a factor but not new nor the cause of the decline which has essentially occurred over the past two to three years. o External, economic / technical ■ Economic Stagnation Not a contributing factor. The city and community are vibrant. Shifting Demographics Not a contributing factor. 7 Recovery Plan Packet Pg. 24 City of Edmonds — Fiscal First Aid Project Plan 6.2.c o A portfolio of strategies ■ External environment analysis The City of Edmonds continues to be a vibrant and desirable community. Businesses tend to thrive and it is a very desirable place to live in the Puget Sound. The external environment will support a vibrant city government that meets the needs of its community. This is a very engaged community. ■ Financial projections Revenue growth is generally sufficient in the context of Washington State law (i.e. limitations on property tax growth). It appears that revenue projections have been optimistic in the past however still not utilized as a constraint in approving new spending and on -going commitments. ■ Description of goal The goal is long-term fiscal resiliency, including long-term needs such as infrastructure. A Financial Health Model will be developed that the BRP hopes will become an important tool for the Council to use in making future financial obligation decisions. ■ Recovery strategies Recovery will essentially be a restart of the budget building process and long- term financial plan (The Financial Health Model). A capital improvement plan will be developed. A zero -based approach utilizing Priority -Based Budgeting will rebuild the City' budget and overall financial plan. ■ Budget process analysis A very traditional, incremental budget process utilizing "decision packages" has been used in the past. Until about four years ago, this served the City' needs. During more recent times this obscured the financial problems that were being introduced into the budget. Rather than present the bigger fiscal picture, the process focused on micro issues that distracted from fiscal health. ■ Budget reform plan A new, zero -based budget process utilizing PBB will start with community conversations about the priorities to be funded by city programs. Consideration of a new capital improvement plan will also be considered. ■ Operational analysis Operations of the City will be evaluated as part of the 2025-26 budget process. New performance standards will be developed and a program of performance evaluation will be implemented. ■ Operational action plan The PBB process will utilize performance management to inform an on -going program evaluation plan. This will inform future budget discussions. Budget amendments will also utilize this approach. ■ Risk assessment Risks in introducing so much process change at one time exists. The risk of "business as usual" are higher. ■ The Blue -Ribbon Panel has expressed concerns about risks and potential risk mitigation strategies. o Communicate effectively Packet Pg. 25 6.2.c City of Edmonds — Fiscal First Aid Project Plan ■ Communicate upward City Council is an essential partner in this work. A proposed standing council agenda item to stay aware of theses issues should be considered. ■ Communicate to outside groups City Boards and Commission should be a specific audience for this work. The recovery plan will be community based with significant public involvement. ■ The mayor is preparing to survey the community to help develop a baseline for budget development. ■ The proposed plan includes community meetings to both create awareness and inform future budget priorities. ■ of the BRP recommends forming a "Citizen Budget Advisory Committee " which is underway. ■ Communicate with surrounding jurisdictions A communication plan for the larger region and state legislators should be developed. ■ Communicate downward Department Directors are an essential part of a successful implementation and should be developed into a strong partner. Labor leaders and City employees should be kept informed. o Use a team approach ■ Develop a Realistic Priority of the Teams Work The mayor will lead the development of implementation teams. Share Expectations Mayor began sharing expectations with the Council and community at the State of the City. Department directors and staff will be engaged as they are essential to success. Clarify Goals The goal is a successful path to fiscal resilience both for now and the future. Formulate Operating Guidelines Largely based on the PBB process, including upcoming budget process will be the foundation for a new culture complete with operating guidelines. Long Term Treatments o Financial foundations Leadership strategies • Develop an inspiring, shared vision for the community in order to convince stakeholders of the benefits of working together for a strong financial foundation and thriving community. A combination of the "right price ofgovernment" and priority -based budgeting will help to set a vision for a strong financial foundation in the future. • Build long time horizons into fiscal planning to circumvent short-term thinking that may have adverse consequences in the long run. Updating and activating the long-range financial plan as a context for all future decision making by the administration and the council is recommended. The plan should incorporate scenarios to explore resiliency. Packet Pg. 26 6.2.c City of Edmonds — Fiscal First Aid Project Plan • Help people recognize their shared interest in a financially healthy local government by creating open communication between people. Consider a tool like `Balancing Act" to illustrate community trade-offs and engage on city financial decision making. • Make a concerted effort to improve trust. Trust is essential for a local government to perform at its best, to provide high -quality services, and to have a strong financial foundation. The above actions will help to improve trust. Building trust through transparency is a commitment by the mayor. • Keep key stakeholders and employees engaged in the decision -making process. The priority -based budget approach will engage city leaders, the citizen budget committee and the council. • Use formal and informal power to provide oversight, reinforce financially constructive behavior, and to encourage collaborative behaviors through organizational culture. Leadership will be essential to the success of these efforts. Institutional designs • Develop new and better approaches to public engagement. The public will be more likely to sustain it when it is engaged in deciding how the budget will be used. Consider `Balancing Act"; implement a citizen budget committee and be proactive in discussing long-term implications of current decisions. • Form and maintain relationships with other public, non -private, and private organizations in order to direct more resources and capabilities to solving pressing community challenges. This is the on -going work of the mayor and other organizational leaders. • Financial policies should be used to define boundaries around who shares and controls public resources and how resources can be used. Some financial policies exist however a new framework offinancial policies has been developed and recommended to the Council via the Finance Committee. • Create a system to monitor the process of financial decision -making and the outcomes of those decisions. Timely and relevant financial information will be provided to the councils Finance Committee monthly and reviewed periodically by the full council. The Financial Health Model should become the context for evaluating decisions by the Mayor and Council. • Develop a system of rewards and penalties that apply a lighter touch at first, and only resorts to weightier options in more extreme circumstances. • Be clear about where money comes from and where it goes. A "Budget in Brief' will be developed and used to help communicate city financial dynamics at a high-level. Packet Pg. 27 City of Edmonds — Fiscal First Aid Project Plan 6.2.c Develop decision -making systems that are perceived to be fair by the participants. Priority -based budgeting is intended to be this system. Develop systems to manage relationships with higher levels of governments that can influence the local government's financial position. Not a significant element. Technical Treatments • Control Employee Benefits Costs A subject of collective bargaining • Contain Employee Health Care Costs. Local governments need to design their employee health plans to contain costs. The City belongs to the Association of Washington Cities Healthcare plans which are likely to the most cost effective. • Don't budget incrementally The city has used incremental budgeting in the past and this has contributed to the problems. Future budgets will analyze all non - compensation expenditures (not just the increments) and be evaluated based on performance. Several elements of the budget should be `zero -based" in the upcoming budget process. • Stop or reduce lower priority services One of the key objectives of PBB is to identify lower priority services and consider alternatives. • Improve / simplify work processes This should be considered as an on -going element of city management. • Overcome limits of local government fragmentation • Ensure capital assets are affordable Analysis of the effects of capital improvements on future operating costs has not occurred and the recommendation is to use the Financial Health Model to evaluate these issues. 9 Long-term financial planning Long-term financial planning will be essential to understanding the future implications of todays decisions. A focus on long-term financial planning by developing a Financial Health Model for major operating funds is proposed. 10 Recovery Leadership o Leadership is essential to financial recovery Leadership on the part of the Mayor and Council is essential. o Leadership behaviors ■ Trust and credibility ■ Emotional intelligence ■ Collaborative ■ Action -oriented ■ Detail -oriented ■ Vision ■ Enthusiasm for public service ■ Fairness ■ Respect Packet Pg. 28 s.2.� City of Edmonds — Fiscal First Aid Project Plan ■ Honesty and forthrightness ■ Skepticism ■ Courage o Leadership credibility ■ Articulate a vision ■ Be consistent in words and actions ■ Be flexible in solutions ■ Be honest ■ Give the personal touch ■ Show empathy ■ Demonstrate expertise ■ Trust followers ■ Encourage followers o Communication ■ Be direct, honest, accessible and forthright ■ Acknowledge the concerns of others ■ Be realistic ■ Find and convert key influencers ■ Repeat3 o Communications plan ■ What ■ How ■ Whom ■ Where ■ When o Don't play the blame game After developing a clear understanding of what contributed to these problems the BRP recommends that participants avoid placing blame and to look forward rather than backward. The Mayor and Council may want to state this affirmatively as many active citizens are continuing to discuss the past and assess blame. o Help others deliver key messages Clear communication about the nature of the problems and the recommendations to resolve them should enable others to deliver sound information (rather than rumors or speculation). o No surprises Participants are committed to honesty, and clarity. Now is the time to put all the issues on the table in a factual way. o Inspire the organization to take action Given the severity of the fiscal emergency, the participants appear inspired to address the issues appropriately. We have worked to keep the issue of a "fiscal emergency" in front of the participants to maintain urgency. 11 Manage the Recovery Process o Governance The Mayor as CEO of the City and Council as the policy board are responsible for the governance of the recovery process. They have engaged others to support this effort. o Project Management Plan Packet Pg. 29 City of Edmonds — Fiscal First Aid Project Plan ■ Scope General Fund and Street Fund initially. ■ Requirements ■ Stakeholder engagement Active stakeholder engagement is a priority for the Mayor and Council ■ Resource Resources have been evaluated and generally not recommended as they present additional costs at a time when additional costs are counter productive. ■ Communications Proactive communication is important to success as a long-term solution will require support from the community through higher taxes. ■ Risk Management Riskfor the implementation of these recommendations should be considered. A lot will be required from all participants — especially finance staff— to accomplish all that is being recommended. o Project portfolio The project portfolio is essentially the recommendations contained in this plan and summarized in the Strategic Approach to Fiscal Resiliency (attached) ■ Goal achievement The goal is to achieve fiscal resiliency for the long-term. That involves restoring fund balances and resetting levels of service by the City to the community. This will take several years. ■ Risk Several recommendations are being made. So much change in a small amount of time will result in risk which should be monitored and managed by the City. ■ Resources The BRP has analyzed the availability of outside resources as part of this work and is recommending a limited number of outside resources in order to contain costs. ■ Impact on fiscal distress As a result of the desire to limit the number of "asks " of support from the community through votes to increase resources, the short-term fiscal distress will increase before these remediations take effect. The City will have to borrow to support City programs in 2025 with the expectation of being able to repay said borrowing from increased community support through additional revenues. o Communications ■ Establish clear chain of command to manage tasks The Mayor's office will manage communication tasks. ■ Control rumors ■ Be as transparent as possible ■ Remote workers 12 Outcomes of the Recovery Process o Bankruptcy Bankruptcy could occur if the City does not develop and execute a successful long-term fiscal recovery plan. Bankruptcy is defined as the inability of the City to meet its financial obligations over time. Packet Pg. 30 6.2.c City of Edmonds — Fiscal First Aid Project Plan 1. o A strong financial foundation and resiliency It is the expectation of the Blue Ribbon Panel that the Mayor develop and propose a Financial Health Model as well as a 2025-26 biennial budget that includes a clear definition of anticipated costs for on -going costs to provide the right level of service to the community and a corresponding revenue model that would support such a plan. Packet Pg. 31 6.2.d Proposed Strategic Approach to Fiscal Resilience for the City of Edmonds Here is the proposed path forward. 1. Utilize a Priority Based Budget process (PBB). (Note: the BRP examined the potential of recommending that the City engage ResourceX, an experienced service provider of PBB and decided that the advantages of this facilitated approach were not worth the additional costs when budgets are already in distress). a. A priority -based budget process which the council and community has expressed interest in will serve as a strong foundation for the future. b. Staff will develop budget programs to express their budget requests and relate these programs to council and community priorities. c. Program descriptions will be community focused and clearly illustrate the degree to which the program requires a governmental subsidy (e.g. from property or other taxes) d. Programs will be scored by a cross department staff team and the mayor's community budget advisory committee against criteria to be developed (such as level of mandate, fee recovery, alignment with equity goals, etc.) e. Care should be taken to identify the impacts of state or federal mandates that imposed financial obligations to the city (no associated resources came with the mandates). 2. "Zero -base" certain accounts in the budget process. a. Any new positions originally authorized in budgets beginning in 2020 as well as any positions currently not filled. i. Positions should be assessed as to need in the context of the PBB approach b. Ask staff to identify all expenditures anticipated within certain budget accounts (such as professional services, training, travel, intergovernmental services, overtime compensation, funding to outside organizations). c. Consider circumstances where a volunteer or community -based organization can provide the service. d. Consider partnering with other organizations for non -core City programs. 3. Facilitated community meetings will be provided to brief on the issues and enable participants to share their opinions on the tradeoffs we will confront with this upcoming biennial budget process. a. Conduct a community survey to learn from the community its priorities and assessments of city efforts. (note: the survey schedule will be an important consideration) b. The survey will be an important way to ground the city's budget work in the community's priorities. Conduct community forums / focus groups which will be informed by the survey results. c. Use the decision units (programs) as a focus. d. Compile the input into a framework for priorities and strategies that inform the budget process. Share this work -product with the council as a starting point for their budget priority setting retreat. Packet Pg. 32 6.2.d e. Use this budget process to identify what the city should fund, and as a consequence what the city won't fund —this reduces our current cost either by partnering with others, outsourcing or eliminating / reducing programs. Again, this will be supported by community input. 4. Based on the recommendations from the fire and EMS responsibility study make a recommendation to the council with regard to a public vote regarding the property tax. a. Considerations with respect to future fire and EMS services include: i. Annexation to the South Snohomish County Regional Fire Authority, ii. Explore contracting with neighboring fire / EMS service providers, iii. Reinstating an Edmonds Fire / EMS Department, in-house, iv. Conduct a longer -term analysis of the various cost option models to ensure making a good long-term decision. v. If recommendation is to annex to the RFA, the BRP supports that effort. 1. The BRP recommends Council consider a "revenue neutral" approach to the city, which would create clear separation between the issue of providing fire and EMS service to the community from the fiscal distress that is not related to this issue. Alternatively, the City would benefit from an annexation to the RFA in an amount of about $6 million. Care should be taken to illustrate the ways in which City taxpayers would be impacted under either scenario. b. If recommendation is to reinstate fire responsibility then a property tax levy lid lift effort would be necessary. i. Such a levy could occur at any time. 5. Develop a long-range financial planning model to clearly illustrate the assumptions and test various scenarios that achieve fiscal resiliency. a. Evaluate various revenue assumptions. b. Model property tax levy options and fund balance rebuilding scenarios. i. Such models can illustrate various assumptions related to the fire and EMS service model decision in 4 above. c. Make recommendations for timing, size and nature of changes to the base model that achieve fiscal resiliency. d. The BRP recommends that the City rebuild reserves to policy levels over time and not bundle this aspect of the financial challenge into a revenue increase. i. Additionally, the BRP recommends the City review the financial policy minimum reserve levels for the General Fund to determine if it is too high. 6. Start the biennial budget process with steps 1 and 2 above. a. Begin working with the department directors on the expectations for this upcoming budget process. i. Introduce the idea that program performance metrics will be essential in this work — a new concept in Edmonds. ii. Engage the department directors in their responsibilities for contributing to fiscal resiliency and foster their active participation in the budgeting process. Packet Pg. 33 6.2.d b. Develop a calendar with the details of how we are going to build the budget. i. Include the public's role (the research / surveys and community meetings described in 2 above), the council's role starting with their policy direction at the beginning of our work (but after the community meetings), the department director's role and the finance office's role. ii. Include specific dates for each element of this work 1. Submit the calendar to the council for their input and adoption. c. Utilize the Priority -Based Budget approach which will deliver a process to follow, clear alignment with community and council priorities. (see flow -chart description below) i. Develop spreadsheets to facilitate the process and present clear opportunities into the various levels (as defined by us) such as mandated service, core service, important to have, nice to have, etc. 1. Clearly document the assumptions 2. Include an assumption of no cuts so that we can illustrate the larger impact of the property taxes 3. Illustrate alternative scenarios ii. Build the budget in a way that presents the priority -oriented choices for council's consideration. 1. Illustrate general government subsidies for programs. d. Propose alternative approaches to rebuilding the reserves i. Consider recommending changes to the level of fund balances in the policy. Financial Planning Schedule Rough Outline for the 2025-26 Biennial Budget March 1. Brief council / labor / staff 2. State of the City 281n April 1. Begin Priority Based Budgeting (PBB) program development a. Beginning implementing PBB by importing data, etc. May 1. Community survey 2. Community meetings to identify community priorities a. 4-6 meetings of about 15-20 people to meet in groups (including boards and commission members) 3. Council retreat on budget development approach 4. Department use PBB approach to begin building budgets June 1. Identify the scoring criteria for city program evaluation within PBB Packet Pg. 34 6.2.d July 2. Build a program inventory for the PBB effort 3. Begin to develop performance measures for city programs 1. Detailed forecasts for internal purposes which informs budget decision making and related actions August 1. Mid -year financial review— council meeting a. Review of current year budget status b. Preliminary review of revenues (for next biennium) i. Both general government and utilities 2. Preliminary review of long-range financial plan (assumptions) Proposed Preliminary Budget (not balanced) 3. Internal budget balancing work by the mayor and staff leadership team September 1. Mayor's preliminary budget recommendation October 1. Council budget workshops & first public hearing November 1. Council budget workshops & second public hearing 2. Adopt 2025-26 biennial budget Flow -chart of the Priority Based Budgeting Process 1. Determine priorities and attributes (these will be used to "score" or evaluate city programs. 2. Identify City programs (programs are community facing service units as contrasted to City organizational units) a. Correlate the current City budget to the program budget (associate existing revenues and expenditures with the programs) 3. Staff prepares budget requests in the context of the program budget. a. Both revenues and expenditures associated with programs should be identified. b. Narrative descriptions of the program, the purpose the program exists and benefits to the program's customers should be included. c. Performance expectations for programs should be developed. d. Staff prepares explanations of the expenditures requested for the items identified as "zero based". 4. Evaluate how strongly the programs align with the priorities and the attributes. a. A cross -department staff team and the mayor's citizen budget committee will each evaluate proposed program budgets independently. i. As part of the scoring process, each team will recommend adjustments to the budget requests as appropriate. 5. Compare programs to available resources to identify the budget gap. Packet Pg. 35 6.2.d a. Consider changes to current revenues, taxes, fees, etc. b. Make decisions with regard to property tax levy lid increase requests as appropriate. 6. Propose a balanced budget, inclusive of anticipated increases in revenues based on a request to the community for a levy lid increase to the property tax. Packet Pg. 36 6.2.e Expenditure Model Scenarios https://d.docs.live.net/06e4O1288bO44aef/consulting/Edmonds/2024/Finance Department/[Financial Health Model - Scenario 2.xlsx]Exp( Targets for Overall Changes 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 Forecast I Forecast I Forecast I Forecast I Forecast I Forecast Inflation 3.50% 3.00% 2.50% 2.50% 2.50% 2.50% Expenditures Labor 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Benefits 1.00% 1.00% 1.00% 1.00% 1.00% 1.00% Supplies 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Services 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Capital 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Fire and EMS Options Expenditure Impact Annex ed to South County RFA Yes No No No No Informed by Revenue Model Expenditure impact in thousands (13,000) a� �a a� G m ca IL O m m m O 2 L 3 r _ d Q X W N O L M Q V Cn _ E t w+ Q Packet Pg. 37 6.2.f City of Edmonds - Financial Health Model (All Numbers in Thousands) 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 Actual Actual I Actual I Budget Forecast Forecast Forecast Forecast Forecast Forecast Beginning Fund Balance 13,844 15,915 11,903 2,529 1,693 (6,961) 531 3,004 5,406 7,736 Revenue Property Taxes - General 14,655 14,843 14,892 11,557 11,491 19,607 14,804 14,953 15,103 15,254 Property Taxes - EMS 4,349 4,393 - - - - - Retail Sales Taxes 10,508 11,314 11,741 12,300 12,854 13,432 13,902 14,389 14,892 15,413 Other Sales Taxes 977 1,041 1,064 1,150 1,202 1,256 1,300 1,345 1,392 1,441 Utility Taxes 6,464 6,600 6,943 7,663 7,932 8,169 8,374 8,583 8,798 9,018 Other Taxes 375 411 366 416 431 444 455 466 478 490 Licenses/Permits/Franchise 1,761 1,790 1,620 1,834 1,898 1,955 2,004 2,054 2,105 2,158 Construction Permits 692 770 541 160 166 171 175 179 184 188 Grants 368 259 1,625 41 41 41 41 41 41 41 State Revenues 1,240 1,108 1,154 1,164 1,204 1,240 1,271 1,303 1,336 1,369 Charges for Goods & Services 2,793 3,021 3,994 4,094 4,237 4,364 4,473 4,585 4,699 4,817 Interfund Service Charges 3,121 - - 4,027 4,168 4,293 4,401 4,511 4,623 4,739 Fines & Forfeitures 272 183 194 902 934 962 986 1,011 1,036 1,062 Miscellaneous Revenues 470 1,074 1,407 1,009 1,044 1,076 1,103 1,130 1,159 1,187 Other Financing Sources - - 717 - - - - - - - Transfers 414 26 97 391 98 98 98 98 98 98 Total Revenues 44,111 42,441 46,355 51,057 52,092 57,107 53,385 54,647 55,944 57,276 Revenue % Change YOY I 3.8%I -3.8%I 9.2%I 10.1%I 2.0%I 9.6%I -6.5%I 2.4%I 2.4%I 2.4% Expenditures Labor 17,919 17,498 20,237 24,032 24,874 25,620 26,260 26,917 27,590 28,279 Benefits 6,279 6,076 7,090 8,137 8,503 8,843 9,153 9,473 9,805 10,148 Supplies 709 838 829 917 949 978 1,002 1,027 1,053 1,079 Services 16,145 18,737 24,888 17,535 25,149 12,903 13,226 13,556 13,895 14,243 Capital 269 1,598 1,011 - - - - - - - Packet Pg. 38 6.2.f Debt Service 60 392 467 621 621 621 621 621 621 621 Transfers 658 1,315 1,243 650 650 650 650 650 650 650 Total Expenses 42,039 46,453 55,765 51,893 60,746 49,615 50,912 52,245 53,614 55,020 Expense % Change YOY 1 -4.8%I 10.5% 20.0%I -6.9% 17.1 %I -18.3%I 2.6%1 2.6%I 2.6%1 2.6% Revenues less Expenditures 2,072 (4,012) (9,410) (836) (8,654) 7,492 2,473 2,402 2,330 2,255 Change in Ending Fund Balance Ending Fund Balance 2,072 (4,012) (9,410) (836) (8,654) 7,492 2,473 2,402 2,330 2,255 I 15,915 11,903 2,529 1,693 (6,961) 531 3,004 5,406 7,736 9,991 Property Taxes Retail Sales Taxes Other Sales Taxes Utility Taxes Other Taxes Licenses/Permits/Franchise Construction Permits Grants State Revenues Charges for Goods & Services Interfund Service Charges Fines & Forfeitures Miscellaneous Revenues Other Financing Sources Transfers Expenditures Labor Benefits 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 Actual Actual Estimate Budget Outlook Outlook Outlook Outlook Outlook Outlook 2021 2022 2023 0.1% 1.3% 0.3% -22.4% 1.1% 1.1% 1.1% 1.1% 1.1% 1.1% 24.7% 7.7% 3.8% 4.8% 4.5% 4.5% 3.5% 3.5% 3.5% 3.5% 19.4% 6.5% 2.2% 8.1% 4.5% 4.5% 3.5% 3.5% 3.5% 3.5% -0.5% 2.1% 5.2% 10.4% 3.5% 3.0% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.0% 9.4% -10.9% 13.7% 3.5% 3.0% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 8.6% 1.6% -9.5% 13.2% 3.5% 3.0% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 5.6% 11.3% -29.7% -70.4% 3.5% 3.0% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% -43.9% -29.6% 526.6% -97.5% 26.9% -10.7% 4.2% 0.8% 3.5% 3.0% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 31.7% 8.2% 32.2% 2.5% 3.5% 3.0% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% -5.2% -100.0% 3.5% 3.0% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% -5.3% -32.8% 6.1% 365.1% 3.5% 3.0% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% -22.4% 128.7% 31.0% -28.3% 3.5% 3.0% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% -100.0% 3.5% 3.0% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% -73.1% -93.6% 268.8% 303.2% -75.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.1% -2.4% 15.7% 18.8% 3.5% 3.0% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% -2.9% -3.2% 16.7% 14.8% 4.5% 4.0% 3.5% 3.5% 3.5% 3.5% N d a� 0 as _ M a. _ 0 a� _ m N _ M 0 s w Z a 0 5 N 2 M a� a� E a Packet Pg. 39 6.2.f Supplies 7.7% 18.2% -1.0% 10.6% Services -6.9% 16.0% 32.8% -29.5% Capital -67.8% 494.2% -36.7% -100.0% Debt Service -79.7% 550.1% 19.3% 33.1% Transfers -45.5% 99.9% -5.5% -47.7% Total Expenses 3.5% 3.0% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 3.5% 3.0% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 3.5% 3.0% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% - 0.0% Packet Pg. 40 6.2.g Revenue Model Scenarios https://d.docs.live.net/06e401288bO44aef/consulting/Edmonds/2024/Finance Department/[Financial Health Model - Scenario 2.xlsx]Revenue Model 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 Property Taxes Base Property Tax 11,376,608 11,491,116 11,606,698 19,803,798 14,952,543 15,102,720 15,254,348 Effect of Fire Levy Choice (6,000,000) - - - - Effect of Base Levy Lift Choice 14,000,000 (5,000,000) EMS Property Tax 4,349,145 4,392,920 - - - - - 15,725,753 15,884,035 19,606,698 14,803,798 14,952,543 15,102,720 15,254,348 % Change 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% Resulting Change 1.01% 23.44% -24.50% 1.00% 1.00% 1.00% Assessed Value (000) 15,352,931 17,120,578 18,976,607 20,925,437 22,971,709 25,120,294 27,376,309 % Change in AV 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% New Construction 1,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 Tax Levy Base 0.74101 0.67119 1.03320 0.70745 0.65091 0.60122 0.55721 EMS 0.28328 0.25659 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 Total Levy 1.02428 0.92777 1.03320 0.70745 0.65091 0.60122 0.55721 Scenarios Fire and EMS Options Yes=reduce base property tax and eliminate EMS levy; Annex ed to South County RFA Yes No No No No No=no change / see levy lid options Fire/EMS Levy yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Net property tax off -set (6,000,000) Base Property Tax Changes Base Levy Lid Lift No Yes Yes No No No Levy Increase 14,000,000 (5,000,000) Percent Tax Increase 121% 0% 0% 0% 0% Other Revenue Rates -Changes nflations Rate / Impact 3.50% 3.00% 2.50% 2.50% 2.50% 2.50% Sales Taxes 1.00% 1.50% 1.00% 1.00% 1.00% 1.00% Utility Taxes 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Other Taxes 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Licenses/Permits/Franchise 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Construction Permits 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% State Revenues 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Charges for Goods & Services 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Packet Pg. 41 6.2.g Interfund Service Charges 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Fines & Forfeitures 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Miscellaneous Revenues 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Other Financing Sources 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Packet Pg. 42 6.2.h Scenario # 2 2024 2025 2026 2027 1 Annex to RFA Redcue base property tax by - (6,000,000) - EMS property tax 4,392,920 - - 2 No changes in anything except property tax levy Change property tax levy by - 14,000,000 (5,000,000) Resulting levy rate 0.9278 1.0332 0.7075 (in thousands) Total Revenues 51,057 52,092 57,107 53,385 Total Expenditures 51,893 60,746 49,615 50,912 Change in Fund Balance (836) (8,654) 7,492 2,473 Resulting Fund Balance 1,693 (6,961) 531 3,004 Packet Pg. 43 6.2.h Edmonds 2028 2029 2030 0.6509 0.6012 0.5572 54,647 52,245 55,944 53,614 57,276 55,020 2,402 2,330 2,255 5,406 7,736 9,991 N m L 0 as c 0 a c 0 d m M E E cn N 2 •L M C d v cn w C d E t U fC a Packet Pg. 44 The Price of Government "The Price of Government" presents a radically different approach to budgeting. Rather than focusing on cutting or adding to last year's spending programs, it emphasizes buying results for citizens. The book of the same name advocates consolidation, competition, customer choice, and a relentless focus on outcomes to save millions while improving public services. It offers specific solutions based on the authors' experience applying reinvention strategies, demonstrating how a budget process that starts with results has transformed governments at all levels. The "Price" itself is a ratio of "community income" (per -capita income times population) divided by revenues. While difficult to compare among jurisdictions due to a variety of differences, the comparison of the "Price" over time can be a valuable tool to assess the adequacy of public funding. The Price of Government: Getting the Results We Need in an Age of Permanent Fiscal Crisis, David Osborne (Author), Peter Hutchinson (Author) Basic Books —February 20, 2006 Priority Based Budgeting A model that local governments and public sector agencies use to make budgetary decisions and allocate funds based on community needs. Traditional budgeting's use -it -or -lose -it mentality and across-the-board budget cuts don't consider factors other than a percentage make it difficult to connect funding with strategic goals or performance metrics. Instead, priority -based budgets focus on aligning resources with community priorities and outcomes. Here's how it works: 1. Community Needs: Priority -based budgeting starts by identifying the most critical community needs based on Citizen led surveys and focus groups. These needs can include areas like housing, transportation, sanitation, education, and healthcare. 2. Program -Centric Approach: Instead of allocating funds based on departmental structures, priority -based budgets allocate funding to specific programs or services. This r approach ensures that resources directly address community needs rather than being tied to historical spending patterns. 3. Accountability and Transparency: Priority -based budgets emphasize accountability for Q program results. By linking funding to outcomes, local governments create transparency and a better understanding of the true cost of each program. Residents gain confidence in government spending, and leadership remains accountable. 4. Flexible Funding: Rather than applying across-the-board cuts, priority -based budgets adjust funding based on the value of individual programs. Programs aligned with community priorities receive continued support, while those less effective may see reduced funding. Packet Pg. 45 7.1 City Council Agenda Item Meeting Date: 07/9/2024 Approval of Council Meeting Minutes June 25, 2024 Staff Lead: Council Department: City Clerk's Office Preparer: Scott Passey Background/History N/A Recommendation Approval of Council Meeting minutes as part of the Consent Agenda. Narrative Council meeting minutes are attached. Attachments: 2024-06-25 Council Minutes Packet Pg. 46 7.1.a EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL MEETING DRAFT MINUTES June 25, 2024 ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT Mike Rosen, Mayor Vivian Olson, Council President Chris Eck, Councilmember Will Chen, Councilmember Neil Tibbott, Councilmember Michelle Dotsch, Councilmember Susan Paine, Councilmember Jenna Nand, Councilmember 1. CALL TO ORDER/FLAG SALUTE STAFF PRESENT Rod Sniffen, Assistant Police Chief Ross Hahn, WWTP Manager Rob English, City Engineer Jeff Taraday, City Attorney Scott Passey, City Clerk Jerrie Bevington, Camera Operator The Edmonds City Council meeting was called to order at 6:59 pm by Mayor Rosen in the Council Chambers, 250 5' Avenue North, Edmonds, and virtually. The meeting was opened with the flag salute. 2. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Councilmember Nand read the City Council Land Acknowledge Statement: "We acknowledge the original inhabitants of this place, the Sdohobsh (Snohomish) people and their successors the Tulalip Tribes, who since time immemorial have hunted, fished, gathered, and taken care of these lands. We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and we honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and water." 3. ROLL CALL City Clerk Scott Passey called the roll. All elected officials were present. 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO APPROVE THE AGENDA IN CONTENT AND ORDER. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5. AUDIENCE COMMENTS Brian Goodnight, Edmonds, said in 2008 Ann Bullis was the plans examiner for the City for multifamily. The City's code says a 4:12 roof on multifamily needs a continuous 4:12 roofline, but a building over 24' wide, which most are, the roofline goes up, down, up and down so there are buildings with drains in the middle of the roof which he doubted existed on anyone's single family roof. Ms. Bullis would compromise and have a 4:12 roof around the edges so it looks like a 4:12 and a giant commercial grade flat roof with the drains in the right places which is not a problem because most of the multifamily built with continuous Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 1 Packet Pg. 47 7.1.a roofs with drains in the middle all have problems because there's no code -approved assembly to make that work. It becomes a consumer problem, requiring buildings to be reroofed early. He built the building kitty- corner from the public safety building that has a flat roof but isn't visible from below. He recommended the City amend the code, noting there are few multifamily properties remaining and he is done building, but for any consumers in the future who may buy a condo and have a drain in the middle of their building that has to drain somewhere, he recommended the code be amended. Chris Gardner, Edmonds, a resident on 220t1i, referred to a letter he submitted to Transportation Engineer Bertrand Hauss and copied Councilmember Chen regarding the City's traffic calming program with an April 30 submission date. Although their submission was late, he and eight other residents on 220' submitted a traffic calming request. HB 2384, passed by the legislature in March, enables certain municipalities to incorporate speed cameras on streets considered at risk. He and the eight other residents submitted a request for speed cameras. He lives on the hill and Westgate Elementary is approximately a block from their house where school zone cameras were implemented within the last year. The school zone cameras help during school hours but speeding and the need for traffic calming occurs during non -school hours. Their other concerns include that 220' is posted as no commercial vehicles and local deliveries only, but semis, box trucks, dump trucks, etc. use the street throughout the day and there is no police enforcement. Ken Reidy, Edmonds, said for years he has pointed out the city council has been provided false, misleading, inaccurate or incomplete information. An email from Councilmember Tibbott to two fellow councilmembers dated November 19, 2023 stated, "I can affirm that Will and I were stonewalled and given false or misleading information when we asked for it." He encouraged the council not to vote on anything tonight under the influence of false, misleading, inaccurate or incomplete information related to both red light camera business items. With regard to the city attorney's annual report, he focused on executive session, relaying on February 28, 2024, the planning board convened in executive session to discuss pending or potential litigation, something he had never seen before. He requested the council ask the city attorney how that works, whether the planning board can convene their own executive session to discuss pending or potential litigation. Mr. Reidy continued, on June 27, 2023, then -Council President Tibbott stated shortly before 10 pm that he wanted to call for an executive session for 10 minutes. It was his understanding for council to go into executive session during a council meeting, a councilmember must make a motion, the motion must be seconded and the motion is debatable; none of that happened. Council did not vote to conduct an executive session or amend its meeting agenda. Instead the presiding officer, former Mayor Nelson simply stated very well then, we will adjourn. Before he could finish speaking City Attorney Jeff Taraday interrupted and declared the executive session was to consider the selection of a site or the acquisition of real estate by lease or purchase when public knowledge regarding such consideration would cause a likelihood of increased price. Mr. Taraday is not the presiding officer of the governing body and he questioned what gave him the authority to make this public announcement. Neither the former mayor nor Mr. Taraday disclosed the time the executive session would be concluded. He questioned the likelihood of increased price in this situation when the purchase price of $37 million, all cash at closing, had been known for days and as such the RCW regarding executive session did not apply to that acquisition of real estate. He requested the council ask the city attorney whose duty it is to see that all laws and ordinances are faithfully enforced and what must happen when that duty is not met. 6. RECEIVED FOR FILING 1. CLAIM FOR DAMAGES FOR FILING 2. WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS 3. WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS REGARDING ADU CODE AMENDMENTS 4. MAY 2024 MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 2 Packet Pg. 48 5. OPTION FOR CONTRACT FOR FIRE/EMS SERVICE WITH SOUTH COUNTY FIRE REGIONAL FIRE AUTHORITY (RFA) 6. OUTSIDE BOARDS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS 7. PLANNING BOARD QUARTERLY UPDATE 7. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The agenda items approved are as follows: 1. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 4, 2024 2. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 4, 2024 3. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 11, 2024 4. APPROVAL OF CLAIM CHECKS AND WIRE PAYMENTS 5. APPROVAL OF PAYROLL AND BENEFIT CHECKS, DIRECT DEPOSIT AND WIRE PAYMENTS 6. REAPPOINT DAVID BREWSTER FOR POSITION #3 TO THE EDMONDS PUBLIC FACILITIES DISTRICT BOARD EPFD 7. ARLINGTON AIRPORT USE AGREEMENT 8. COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURE SECTION 1 & 2 AUTHORITY AND COUNCIL ORGANIZATION 9. APPROVAL OF SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH WSP FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES ON THE 76TH AVE OVERLAY PROJECT 10. APPROVAL OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR PERRINVILLE FLOW REDUCTION STUDY UPDATE 11. APPROVAL OF PERRINVILLE FLOW REDUCTION STUDY UPDATE - INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT (ILA) BETWEEN THE CITIES OF EDMONDS AND LYNNWOOD 12. RESOLUTION BUDGET CALENDAR 13. CREATIVE DIST. GATEWAY ART RFQ 8. COUNCIL BUSINESS 1. PRESENTATION OF 7317 LAKE BALLINGER WAY PROPERTY PURCHASE City Engineer Rob English reviewed: Site Plan Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 3 Packet Pg. 49 7.1.a Q 7317 Lake Ballinger Way ❑ Stormwater Catch Basin Stormwater Line 110-10, 30" Concrete Sewer ® FEMA Flood Zone A Building Footprints Asphalt/Dirt Driveway X-*-X Fence • RAI Flags (6-28-23) Wetland Boundary OHWM Wetland Unit 10 Significant Tree Erosion Hazard Areas 15%-40% Slope Property Details 0 0.55 acre parcel o Vacant single family residential property o Partially demolished home (original size 2,413 sf, built in 1944) o Lies within Lake Ballinger floodplain o Existing nonfunctional boat dock o Wetland on site o Change from the presentation to the Finance Committee: Stormwater pipe is located on the adjacent property Reports and Appraisal o Completed Reports ■ Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment ■ Hazardous Building Materials Survey ■ Wetland Delineation ■ Inadvertent Discovery Plan ■ Baseline Inventory ■ Appraisal (Initial $480k Value) ■ Appraisal Review (Revised Value $520K) Stewardship Plan o Required by Department of Ecology o Current Conditions O Land Management Goals & Objectives ■ Short-term: - Demolish structures - Remove impervious surfaces - Restore to green space. Long-term: - Stormwater Management - Restoration & Maintenance • Water Quality Deed of Right o Required by Department of Ecology (DOE) Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 4 Packet Pg. 50 7.1.a o City Requirements ■ Protect and maintain property ■ Provides access to DOE for inspections ■ Comply with specific prohibitions (Section 2) ■ Comply with permitted uses and activities (Section 3) Benefits o Improve water quality in Lake Ballinger and downstream creeks ■ Remove existing structure and pollution generating surfaces from site ■ Restore natural floodplain area ■ Improve condition of wetland and buffer ■ Opportunity for stormwater treatment facility for runoff from SR-104 Purchase & Sale Agreement o Purchase & Sale Agreement with purchase price of $520,000 ■ $10,000 Escrow ■ Initiate - 30-day title review - 75-day inspection period ■ Seller Disclosure Statement ■ City Council resolution approving purchase of property (future City Council meeting) Funding o Acquisition ■ $500k Grant secured from Department of Ecology in 2022 - Funding Agreement approved by city council (April 18, 2023) ■ Local match Stormwater Utility Funds o Land Management Goals & Objectives ■ Stormwater Utility funds ■ Future grants ■ Community engagement Staff recommendation o Authorize staff to execute Purchase & Sale Agreement with purchase price of $520,000. COUNCILMEMBER NAND MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO AUTHORIZE STAFF TO EXECUTE THE PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT ON THIS PROPERTY. Councilmember Nand complimented parks & recreation and public works staff for their work in acquiring this property and funding the purchase via a grant. She was hopeful there could be some sort of community engagement in the future. She knew the grant was targeted toward stormwater treatment, therefore the ability to put impervious surface on the site will be limited. However, there is very limited access to the lake for recreational purposes on the Edmonds side of the lake. Mountlake Terrace bears the brunt with their much more developed public access point and there is no public access on the south side of the lake for kayakers, etc. There are plenty of private docks, but she was interested in exploring possibilities to increase public access and community engagement through this property which would be very beneficial for southeast Edmonds. Councilmember Eck expressed support for the motion, commenting the opportunity to salvage this property for these purposes is rare in this area. Mr. English explained the Water Quality Deed in the packet limits a boat launch or that type of use as a future option. The site is to be used as green space and/or water quality type features. He cautioned the deed locks the City into maintaining the site as green space. Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 5 Packet Pg. 51 7.1.a Council President Olson commented the idea of accessing Lake Ballinger from the Edmonds side is a great idea and everyone should keep their eyes open for those opportunities. With this property being in the flood plain, this is a great opportunity to use it for stormwater. She applauded staff for pursuing this grant as a source for stormwater and preserving the site as open space. She asked whether casual things like picnicking could happen on the site. Mr. English said that could be pursued with the Department of Ecology, but he could not confirm that at this time. He reiterated the Water Quality Deed limits uses to maintenance of the site and accessing the site for that reason. Council President Olson said she was supportive of the motion assuming nothing else could be done with the site as open space is worth preserving and obviously it is not a great place to build a house. Councilmember Nand clarified she was perfectly fine with potentially no future engagement on the site. It is clear it has become a nuisance property and the City's purchase and demolition is likely a great relief to the neighborhood. If there is any possibly for public engagement or access in the future to the south side of the lake, that would be very beneficial to southeast Edmonds due to the paucity of park land and access to the lake on the Edmonds side and Mountlake Terrace does a much better job providing access. If that is not possible on this property, there may be future opportunities. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 2. SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH HKA GLOBAL, INC FOR THE CARBON RECOVERY PROJECT WWTP Manager Ross Hahn requested approval of the supplemental agreement with HKA Global. Due to the time it is taking to complete the carbon recovery project, the supplemental agreement is needed to continue funding HKA's services as they pertain to the carbon recovery project. This additional funding is expected to retain HKA's services until the end of the project. HKA's scope of services includes project management, contract administration, review of contractor change requests, maintaining project documentation, etc. HKA has proven to be critical in the path forward with this project. Mayor Rosen advised staff s recommendation is to forward this item to the consent agenda for approval at the next city council meeting. COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO APPROVE THE SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH HKA GLOBAL, INC. FOR THE CARBON RECOVERY PROJECT PER THE DETAILS OUTLINED AND NOT PUT IT ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. Councilmember Paine commented HKA has been doing great work for the City. Their work is highly technical and they are the right group for this project. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3. ORDINANCE AMENDING ECC 8.10 TO INCLUDE STOPLIGHT INTERSECTION CAMERAS Council President Olson commented this is a familiar topic that has been on the council agenda a few times, the last time was to obtain more information which in included in the packet. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO APPROVE THE ORDINANCE IN THE PACKET. Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 6 Packet Pg. 52 7.1.a Council President Olson commented the council has already had a lot of conversation about this, which she will not belabor by reiterating those points tonight. This system is in use in other cities around Edmonds. In response to comments about analyzing the costs to show that there would be a net positive, there is enough evidence from other cities that have red light cameras in use that that is not a concern. She hoped the City would circle back after a year of use to look at the data. This is a five year commitment to any intersection the council chose to move forward with. The council will make a decision tonight regarding whether to have red light cameras in the City in general and if so, at which intersections. COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND, TO POSTPONE THIS ITEM AND THE FOLLOWING AGENDA ITEM. Councilmember Dotsch relayed her intent was to postpone until after the City's Safety Action Plan has been completed and published. The PPW Committee learned more about the Safety Action Plan last week; the City partnered with ten other agencies including Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) on a $2.87 million grant application. The City will work closely with PSRC to support the goal of reducing fatalities and series injuries on roadways in the Puget Sound region. In late 2023, the City of Edmonds secured a $300,000 federal grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program. This program is focused on the development of local roadway safety action plans by developing well-defined strategies to prevent roadway fatalities and serious injuries. It will also identify and prioritize future projects to help address roadway safety issues. The scope of work will include data collection, speed studies, accident history and analysis of the City's transportation network, review and update of existing policies, develop a Vision Zero Policy, identify and prioritize transportation projects to improve safety and document findings in a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan. Councilmember Dotsch continued, according to the scope of work in the packet, the data collection work on the speed study and crash analysis will begin this fall and will provide a holistic package that includes intersections, pedestrian, bicycle and accident data to inform the council and the community as to the best and most impactful safety measures and counter measures to improve traffic safety in Edmonds. She urged the council to consider her motion as a better process and not rush a decision tonight to target only a narrow focus and allow the Safety Action Plan to inform a more complete street and safety plan that is much more comprehensive and objective for all. Councilmember Paine said she could not support the motion to wait a year. She requested information from staff regarding traffic incidents related to vehicle versus vehicle, vehicle versus pedestrian, and vehicle versus bicycle. There were 243 incidents citywide in the first 6 months of the year which is on a path for 500 incidents this year. On Highway 99, SR 104 and local roads; 15 people have been injured in accidents related to driver inattention. The safety of the community is paramount. Her daughter was nearly hit in a crosswalk on 5t1i Avenue South and was hit and run 4 years ago crossing 5th Avenue South. Accidents are happening at a rate that is unacceptable to the community. She looked forward to the Safety Action Plan which will provide more dimension. Packet page 97 includes data on statewide statistics for traffic safety 2013-2023. Accidents in years 2021, 2022, and 2023 are accelerating. There are reports in local and regional newspapers; the Seattle Times reported today that Seattle is #2 in the nation in pedestrian deaths. Councilmember Nand expressed appreciation to Councilmember Dotsch for bringing this forward. This topic has generated a lot of controversy in the community because the use of cameras creates a strong perception, especially due to the unfortunate way it was proposed in 2023 as a budget item rather than a traffic safety item, that cameras are used by the government for revenue generation instead of public safety. As she has stated previously, a majority of the cameras are targeted to the lower income and multi -ethnic parts of the community along Highway 99. She would be more comfortable supporting cameras in the future if the red light camera program were brought forward in a holistic package. She supported the school zone cameras due to the strong push from the community regarding those specific locations. A holistic package would inform annexed areas that are historically underserved that the City is not looking to their Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 7 Packet Pg. 53 7.1.a neighborhood to extract revenue to support City operations that tend to benefit the higher income and wealthier neighborhoods and that traffic cameras are one tool in a package of traffic calming and safety measures in an effort to ameliorate some of the disparities between Olympic View Drive and the Edmonds Bowl and previously annexed areas. That would be a more nuanced and equitable way to approach placing up to nine cameras in the traditionally underserved and disregarded parts of the City that were previously annexed. Councilmember Nand continued, due to the millions of dollars in excess revenue this program is expected to generate and where those funds traditionally flow in the City, there is a strong perception that the cameras are being implemented to address the City's budget woes. If this were adopted in the context of a Safety Action Plan, areas of the community that have been skeptical and traditionally underserved can be informed that the cameras are part of a package with other traffic calming options such as speed bump tables and other ways to calm traffic that are less punitive and less extractive and designed to serve these communities and make them safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, and local commuters. She would feel far more comfortable if the red light cameras were brought forward in that context. Councilmember Eck said she did not support motion. She has been doing a lot of thinking about this, she goes through 220' & Highway 99 and SR-104 & 100'very frequently living in Westgate and going to the freeway during her commute. There are many commuters from all over Edmonds and the region that travel SR-104 and Highway 99. This is not targeting the residents in those areas because so many people travel both those routes to do business, shop, commute, etc. The infractions she has seen are often from a privileged standpoint where people think rules do not apply to them. There is a reason more people do not walk or ride bikes in Edmonds. She lives not far from 220' on a shortcut to PCC where speed is a real issue. She did not think the City could wait with the numbers and risks that the data shows and with the City encouraging people to leave their cars behind and get around in other ways. She will not approve any less than two cameras tonight and will actually approve up to four. Councilmember Dotsch said she can appreciate everyone's experiences; she has had experiences as well. It is important to remain objective especially when it comes to safety. The data collection relates to accidents at intersections, but this is about red light cameras, not all accidents at intersections. The 2023 data attributed two accidents to red light runners at 220' & Highway 99 and two in Westgate at 100' & SR-104, a total of four accidents out of hundreds. This is a very narrowly focused program. Verra Mobility's data is strictly cars running red lights, it is not about bikes or pedestrian. There are project in the works to add a bike lane and a dedicated walkway the entire length of Highway 99 which includes 220'. There is a project for bike lanes at 100' & SR-104 that has not been totally completed. In the context of safety for the entire community, rather than targeting the most used intersections and are the two ways in/out of Edmonds other than 196', the cameras are more about volume than accident data which was why she would not support the main motion. Councilmember Chen said he cannot support motion. He lives near Highway 99 and his business is on Highway 99 and he drives Highway 99 on a daily basis and sees people rushing through red lights and creating very scary scenes. With light rail coming on line August 30, he anticipated there would be more traffic funneling through the area. He thanked Councilmember Paine for her request for the data which provides concrete support and as well as the data provided by police department and other research that is included in the packet. He concluded the evidence is there, the need is there, and this is a good tool to implement at two intersections to at least give it a try to see how the tool works and reassess it in a year. Councilmember Nand explained if the City signs this contract with Verra Mobility, it is committing to cameras at the approved intersections for the next five years, Verra Mobility would not agree to installing them for a year and allowing the City to collect accident data to see whether the cameras actually change driver behavior and lead to safer roads. Lynnwood extensively uses red light cameras and some would say Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 8 Packet Pg. 54 7.1.a uses them as part of their strategy for funding city government. However, Shoreline which has a larger population than Edmonds and recently went through a 50,000 unit upzone in response to light rail has zero automated traffic safety cameras. Their city leaders have said the reason they decided not to pursue red light cameras is they do not want to create a perception that they are spying or playing gotcha games with their constituents. Edmonds has always been a very friendly town with a small business community that relies on the goodwill of tourists and people who come to Edmonds to support small business. If people start receiving $130 tickets, she was concerned that perception would change. Councilmember Tibbott raised a point of order, stating the motion is related to postponing and he would like to hear Councilmember Nand's reasons for supporting postponement. Her comments seem to be regarding the main motion which the council is not discussing at this time. Councilmember Nand commented this is the third or fourth meeting in which she has received a point of order from Councilmember Tibbott when making a comment supporting a position that he may not support. Her comments were not of any greater length or less topical than her fellow councilmembers' comments. She asked about the length of the comment she made before she was interrupted by Councilmember Tibbott. City Clerk Scott Passey said it is a judgment call by the chair whether a comment is germane to the postponement or if it speaking against the ordinance. Councilmember Nand asked what recourse she had related to code of conduct if she felt she was being excessively interrupted with points of order to silence her. Mr. Passey answered she could appeal to the chair, but he did not have a good answer related to a code of conduct claim. Councilmember Nand requested this be addressed at some point with amendments to the code of conduct which are expected to come forward this year as she felt she was being excessively interrupted by certain councilmembers and unfairly targeted. Mayor Rosen responded her comment was noted. Councilmember Nand said her train of thought was completely derailed and she would end her comment. Mayor Rosen requested she speak to why she would encourage postponement. Councilmember Paine explained her opposition to postponement was the 82 vehicle versus vehicle collisions on Highway 99 from January 1 through yesterday and 25 on SR-104, a total of 109, half the number of vehicle versus vehicle collisions. On Highway 99 there were five vehicle versus pedestrian accidents and one on SR-104, a total of six out of fifteen. Councilmember Dotsch recalled when Police Chief Bennett presented the numbers regarding accidents to council, she asked Chief Bennett if they were specific to red light runners and she said they were not. She emphasized this is only red light camera running and accidents caused by that action. There are a lot of reasons for accidents at intersections or on the way to the intersection, but that is not what this is about. It is a very small number of the total accidents in the City and the Safety Action Plan is the best way to take a comprehensive, holistic approach. MOTION FAILED (3-4), COUNCILMEMBERS TIBBOTT, DOTSCH AND NAND VOTING YES. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER CHEN, TO AMEND TO FILL IN THE BLANKS IN THE ORDINANCE, E.1 WITH 220TH & HIGHWAY 99, AND E.2 AS 100TH & HIGHWAY 104. Council President Olson commented an argument can definitely be made for adding more intersections a lot of data suggests that might be helpful, but because this is a 5-year commitment, there is value to implementing two intersections and revisiting it after a year of implementation to see the impact. Just as the police provided accident data for this year, that data could be used to compare whether the cameras made a positive impact and whether accidents rates have decreased at intersections where red light cameras Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 9 Packet Pg. 55 7.1.a were installed as well as data where red light cameras were not installed. That would be a prudent and cautious way to proceed. She acknowledged it was anticipated this would be revenue positive. In her assessment of which intersections would be most prudent, she listened to what was said and wanted to ensure with a smaller number of cameras they were not in a single neighborhood so there would be geographic diversity and provide an opportunity to see the positive impact. The smaller number of cameras also supports the idea asserted by Councilmember Dotsch, in a year when the council reviews the data, the Safety Action Plan will also be complete and could be considered in tandem when considering any future intersections. Councilmember Paine said she had no objection to those two intersections. If the council wanted to add two more intersections for a total of four, she asked how that amendment should be made. City Attorney Jeff Taraday responded the ordinance before the council could be amended before it is ultimately adopted by adding to the two intersections in the current motion. Councilmember Paine asked if that could be done tonight. Mr. Taraday answered yes, that was an option for the council. Councilmember Paine continued, there are traffic safety issues in the City. The Safety Action Plan will be completed in the future, but work needs to be done now. These intersections are key to a lot of people's safety and there are other intersections such as 220' & 76t' where people regularly run the red light. She was happy to start with two and later tonight consider adding two additional intersections. Councilmember Dotsch recalled in the information provided when this originally came forward about how to implement these programs, one of big pieces was to have a baseline intersection without a red light camera to provide a comparison. It is easy to say once red light cameras are installed that infractions occurred, but without a baseline intersection, there is no way to determine whether the same thing happens at other intersections. She asked whether adding a baseline intersection was an option. Council President Olson raised a point of clarification, requesting Councilmember Dotsch restate her question. Councilmember Dotsch said part of this is how the City defines success. For example, if there are four accidents caused by red light camera runners, what is the data point for success, two accidents, zero accidents? She asked if there was a way to reference that in areas that do not have cameras. She asked if there was the ability to do a baseline at an intersection without a camera. Assistant Chief Sniffen responded an intersection could be used as a baseline, but there are so many variables at different intersections, it would be difficult to have one as a baseline to see if accident rates increased or decreased. The intent is to watch the metrics and any reduction in accidents or injuries will be a success. As the intersections of 220' & Highway 99 and 100t' & SR-104 are high crash data intersections, good success was expected. However, the intersections of 220' & 8' or 220' & 9' could not be used as a baseline for how the well the camera at 220' & Highway 99 is doing. Councilmember Dotsch asked if there could be another camera on Highway 99 that records but doesn't issue tickets. Assistant Chief Sniffen said that would be something brand new, installing a camera that records without issuing citations. He would have to look into that. The only way he could see that happening was for the council to approve a third intersection and establish business rules to not issue citations and only record violations. Councilmember Nand said the State Department of Transportation has cameras that are used purely for data gathering that do not issue tickets, but she was unsure if they were through this vendor. It would be a mistake for this council to place four or nine cameras in previously annexed areas. The more cameras the City adds, the more revenue generation appears to be the primary goal and not actually public safety. Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 10 Packet Pg. 56 7.1.a Council President Olson seemed to trying to consider her feedback by limiting cameras to two in the first year and having them geographically distributed between SR-104 and Highway 99, but those are both annexed areas. No cameras are proposed to be sited in the best resourced parts of town with the wealthier population which she found very problematic. Now there is discussion about placing up to three cameras on Highway 99 and only one on SR-104 which will essentially turn Highway 99 into a toll road to support City government and therefore she could not support the amendment. AMENDMENT CARRIED (5-2) COUNCILMEMBERS DOTSCH AND NAND VOTING NO. COUNCILMEMBER NAND MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH, AMEND THAT THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE TO INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGE: "REVENUE RESTRICTIONS. ALL OF THE EXCESS REVENUE GENERATED BY THE ADDITION OF AUTOMATED TRAFFIC SAFETY CAMERAS IN THE CITY OF EDMONDS SHALL BE RESTRICTED WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND AND MAY ONLY BE USED FOR THE PURPOSES OF TRAFFIC SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS AND TO FUND PUBLIC AMENITIES WITHIN 0.5 GEOGRAPHIC MILE OF THE LOCATION OF ANY OPERATIONAL TRAFFIC CAMERA. Councilmember Nand relayed the council has been considering this since 2023 when it was first proposed as an opportunity for the administration to plug a $3.5 million hole in the proposed 2024 budget. Since then she has had a great deal of skepticism about the idea of using red light cameras or any sort of automated traffic safety cameras for the purpose of revenue generation. However, if the council is determined to proceed with this proposal, she wanted to ensure the excess revenue which the school zone cameras generated gross revenue of $1.5 million and the City has an obligation to pay $30,000/month to Verra Mobility for each traffic camera. With each camera added, the excess revenue generated will increase exponentially. The City is experiencing budget problems brought on council's excessive spending during 2023 and under the previous administration in general, however, essentially creating toll roads within the City to support government operations isn't the right response. Councilmember Nand continued, if the council decides to implement traffic safety cameras at what are targeted as the most dangerous intersections in the City, she wanted to ensure the excess revenue of $3.7 million from nine cameras, eight of which would be on Highway 99, was reinvested into annexed areas that did not benefit from urban planning and traffic safety investments prior to annexation to bring them up to par with areas of town that are better resourced and have historically received more attention from City planning and government. Her hope was by reinvesting millions in revenue into traffic safety improvements and public amenities to improve public safety in general such as funding a police substation on Highway 99, the need for the cameras could eventually be ameliorated through traffic safety improvements and they could be decommissioned at the end of the contract. Councilmember Tibbott said he would not support the amendment for two reasons although he appreciated the sentiment behind it. State law already provides for the use of revenue for public safety. Implementing the proposed restriction for the intersections is premature and may prohibit using funds in areas such as the east side of the City. There are good reasons the council would want to use all the revenues generated to improve public safety in the most heavily traveled areas. Councilmember Eck applauded the intent of Councilmember Nand's amendment and agreed there were areas of the City that have been historically underserved. She was unsure she agreed with the comment about essentially turning Highway 99 into a toll road; in her view if a driver's behavior was legal and following the law, they had no reason to be concerned about receiving a ticket. If a driver is adhering to the speed limit and obeying traffic lights, they should feel very free about traveling on Highway 99 or SR-104. This is about following the law and although she generally did not prefer the stick approach over a carrot Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 11 Packet Pg. 57 7.1.a approach, this is worth testing this for a period of time and determining the best way to use the revenue the cameras generate to do what Councilmember Nand suggested. Councilmember Dotsch said targeting two intersections with the highest volume versus the highest accident rate from red light runners was a confusing way to select intersections to address safety issues. If those two intersections are most in need of assistance, dedicating funds to those areas would seem to make sense if the ultimate intent is safety. She may not support a 0.5 mile focus, but if those were areas where more safety was needed, it would make sense to use the revenue on projects in those areas. She supported the idea, but not as stated. She could possibly support another version such using a percentage of the revenue. Councilmember Nand pointed out in the state statute governing the use of red light cameras, one of the uses described in subsection 2.13.13 is the revenue be dedicated toward census tracks with low income housing. The federal pedagogy regarding city planning says minority communities were unfairly targeted and actually blighted when major highways were built through their communities. It seems odd these communities are being told they were blighted when highways were built through their area of town because they are lower income and segregated through redlining and now federal funding is being used to ameliorate the blight that was created when the highways were built. There seems to be a strong impetus by the council to ultimately deploy all nine of the cameras authorized to maximize revenue generation and instead of reinvesting the revenue into the lower income areas that were blighted when highways were created, use it to address issues in the General Fund. Councilmember Nand continued, it is the council's responsibility to manage the General Fund without necessarily always going to its constituents, visitors, commuters and workers in the community and telling them they have to provide more revenue and trust that the council will reinvest it appropriately. State law allows the council to dedicate the revenue from traffic cameras toward the part of town with the lowest income quartile. Because that is a defined mechanism within state law, she did not understand why there was so much resistance to the idea of dedicating the revenue generated by Highway 99 and reinvesting it into primarily the Highway 99 community to address some of the disparate impacts that that area has experienced over decades. She expressed disappointment that there was so little support for this amendment and for reinvesting in Highway 99. Council President Olson clarified both intersections were identified as among the top three most dangerous intersections in the information the council was provided. Councilmember Chen said his focus is public safety which saves lives. If red light cameras can be used to improve drivers' behavior and in turn improve public safety, that was his focus. He supported the general concept of improving crime and public safety on Highway 99 because the higher crime rate and traffic issues in that area are well known. However, a'/2 mile geographic restriction may hinder improvements the City could make. For example, the '/z mile restriction might hinder the possibility of relocating the police station to the center of town or Highway 99. For that reason, he did not support the amendment. Councilmember Dotsch referred to comments about relocating the police station, relaying she did not remember that as the main reason for installing red light cameras. COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND, TO AMEND THE AMENDMENT TO 50% OF EXCESS REVENUE WITHIN 1 GEOGRAPHIC MILE OF THE LOCATION OF ANY OPERATIONAL TRAFFIC CAMERA. Councilmember Dotsch said she felt similarly about the revenue aspect versus safety. The data regarding the number of cars that go through the intersection is used by Verra Mobility to determine the number of citations that can be issued. She wanted to ensure red light cameras were not being used for any purpose Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 12 Packet Pg. 58 7.1.a other than safety and if certain areas of the City are targeted due to high traffic volumes, the revenue should go back into those areas. Councilmember Nand expressed support for the amendment. There have been plenty of times in recent history when the City's coffers were flush; revenues actually went up during the pandemic by over 10% when the City received a lot of federal investment. When the City was experiencing a boon in its tax coffers, there could have been a decision to reinvest in traffic safety improvements in previously annexed areas along SR-104 and Highway 99, yet somehow Olympic View Drive just got its fourth traffic table speed bump and radar signs. That is a well-resourced area of town which is very good at advocating for themselves whenever disposable revenue becomes available. Without a dedicated mechanism to provide revenue to less resourced parts of town which are not as well versed in advocating for themselves in seeking to implement traffic safety program projects and lobby the council to invest in traffic safety and public safety improvements in their area, she was worried parts of SR-104 and Highway 99 will not be the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. If the City will be generating millions of dollars in excess revenue by placing red light traffic cameras along Highway 99, she urged the council to commit to reinvesting at least part of that revenue into public safety on the most dangerous intersections in the City. Council President Olson commented there is a narrative that is not being shared about the actions of council for the last six years. During that time, the council said yes to the Lake Ballinger open space, the Mee property 100% expansion, the 84t1i Avenue sidewalk project, the gateway to Ballinger Park, and the change out of benches. During that same time the council said no to doing anything with the Marina Beach improvements even though that had reached the top of the list on the CIP/CFP and no to replacing the broken/ cracked sidewalk on 7t1i next to the new park and instead prioritized the sidewalk on 84t''. She did not think it was accurate that the council she watched in 2-3 years before being elected to council or the council she has served on has been unequal or unfair in spending. It is on everyone's radar to look for fairness and equity in capital investments going forward. Council President Olson continued, through the budget process, to the extent there is any money to spend, she anticipated the council would be very fair in how money is spent as has been done in the past six years. She acknowledged when this is discussed, people often bring up Civic Park which was an expensive project, but at this point that is a bill and of little value to the conversation because the council doesn't have control of that expenditure anymore. When that bond was paid off, she was confident this and future councils would not build new parks in that same part of town because a lot of other areas need improvements. She was hopeful the list she provided was helpful to show where significant and specific investments have been made in lieu of investments in the bowl. In response to Council President Olson's comment, Councilmember Nand said there has been a history with the previously annexed areas because for example when Highway 99 was annexed into Edmonds in the 1960s, the standards for sidewalks, street widths, etc. were much lower than in areas of Edmonds that were incorporated in 1891 and had benefited from city planners, traffic engineers, etc. for many decades. This is why previously annexed areas have a miasma of neglect; there are no flower baskets, no benches, no City owned recycling bins and trash cans along the sidewalks. If the proposed amendment were approved, to fund public safety amenities within 1 mile, the City would be forced to dedicate at least 50% of the revenue to public amenities that include public facilities, open space and landscaping elements in traditionally underserved parts of the City where it appears nine cameras will eventually be sited. There needs to be catchup between two disparate areas of town that were separated by redlining during the segregation era and decades of neglect based on when areas were annexed and started to receive that level of city planning and investment. If the vast majority of the revenue is generated by Highway 99 when nine cameras are ultimately operational, she did not see anything wrong with dedicating at least a portion of that revenue to address the disparate effects and daily living experience of people in that part of the community. Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 13 Packet Pg. 59 7.1.a Councilmember Paine suggested if there was no objection from council, Mayor Rosen speak regarding traffic safety cameras. Mayor Rosen said throughout his campaign, meeting people in many environments and since being elected, by far the most frequent request from the public, all age groups and family configurations and throughout the community, is regarding public safety. Requests related to pedestrian safety falls into four categories, 1) can you make the sidewalks smoother, 2) can I get a sidewalk, 3) can you fix or give us a crosswalk, and 4) traffic safety and the way people drive and ignore traffic signals. He relayed his support for traffic safety cameras, commenting even if the state did not tell cities how to spend the money, he would have recommended to council that the money be restricted to pedestrian safety. COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT CALLED THE QUESTION. COUNCILMEMBER PAINE SECONDED. CALL FOR THE QUESTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. AMENDMENT TO THE AMENDMENT FAILED (2-5), COUNCILMEMBERS DOTSCH AND NAND VOTING YES. AMENDMENT FAILED (1-6), COUNCILMEMBER NAND VOTING YES. COUNCILMEMBER NAND MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH, THAT THE TERM OF THE ENTIRE AUTOMATED TRAFFIC SAFETY CAMERA ORDINANCE BE SUNSET AFTER FIVE YEARS, AFTER WHICH POINT THE AUTOMATED TRAFFIC SAFETY CAMERA PROGRAM WILL BE DISCONTINUED SO WE CAN INDEPENDENTLY ANALYZE WHETHER THE AUTOMATED TRAFFIC SAFETY CAMERAS MODIFIED DRIVER BEHAVIOR AT THE AFFECTED INTERSECTIONS AND LED TO LESS COLLISIONS. Councilmember Nand recalled with the encouragement of the community, the council adopted the school zone camera program last year. Five school zone cameras were installed and the City is now beginning to deal with the changes this is instituting in the community. Some community members have contacted the City saying they received frivolous tickets. She was very concerned about rushing forward with this major policy change and not having a baseline of data to see whether red light cameras alter driver behavior in the way that is intended. Some community members have provided independent research from national NGOs in which they claim implementation of red light cameras leads to less safe driver conduct because drivers are more likely to slam on their brakes to avoid red light camera tickets which causes more rearend collisions. Councilmember Nand continued, if the council moves forward with this proposal, she preferred the City approach it in a data driven fashion. If in five years the future council determines the automatic traffic safety program is great and they want to continue it, they could do their own data analysis and recommend the program again. She proposed sunsetting the program because she was concerned once $3.7 million in revenue was added to the City's coffers, it will become a spigot of excess revenue that future councils would not want to turn off and that the public safety aspect would be subordinate to revenue generation. She was attempting to address this via this amendment and she hoped councilmembers would agree to the sunset so the council can determine whether the red light cameras actually alter driver behavior in the City and lead to safer streets and few collisions. Councilmember Eck commented she was very hesitant to approve a sunset after five years without knowing what the experience will be. She did not support the amendment. Council President Olson said she was fully supportive of monitoring and looking at data and feedback on the traffic safety camera program and felt it would be foolish for the City not to do that and preferred not to wait five years for that year. She did not support having an automatic sunset in five years as that would Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 14 Packet Pg. 60 7.1.a create more work in the future when reviewing the data will indicate whether more investigation is needed. She did not support the amendment. Councilmember Dotsch expressed her support for the amendment. From the chart the council received and the graph from Lynnwood, they changed the data set to take away approaches so the numbers in the last five years show increased accidents at intersections with red light cameras. She was not comfortable the council knew what outcome was being measured and how success would be measured. The Safety Action Plan for the entire community makes more sense because it will objectively look at all data points including pedestrians and bikes which this data does not. She did not want the City to get addicted to the revenue and have the contract extend beyond five years. She preferred to sunset the program in five years and restart it if needed. Councilmember Chen said the City needs to monitor red light cameras and how they impact driver behavior, but without concrete data, it is premature to establish a sunset date. That decision is up to the future council when the time comes to renew the contract in five years based on data collected throughout the duration of the red light camera operations. He did not support the amendment. AMENDMENT FAILED (2-5), COUNCILMEMBERS DOTSCH AND NAND VOTING YES. COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER ECK, TO ADD THE INTERSECTIONS OF 224TH & HIGHWAY 99 AND 220TH & 76TH AVE W TO THE ORDINANCE. Councilmember Paine commented there has been a great deal of discussion about red light cameras and the safety concerns expressed by residents. Dozens of neighborhoods across the City have identified traffic safety needs. Her concern with having red light cameras at only two intersections was it wouldn't result in behavioral changes and adding two more intersections might result in change at these intersections. Councilmember Tibbott said he would not support the amendment. Since the council seemed determined to move forward with red light cameras at two intersections at least, he was inclined to support the ordinance because it was a pilot project and an opportunity to obtain actual data in Edmonds. Councilmember Paine raised a point of order, stating Councilmember Tibbott's comments were not relevant to the amendment. Councilmember Tibbott said his comments were regarding the intersections. Mayor Rosen advised he would allow Councilmember Tibbott to continue. Councilmember Tibbott said he would not support adding red light cameras to more intersections. It is important to determine the overall value of the cameras for transportation safety which can only be obtained with actual data. It is also important to evaluate the true cost of the program before adding more intersections and it is important to evaluate implementation of state law related to this program before adding intersections. Councilmember Nand said she was unable to support the amendment. She feared annexed areas were being targeted with a punitive and extractive form of traffic safety. She preferred to wait until the Safety Action Plan was developed which would include more holistic and supportive changes such as increasing funding for the traffic calming program, radar signs, HAWK signals, traffic table speed bumps and other non - punitive measures to address pedestrian safety and traffic safety. The more cameras that are added to the underserved parts of town, the more of a slap in the face this will be, especially since the council rejected her suggestion to dedicate the revenue to that part of town. Councilmember Chen said he cannot support the amendment. With regard to the intersection of 220th & 761 Ave W, it is very close to Edmonds-Woodway High School and College Place Middle School where there is already a school zone camera and the intersection of 224' & Highway 99 is just one block from Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 15 Packet Pg. 61 7.1.a 220t1i & Highway 99 which is too close. He preferred to wait to see the data from the original two intersections on Highway 99 and SR-104 before adding other intersections. Councilmember Dotsch said she did not support the amendment, in part because the cost of two intersections versus four intersections is unknown. The council was told two full-time employees would need to be added to the court for two cameras. The time needed to review tickets, court time, etc. is unknown and the City is already short staffed. She was concerned two red light cameras along with the school zone cameras generated a lot of work, court dates, review time, etc. The capacity to implement this program is unknown even with two red light cameras, let alone four. Councilmember Nand referred to statements that if someone is driving safely, they did not need to worry about getting a $130 citation. Pulling people into the criminal justice system and imposing legal and financial obligations on them disproportionately harms low income people. It creates a sense of shame and fear, especially for people who rely on their driver's license to go to work and support and feed their families. She recalled a community member saying a $130 ticket might seem minimal to a CEO but it was painful to a minimum wage worker. For those who are low income and struggle with paying traffic fines from these tickets and have been made to feel like a bad person because their license has been suspended, etc. and the ticket made their life more difficulty, she did not agree with rapidly expanding this program and pulling neighbors into the criminal justice system. The City is already pulling 12,000 people into the system on traffic tickets; if the council approves nine cameras, the City could pull in 50,000 people. She did not agree with penalizing people and making them feel like a bad person especially if they had difficulty paying a $130 ticket, had language barriers, or did not have time to come to court to fight a ticket because they were trying to support and feed their families. This is the wrong approach for the City to take. Shoreline has no red light cameras and they are managing density and a large population and funding their General Fund just fine. MOTION FAILED (2-5), COUNCILMEMBERS PAINE AND ECK VOTING YES. MAIN MOTION AS AMENDED CARRIED (5-2), COUNCILMEMBERS DOTSCH AND NAND VOTING NO. 4. AUTHORIZING USE OF TRAFFIC SAFETY CAMERAS AT SPECIFIC SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN CONTRACT Council President Olson commented this item had been simplified via the amendments made during the previous agenda item. As long as the council agreed with those two intersections, this agenda item is to authorize the mayor to sign a contract with Verra Mobility to install cameras at those two intersections. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO THE CONTRACT WITH VERRA MOBILITY TO ADD RED LIGHT CAMERAS AT THOSE TWO INTERSECTIONS. Councilmember Paine said she was pleased to see this coming to fruition. She was hopeful it would result in behavioral changes as people's lives depend on it. Councilmember Dotsch observed there is talk about safety with this traffic safety camera program with Verra Mobility, but nothing happens immediately. There is no police officer to pull a driver over; a driver could be drunk or high, but the camera won't catch that, the traffic safety program is very limited. From the data provided, this type of contract will not make intersections less dangerous. There are other opportunities such as the median on Highway 99 and the project on SR-104 & 100'. She did not support the motion. Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 16 Packet Pg. 62 7.1.a Councilmember Nand said she did not support the motion. It is unfortunate the administration chose to rely on Verra Mobility's study data and which intersections to target. Obviously Verra Mobility is a private company and has a profit motive to add as many automated traffic safety cameras as possible to Edmonds. However, it is not the city council's obligation to open as many intersections as possible to Verra Mobility without doing its own independent analysis. This is the wrong strategy for addressing the community's request for public safety. This could potentially be one tool assembled in the fully funded Safety Action Plan, however the council is now going all in with this one vendor targeting the intersections they recommended without doing any independent analysis which she felt was short-sighted and not meeting the fiduciary obligation to the council's constituents. Councilmember Eck expressed support for the motion. She respectfully listened to opposing views, but was having a difficult time understanding the level of resistance to something where having one person hit and killed was too much. She reiterated if a driver is following the law, they have nothing to worry about regardless of their income level and there are already measures in place in the municipal court for anyone that cannot afford the ticket. There are so many people from throughout the county that use these roads and she sees the infractions daily. If the red light cameras save one life or allow people who live in these areas to walk and bike safely, the City will have gained a lot. Council President Olson defended the administration, advising it was not the administration that accepted the data, it was accepted by the council. The council was provided data which included Verra Mobility's data, but that was not the only data the council relied on. Council made the decision regarding what data was adequate related to the intersections. Councilmember Chen emphasized this is about public safety, not about money grabbing. Councilmember Nand clarified her comment; the council directed the administration to produce the study data which was provided to the administration by Verra Mobility. The council greets other proposals such as the RFA annexation with a great deal of skepticism and decided to do their own independent analysis funded by council to ensure they were getting a good deal and knew all the options. It would have behooved the council to do more independent analysis and not just rely on Verra Mobility's analysis when choosing which intersections to target and proceeding with the program because Verra Mobility obviously has a profit motive to place as many cameras in Edmonds as possible to pad their bottom line and she wanted to note that conflict of interest for the public. MOTION CARRIED (5-2), COUNCILMEMBERS DOTSCH AND NAND VOTING NO. Mayor Rosen declared a brief recess. 5. CITY ATTORNEY ANNUAL REPORT City Attorney Jeff Taraday explained he is appearing in person, the members of his team are participating virtually. He attends most council meetings, does a lot of advising related to elected official legal questions and works closely with the planning & development and engineering departments. He asked his team to introduce themselves and describe what they do. Sharon Cates explained her main role at the City is working with departments on contracting and purchasing questions and with HR on employment law and labor negotiations. She also works with the police department on issues and ordinance updates. Most recently she has been working on a proposed update to the purchasing policy. Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 17 Packet Pg. 63 7.1.a Patricia Taraday explained she mainly assist the City's public records officers in the police department and administrative services, advising them on public record requests as well as assists with code enforcement matters. Beth Ford relayed the focus of her work is on litigation for the City including the Ebb Tide matter and code enforcement in the Oakes litigation and various public records matters. Angela Tinker explained she primarily works with public works on issues involving use of the right-of-way and other public property. Mr. Taraday relayed another member of the Lighthouse team, Tom Brubaker, plays a small but important role providing backup at council meetings when he is on vacation. Although not technically a member of Lighthouse Law Group, Mike Bradley has been a team member since the inception of Lighthouse's relationship with the City and primarily works on cable franchise issues. Mr. Taraday reviewed: • 2023 Significant Projects o Engaged in labor negotiations with three police bargaining groups, all of which have final Collective Bargaining Agreements ■ Process included numerous negotiations of related agreements regarding labor disputes (e.g., implementation of body cameras), as well as a PERC mediation o Assisted the police with contract negotiation for and implementation of automated traffic safety cameras o Assisted the police with code updates resulting from updated state police reform legislation o Assisted with Library property issues, including obtaining a Quit Claim Deed for a portion of the property from the Edmonds School District and negotiating agreements with Sno-Isle Libraries relating to the flood damage restoration and related insurance issues o Served as lead on transition of Prosecuting Attorney Services, including drafting and managing RFP and engagement in related discussions with the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney's Office o Ebb Tide — successful defense of trial court judgment regarding easement rights: ■ Drafted briefs, prepared for oral argument at court of appeals. ■ Drafted answer to petition for review at state supreme court o Oakes: code enforcement / abatement ■ Drafted motion and reply briefs. Received a Judgment Summary and Order on Final Judgment. ■ Evaluating and positioning for lien foreclosure. o Rimmer — takings case: ■ Research, drafting of Motion for Summary Judgment ■ Case is well positioned for reversal at the Court of Appeals o Public Records Act compliance ■ Research / detailed analysis re attorney invoice redaction; proposed redactions in response to voluminous public records request ■ Responded to PRA injunction litigation between third parties (requester and subject of request seeking protection on privacy grounds), advised police records officer regarding same o Obtained ruling from Department of Revenue exempting the city from sales tax on purchases made on the Carbon Recovery Project at the WWTP (as long as city can sell the product and makes timely application for refund) o Worked on cable franchise fee audits and cable franchise renewals ■ Ziply dispute settled; Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 18 Packet Pg. 64 7.1.a ■ Comcast dispute to be resolved as part of renewal o Other Franchise Work ■ Engaged in discussions with PUD attempting to resolve various ongoing ROW use concerns, including proposed AMI installation ■ Engaged in regular meetings with PSE attempting to negotiate franchise terms o Real Estate Acquisition Efforts ■ Landmark option agreement ■ Hurst property (ultimately abandoned) ■ Mee property City Attorney Team Stats (January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023) o First year on hourly contract ■ Lighthouse worked 2644 hours for Edmonds in 2023 - Compared to 3508 hours in 2022 - Compared to 3367 hours in 2021 ■ Why the dip in hours 2023 compared to 2022? - Two primary factors for using 864 fewer hours than 2022 Big reduction in Ebb Tide work 417 hours City Council usage down by 141 hours • Subtotal = 558 New billing categories o Over 90 matters currently open in our billing software ■ Not all get used regularly 2023 Top Matters 15. Admin Sery - public records advising (55 hours) 14. PW - franchise - Ziply cable renewal (65 hours) 13. Parks - real property acquisition (65 hours) 12. Council - agenda planning and preparation for council meetings (69 hours) 11. Police - misc advice and projects (70 hours) 10. HR - labor bargaining (73 hours) 9. Litigation - Nathan Rimmer (78 hours) 8. Parks - contracting, bidding, and acquisition (non -capital) (85 hours) 7. Council - misc advice and projects (98 hours) 6. Admin Sery - public records R001793 (104 hours) 5. PW - contracting, bidding, and acquisition (non -capital) (116 hours) 4. PW - SnoPUD (133 hours) 3. Litigation - Ebb Tide (170 hours) 2. Council - attendance at council meetings (196 hours) 1. PW - franchise - other (225 hours) Legal Department Costs (January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023) o Total legal fees in 2023 amounted to $739,741 o In 2022, under the final year of the flat fee, Edmonds paid $647,436 to Lighthouse 0 14% increase 0 2023 hourly rates ■ Three attorneys billed at $336 / hour ■ Four attorneys billed at $253 / hour ■ Average hourly rate was $280 / hour - Comparing $280 to the rates paid by the city's comparable cities in 2023 • Issaquah (Madrona): $270 - $320 • Mukilteo ( Ogden Murphy Wallace ): $262 - $309 (with most hours $262 - $286) Lynnwood (Kenyon Disend): $170 - $400 Stability of Lighthouse Team Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 19 Packet Pg. 65 7.1.a o Jeff Taraday 2011 o Sharon Cates 2011 o Patricia Taraday 2011 o Mike Bradley 2011 o Beth Ford 2012 o Tom Brubaker 2018 o Angela Tinker 2019 • Washington Cities insurance Authority (WCIA) Coverage o Claims arising from alleged: ■ Employment related action, e.g. retaliation and harassment ■ Police excessive force ■ Land use damage ■ Auto liability ■ Defective street or sidewalk ■ Sewer obstruction ■ Premises liability ■ Other negligence Picture • Who is the client? o RPC 1.13(a) A lawyer employed or retained by an organization represents the organization acting through its duly authorized constituents. • The Attorney — Client Relationship Attorney Organizational Duly Authorized Client Constituents What about your constituents, the citizens? Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 20 Packet Pg. 66 7.1.a Why no direct interaction with citizens? o RPC 1.6(a): A lawyer shall not reveal information relating to the representation of a client unless the client gives informed consent, the disclosure is impliedly authorized in order to carry out the representation or the disclosure is permitted by paragraph (b). So you aren't the client ... are your communications still confidential? o RPC 1.13, comment 2: When one of the constituents of an organizational client communicates with the organization's lawyer in that person's organizational capacity, the communication is protected by Rule 1.6. Confidentiality within the city o ... This does not mean, however, that constituents of an organizational client are the clients of the lawyer. The lawyer may not disclose to such constituents information relating to the representation except for disclosures explicitly or impliedly authorized by the organizational client in order to carry out the representation or as otherwise permitted by Rule 1.6. Councilmember Paine commented it was a pleasure working with Lighthouse on their contract. She referred to the ability to possibly recover attorney costs related to permits and asked if any of Lighthouse's costs had been recovered. Mr. Taraday explained if Lighthouse determines the hours should be paid by the applicant of a project, it is billed under the third party billable matter number which is intended to be a signal to the administration to pay those charges from the appropriate source. That is a complicated process and he was not responsible for overseeing how that system worked. He could not speak to the actual implementation, but was not aware of anything else that needed to be done on their end to sow the seeds for collection of those dollars. He acknowledged it was not a huge amount of money. Councilmember Paine commented there are aspects of permitting where there is opportunity for recovery. She looked forward to seeing the franchise agreements soon. Mr. Taraday said some of that work may come forward in the form of code amendments because they proved to be difficult and Lighthouse felt they were not making progress in ways they wanted to and made a decision to pivot and exercise their authority through the city council unilaterally in the form of code amendments which he acknowledged was a different way to proceed. It is regulation and the council is entitled to regulate. Some of those amendments may be bundled with franchise in the future; it is a work in progress and he hoped it would be presented to council soon. Councilmember Tibbott recognized the stability of the Lighthouse team, noting the institutional knowledge they have developed over a decade benefits the City and allows them to bring that experience and expertise to issues that arise. He asked Mr. Taraday to comment on the council's use of executive session such as reasons for executive sessions, how executive session are noticed to the public, and his role in ensuring the council stays on topic. Mr. Taraday answered the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) identifies various permissible topics for an executive session. The two most common in Edmonds are potential litigation and real estate acquisition. Although probably intuitive, there are certain things where it is not in the City's best interest to have those conversations publicly. For example, if all of his advice to the council concerning legal disputes were provided publicly, the City's position in those legal disputes would be compromised. Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 21 Packet Pg. 67 Executive session are allowed for the benefit of the City and ultimately for the benefit of the taxpayers because if the City is able to successfully defend litigation, ultimate the taxpayers also benefit. Mr. Taraday continued, with regard to the mechanics of executive session, there are times when the mechanics do not go exactly as scripted. When those instances arise, it is appropriate to insert himself into the moment to ensure the right things are said so the executive session is OPMA compliant even though he is not usually tasked with saying those things. It doesn't happen often, but in comparing the lesser of two evils, it is better for him to say something and keep the City out of trouble than not to say something. Councilmember Nand relayed she and Councilmember Dotsch are on the legal assessment committee that reviews Lighthouse's invoices every month. She thanked Lighthouse for being very precise and not being what she was told in law school was an expensive lawyer, somebody who bills a lot of time for something that should be done quickly. Obviously Lighthouse has a lot of expertise in the City's work and are able to get things done quickly. If the City could ever go back to the incredible flat rate, she would not complain. She complimented the council and the administration for being very deliberate in how they consume legal services now that they are billed on an hourly rate. If Lighthouse ever wanted to offer a flat rate again, the City definitely wouldn't say no. Everyone is being very mindful and doing a good job for taxpayers. Councilmember Chen thanked Mr. Taraday and the Lighthouse legal team for their expertise and service to the City. With regard to the top 15 matters, 3 items, #12, #7 and #2 are council related. He asked Mr. Taraday to comment on those items. Mr. Taraday explained under the flat fee, there was one city council billing matter, with hourly billing, they felt the council might appreciate seeing more detail with regard to how the time is spent. #12, agenda planning and preparation for council meetings, is anything done leading up to a council meeting whether it is answering a question from a councilmember two days before the meeting, preparing for the meeting by reviewing materials in the packet, preparing for a presentation he is giving at the council meeting, anticipating questions that would be asked, figuring out with the council's executive assistant when things will come forward, etc. #7, misc advice and projects, would be preparing an ordinance, understanding the RFA options, or other larger projects not tied to a specific council meeting. #2, attendance at council meetings, also includes travel time. One of the ways the council has been reducing costs is he often attends meetings virtually. Council President Olson stressed the benefits of continuity, probably even more so with the lack of continuity in city departments, noting the council relies on the city attorney for their historical knowledge. Over the years she has seen work products from all the Lighthouse attorneys and they have always been excellent. She gave a shout out this year to Angela Tinker for a particular project where her work product surpassed her expectations. With regard to franchise agreements, that showcases the value Lighthouse brings related to creativity and different ways to approach something. 9. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Nand relayed there was a tragic fire in Edmonds recently where a member of the community lost his life and the family also lost their dog. A Go Fund Me has been organized by Lily Helm, the niece of the man who was killed, to raise $10,000 to help the family inter their loved one and rebuild their home. The Go Fund Me is available on My Edmonds Neighbors Facebook group or she can email it. It is a terrible tragedy and although the cause of the fire has not been established, summer is a much hotter, drier season due climate change. There are a lot more electrical fires and parts of the region are like a tinderbox which is important to remember with the 4t1' of July coming up. Her heart goes out to Lily Helm and her family for their terrible loss and she hoped there were no more fatal fires in Edmonds this year. She urged the public to practice fire safety as much as possible and other than sparklers, forego fireworks which are banned in Snohomish County. Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 22 Packet Pg. 68 7.1.a Councilmember Paine commented there have been three fires in the very recent past which is an alarming number compared to one fire last year. With regard to flags, she comments flags are displayed for so many reasons, symbols of the community, positions, etc. She was gratified to see the conversation in the media that displaying Pride flags shows support to a community that has experienced negative impacts in the past. Edmonds can do it in a way that respects and supports people and doesn't drag in contentious messaging. People are talking about flags at the national level. Although flags can create division, there are ways to handle it. She looked forward to opportunities to how support for community members who are targeted and ways to spread joy and celebrate communities that offer a lot of diversity. Council President Olson referred to Received for Filing Item 6.5, the contract option with South County Fire. Failure to include that in the options available was an oversight and she wanted to give express acknowledgement that that was an option on the table that was being explored. Further details are available in Received for Filing Item 6.5. Councilmember Tibbott updated the council on the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) conference he attended last week Wednesday through Friday in Vancouver, Washington. It was the best AWC conference he has attended with excellent workshops led by expert presenters and he will provide council summary notes. He reported on a half -day FEMA workshops, commenting the presentation included a lot of acronyms and some of the content was difficult to understand. He will share the presentation slides with council. As a result of that workshop, he is more informed and can ask questions of emergency services regarding the City's preparation. Councilmember Chen wished all a Happy Independence Day, relaying Mountlake Terrace will host a firework display on July 3 at Lake Ballinger starting around 10 pm. Councilmember Eck said she would like to see the Pride flag return to city hall next year because symbolism and representation matter. June is National Gun Violence Awareness Month and the first Friday in June is National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Every day over 300 people are directly impacted by gun violence in the United States. Gun Violence Awareness Month was created to draw attention to this tragic reality and demand lifesaving change. There are three recommendations on one of the sites, reach out and ensure your voice is being heard, ask friends and family if there are unlocked guns in their home and coach them on remedying that situation, and find a gun violence prevention event near you. 10. MAYOR'S COMMENTS Mayor Rosen thanked community members who participate in council meetings and reach out to elected officials personally and assured they are listening. He thanked council and staff for their work this week. ADJOURNMENT With no further business, the Council meeting was adjourned at 9:38 pm. Edmonds City Council Draft Minutes June 25, 2024 Page 23 Packet Pg. 69 7.2 City Council Agenda Item Meeting Date: 07/9/2024 Approval of claim checks and wire payments. Staff Lead: Kimberly Dunscombe Department: Administrative Services Preparer: Nori Jacobson Background/History Approval of claim checks #263164 through #263247 dated June 27, 2024 for $871,270.00 (re -issued check #263226 $3,189.05) and wire payments of $4,953.89 & $3,647.10. Staff Recommendation Approval of claim checks and wire payments. Narrative The Council President shall be designated as the auditing committee for the city council. The council president shall review the documentation supporting claims paid and review for approval by the city council at its next regular public meeting all checks or warrants issued in payment of any claim, demand or voucher. A list of each claim, demand or voucher approved and each check or warrant issued indicating the check or warrant number, the amount paid and the vendor or payee shall be filed in the city council office for review by individual councilmembers prior to each regularly scheduled public meeting. Attachments: Claims 06-27-24 Agenda copy Packet Pg. 70 7.2.a apPosPay Positive Pay Listing Page: 1 6/27/2024 3:19:38PM City of Edmonds Document group: jacobson Vendor Code & Name Check # Check Date Amount 065052 AARD PEST CONTROL 263164 6/27/2024 103.87 079367 AGRII PARTY & EVENTS 263165 6/27/2024 3,271.55 063862 ALPINE PRODUCTS INC 263166 6/27/2024 33,150.00 001528 AM TEST INC 263167 6/27/2024 450.00 001375 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION 263168 6/27/2024 100.00 074306 AMWINS GROUP BENEFITS INC 263169 6/27/2024 8,514.47 079382 ATWELL LLC 263170 6/27/2024 30,217.50 073041 BECK & ASSOCIATES PLLC 263171 6/27/2024 116,234.56 068007 BICKFORD MOTORS INC 263172 6/27/2024 9,770.35 028050 BILL PIERRE FORD INC 263173 6/27/2024 162.38 074307 BLUE STAR GAS 263174 6/27/2024 1,088.27 002800 BRAKE & CLUTCH SUPPLY 263175 6/27/2024 1,377.68 078083 BUYCE JR, RICHARD J 263176 6/27/2024 30.00 018495 CALPORTLAND COMPANY 263177 6/27/2024 680.20 073029 CANON FINANCIAL SERVICES 263178 6/27/2024 2,607.02 077353 CAPITOL CONSULTING LLC 263179 6/27/2024 3,900.00 064592 CASCADE COLUMBIA DISTRIBUTION 263180 6/27/2024 961.90 003510 CENTRAL WELDING SUPPLY 263181 6/27/2024 595.79 063902 CITY OF EVERETT 263182 6/27/2024 455.40 076914 CM DESIGN GROUP LLC 263183 6/27/2024 11,890.50 065683 CORRY'S FINE DRY CLEANING 263184 6/27/2024 522.08 076172 DK SYSTEMS 263185 6/27/2024 169.89 079614 DRY BOX INC 263186 6/27/2024 718.25 007253 DUNN LUMBER 263187 6/27/2024 185.98 076610 EDMONDS HERO HARDWARE 263188 6/27/2024 227.91 008705 EDMONDS WATER DIVISION 263189 6/27/2024 540.00 008812 ELECTRONIC BUSINESS MACHINES 263190 6/27/2024 529.61 065331 EMD MILLIPORE CORPORATION 263191 6/27/2024 2,057.41 009350 EVERETT DAILY HERALD 263192 6/27/2024 142.76 064088 EVERON LLC 263193 6/27/2024 2,130.68 075673 FARMER, MARIA 263194 6/27/2024 130.00 079610 FARR, MATTHEW 263195 6/27/2024 100.00 071026 FASTSIGNS OF LYNNWOOD 263196 6/27/2024 4,234.26 002500 GALLS LLC DBA BLUMENTHAL 263197 6/27/2024 259.68 076932 GIRARD RESOURCES & RECYCLING 263198 6/27/2024 1,965.50 012199 GRAINGER 263199 6/27/2024 2,099.43 076462 GREAT FLOORS LLC 263200 6/27/2024 2,446.47 074722 GUARDIAN SECURITY SYSTEMS 263201 6/27/2024 69.53 079620 HARADA, JERICA 263202 6/27/2024 250.00 077496 HEADLIGHT TECHNOLOGIES INC 263203 6/27/2024 2,400.06 066575 HERC RENTALS INC 263204 6/27/2024 1,328.61 061013 HONEY BUCKET 263205 6/27/2024 1,287.59 072627 INTRADO LIFE & SAFETY INC 263206 6/27/2024 537.50 079582 JEAN THERAPY MUSIC 263207 6/27/2024 600.00 070255 KAR-GOR INC 263208 6/27/2024 3,033.23 078250 KAUFER DMC LLC 263209 6/27/2024 300.00 078946 KITCHENS, KYLEE 263210 6/27/2024 764.40 075016 LEMAY MOBILE SHREDDING 263211 6/27/2024 18.27 079532 LESMAN INSTRUMENT COMPANY 263212 6/27/2024 2,250.00 075159 LIFE INSURANCE CO OF NO AMER 263213 6/27/2024 17,210.78 020900 MILLERS EQUIP & RENTALL INC 263214 6/27/2024 3,412.62 008410 MINUTEMAN PRESS 263215 6/27/2024 453.16 069923 MOTION INDUSTRIES INC 263216 6/27/2024 2,795.04 Page: 1 Packet Pg. 71 apPosPay Positive Pay Listing 6/27/2024 3:19:38PM City of Edmonds Document group: jacobson Vendor Code & Name Check # Check Date Amount 018950 NAPA AUTO PARTS 263217 6/27/2024 186.39 075542 NORTHWEST LANDSCAPE SUPPLY 263218 6/27/2024 247.74 074866 NORTHWEST PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT 263219 6/27/2024 2,386.80 076902 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH CTR OF WA 263220 6/27/2024 123.00 073714 OLBRECHTS & ASSOC PLLC 263221 6/27/2024 1,404.00 063750 ORCA PACIFIC INC 263222 6/27/2024 1,209.11 002203 OWEN EQUIPMENT COMPANY 263223 6/27/2024 39.72 075694 PACIFIC SOUND DESIGN 263224 6/27/2024 700.00 079464 PERKINS EASTMAN ARCHITECTS DPC 263225 6/27/2024 50,843.40 029800 PRINZ, DANIEL 263226 6/27/2024 3,189.05 046900 PUGET SOUND ENERGY 263227 6/27/2024 221.26 079607 ROMERO, STACEY F 263228 6/27/2024 260.00 067171 RWC INTERNATIONAL LTD 263229 6/27/2024 688.99 076328 SCJ ALLIANCE 263230 6/27/2024 10,329.81 066964 SEATTLE AUTOMOTIVE DIST INC 263231 6/27/2024 84.26 063306 SHERWIN-WILLIAMS 263232 6/27/2024 178.90 037375 SNO CO PUD NO 1 263233 6/27/2024 22,210.55 063941 SNO CO SHERIFFS OFFICE 263234 6/27/2024 57,449.12 037900 SNO ISLE REGIONAL LIBRARY 263235 6/27/2024 408,179.00 072776 SNOHOMISH CONSERVATION DIST 263236 6/27/2024 7,657.79 006630 SNOHOMISH COUNTY 263237 6/27/2024 15.00 038410 SOUND SAFETY PRODUCTS 263238 6/27/2024 354.41 075025 THE BRANDING IRON LLC 263239 6/27/2024 45.27 068141 TRANSPO GROUP 263240 6/27/2024 17,003.99 073310 UNISAFE INC 263241 6/27/2024 1,429.78 079567 URBAN FORESTRY SERVICES 263242 6/27/2024 3,940.00 075496 VALERIE INC 263243 6/27/2024 1,500.00 069751 VESTIS 263244 6/27/2024 226.77 065568 WATER SERVICES NW INC 263245 6/27/2024 91.16 069605 WEST COAST CODE CONSULTANTS 263246 6/27/2024 707.50 011900 ZIPLY FIBER 263247 6/27/2024 824.14 GrandTotal: 874,459.05 Total count: 84 Page: 2 Packet Pg. 72 7.3 City Council Agenda Item Meeting Date: 07/9/2024 Approval of payroll and benefit checks, direct deposit and wire payments. Staff Lead: Kimberly Dunscombe Department: Administrative Services Preparer: Lori Palmer Background/History Approval of replacement check #66056 dated July 2, 2024 and payroll checks #66048 through #66050 for $7,083.35 dated July 5, 2024, direct deposit for $901,498.90, benefit checks #66051 through #66055 and wire payments for $844,984.60 for the pay period of June 16, 2024 through June 30, 2024. Staff Recommendation Approval of payroll and benefit checks, direct deposit and wire payments. Narrative In accordance with the State statutes, City payments must be approved by the City Council. Ordinance #2896 delegates this approval to the Council President who reviews and recommends either approval or non -approval of payments. Attachments: 06-16 through 06-30 benefit checks summary 06-16-2024 to 06-30-2024 payroll earnings summary report Packet Pg. 73 7.3.a Benefit Checks Summary Report City of Edmonds Pay Period: 1,151 - 06/16/2024 to 06/30/2024 Bank: usbank - US Bank Check # Date Payee # Name Check Amt 66051 07/05/2024 bpas BPAS 9,188.99 66052 07/05/2024 chap1 CHAPTER 13 TRUSTEE 175.00 66053 07/05/2024 icma MISSIONSQUARE PLAN SERVICES 6,315.51 66054 07/05/2024 flex NAVIA BENEFIT SOLUTIONS 5,358.01 66055 07/05/2024 afscme WSCCCE, AFSCME AFL-CIO 3,165.88 24,203.39 Bank: wire - US BANK Check # Date Payee # Name Check Amt 3698 07/05/2024 pens DEPT OF RETIREMENT SYSTEMS 412,932.19 3700 07/05/2024 aflac AFLAC 3,183.90 3702 07/05/2024 us US BANK 181,557.87 3703 07/05/2024 mebt WTRISC FBO #N3177131 171,371.30 3704 07/05/2024 wadc WASHINGTON STATE TREASURER 44,609.75 3706 07/05/2024 pb NATIONWIDE RETIREMENT SOLUTION 6,821.70 3707 07/05/2024 oe OFFICE OF SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT 304.50 820,781.21 Grand Totals: 844,984.60 r m L [-: N a> Direct Deposit 0 0.00 a 0.00 4) 0.00 .0 0.00 0.00 — 0 L 0.00 ca a 0 �a Direct Deposit o a a 0.00 Q 0.00 0.00 0.00 E 0.00 = 0.00 w 0.00 d s 0.00 w a> 0.00 0 M �D O L CD 7 O L L yr r O w+ C d E t ii rt+ w+ Q 7/2/2024 Packet Pg. 74 Payroll Earnings Summary Report City of Edmonds Pay Period: 1,151 (06/16/2024 to 06/30/2024) Hour Type Hour Class Description Hours Amount 112 ABSENT NO PAY NON HIRED 40.00 0.00 118 ABSENT UNPAID L & 1 80.00 0.00 120 SICK SICK LEAVE - L & 1 80.00 3,772.50 121 SICK SICK LEAVE 782.75 44,963.50 122 VACATION VACATION 1,506.00 89,879.84 123 HOLIDAY HOLIDAY HOURS 167.75 8,847.00 124 HOLIDAY FLOATER HOLIDAY 66.00 3,132.38 125 COMP HOURS COMPENSATORY TIME 280.75 15,523.19 128 HOLIDAY Holiday Bank WWTP 121.00 6,438.97 141 BEREAVEMENT BEREAVEMENT 90.00 5,859.93 150 REGULAR HOURS Kelly Day Used 123.75 7,116.27 154 HOLIDAY FLOATER HOLIDAY BUY BACK 2.00 56.64 155 COMP HOURS COMPTIME AUTO PAY 127.75 8,452.06 157 SICK SICK LEAVE PAYOFF 92.01 3,497.28 158 VACATION VACATION PAYOFF 191.68 7,820.92 160 VACATION MANAGEMENT LEAVE 104.00 9,930.67 170 REGULAR HOURS COUNCIL BASE PAY 700.00 11,936.19 174 REGULAR HOURS COUNCIL PRESIDENTS PAY 0.00 341.00 175 REGULAR HOURS COUNCIL PAY FOR NO MEDICAL 0.00 5,356.68 190 REGULAR HOURS REGULAR HOURS 16,022.50 915,219.47 191 REGULAR HOURS FIRE PENSION PAYMENTS 2.00 2,931.80 194 SICK Emerqency Sick Leave 24.00 1,530.45 210 OVERTIME HOURS OVERTIME -STRAIGHT 163.00 10,063.86 215 OVERTIME HOURS WATER WATCH STANDBY 36.00 2,570.47 216 MISCELLANEOUS STANDBY TREATMENT PLANT 5.00 660.79 220 OVERTIME HOURS OVERTIME 1.5 388.50 35,680.04 225 OVERTIME HOURS OVERTIME -DOUBLE 15.25 1,558.72 400 MISCELLANEOUS MISC PAY 0.00 100.00 404 MISCELLANEOUS Medical Opt Out 0.00 1,693.70 410 MISCELLANEOUS WORKING OUT OF CLASS 0.00 920.86 411 SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL 0.00 2,655.39 600 RETROACTIVE PAY RETROACTIVE PAY 0.00 -271.44 602 COMP HOURS ACCRUED COMP 1.0 148.50 0.00 604 COMP HOURS ACCRUED COMP TIME 1.5 132.25 0.00 7.3.b d a� CU 0 L CU 0_ 4- 0 0 0 Q. 0_ Z 07/02/2024 Packet Pg. 75 Payroll Earnings Summary Report City of Edmonds Pay Period: 1,151 (06116/2024 to 06/30/2024) Hour Type Hour Class Description Hours Amount 900 VACATION ACCRUED VACATION -10.00 0.00 901 SICK ACCRUED SICK LEAVE -10.20 0.00 902 MISCELLANEOUS BOOT ALLOWANCE 0.00 145.81 acc MISCELLANEOUS ACCREDITATION PAY 0.00 356.67 acs MISCELLANEOUS ACCRED/POLICE SUPPORT 0.00 255.71 act ACTING PAY Actinq sergeant 0.00 283.48 anc REGULAR HOURS Ancilary Duty Pay 0.00 254.36 anc2 REGULAR HOURS Ancilary Duty Pay 0.00 1,725.66 anc3 REGULAR HOURS Ancilary Duty Pay 0.00 1,567.74 boc MISCELLANEOUS BOC II Certification 0.00 237.66 cpl MISCELLANEOUS TRAINING CORPORAL 0.00 226.78 crt MISCELLANEOUS CERTIFICATION III PAY 0.00 118.83 det4 MISCELLANEOUS Detective 4% 0.00 1,301.62 ed1 EDUCATION PAY EDUCATION PAY 2% 0.00 1,051.58 ed2 EDUCATION PAY EDUCATION PAY 4% 0.00 849.10 ed3 EDUCATION PAY EDUCATION PAY 6% 0.00 12,638.56 evap VACATION Exempt Vacation Premium 32.00 3,245.33 fmla ABSENT FAMILY MEDICAL/NON PAID -36.00 0.00 fmis SICK FAMILY MEDICAL/SICK 0.67 40.69 fmly VACATION Family Medical Leave Vacation 51.33 2,643.84 hol HOLIDAY HOLIDAY 1,399.56 81,629.73 k9 MISCELLANEOUS K-9 Assiqnment 0.00 414.20 Ian MISCELLANEOUS LANGUAGE PAY 0.00 450.00 Iq1 LONGEVITY LONGEVITY PAY 2% 0.00 1,246.91 Ig11 LONGEVITY LONGEVITY PAY 2.5% 0.00 1,220.53 Ig12 LONGEVITY Longevity 9% 0.00 3,750.14 Ig13 LONGEVITY Longevity 7% 0.00 1,518.56 Ig14 LONGEVITY Longevity 5% 0.00 1,158.46 Iq2 LONGEVITY PAY LONGEVITY PAY 4% 0.00 166.92 Iq3 LONGEVITY PAY LONGEVITY 6% 0.00 289.83 Iq4 LONGEVITY Longevity 1% 0.00 1,195.60 Iq5 LONGEVITY Longevity 3% 0.00 3,393.90 Iq7 LONGEVITY Longevity 1.5% 0.00 645.80 mela ABSENT Medical Leave Absent (unpaid) 4.00 0.00 07/02/2024 Packet Pg. 76 Hour Type Hour Class Payroll Earnings Summary Report City of Edmonds Pay Period: 1,151 (06/16/2024 to 06/30/2024) Description Hours Amount pfmc COMP HOURS Paid Family Medical -Comp Used 6.00 354.34 pfmh HOLIDAY Paid Family Medical Holiday 30.00 1,771.72 pfmp ABSENT Paid Family Medical Unpaid/Sup 234.00 0.00 pfms SICK Paid FAMILY MEDICAL/SICK 30.00 1,778.59 pfmv VACATION Paid Family Medical Vacation 20.00 999.36 phy MISCELLANEOUS PHYSICAL FITNESS PAY 0.00 2,588.84 st REGULAR HOURS Serqeant Pay 0.00 246.44 str MISCELLANEOUS PSET Serqeant 0.00 246.44 tac MISCELLANEOUS TAC Officer 0.00 207.10 to MISCELLANEOUS Traininq Officer 0.00 207.10 traf MISCELLANEOUS Traffic Officer - Car 0.00 414.20 trafm MISCELLANEOUS Traffic Motorcyle 0.00 207.10 vap VACATION Vacation Premium 10.00 496.82 23,253.80 $1,341,781.18 Total Net Pay: $908,582.25 7.3.b d a� CU 0 L CU 0_ 4- 0 0 0 Q. 0_ Z 07/02/2024 Packet Pg. 77 7.4 City Council Agenda Item Meeting Date: 07/9/2024 Acceptance of City of Shoreline minutes Staff Lead: City Council Department: City Clerk's Office Preparer: Scott Passey Background/History On May 17, 2024, an email was received from Mayor Chris Roberts in Shoreline asking if our Mayor and Council were interested in sharing a dinner meeting with their Council. Council was polled as to their availability and interest and the date that worked for the most people was selected. Staff Recommendation Approve the use of the City of Shoreline's summary minutes for this joint meeting as the City of Edmonds' record of the meeting as well (rather than using our own minute taker). Narrative The City of Shoreline will be hosting the City of Edmonds for a joint dinner meeting on Monday, July 22, 2024 at 545pm on the third floor of Shoreline City Hall. This meeting is aimed at building relationships between our councils, and seeing if there are opportunities among our areas of mutual interest for collaboration, cooperation and gained efficiencies or cost savings. Both Mayors will share updates about what is happening in their cities and then there will be discussion of areas of known mutual interest (pedestrian and bike connectivity over Hwy 104, lessons learned from community renewal) and other topics that may come up during the exchange. The meeting will be approximately one hour at: Conference Room 303 • Shoreline City Hall <https://us02web.zoom.us/i/84583314568> Phone: 253-215-8782 1 Webinar ID: 845 83314568 Packet Pg. 78 8.1 City Council Agenda Item Meeting Date: 07/9/2024 Legal Assessment Committee Proposed Work Plan Staff Lead: Councilmember Jenna Nand Department: City Council Preparer: Beckie Peterson Background/History In 2023, Council passed Ordinance 4318, which amended Chapter 2.05, "City Attorney and City Prosecutor," to authorize the creation of a Legal Assessment Committee. The mission of this committee is to conduct an annual review of the city attorney's and the city prosecutor's performance and, periodically, to make recommendations regarding any proposed changes "to the continue with the present professional services contracts, publicize a request for proposal process, or seek to transition towards making either the city attorney or city prosecutor positions as employees of the city administration." Recommendation Approve the proposed 2024 Legal Assessment Committee Workplan. Narrative The newly formed working committee, comprised of Councilmembers Jenna Nand (chair) and Michelle Dotsch, commenced its monthly meetings in January of 2024. After consultation with members of the administration, the Legal Assessment Committee proposes the attached workplan for 2024. Attachments: ECC 2.05.035 2024.07.02 - Legal Assessment Committee - Proposed 2024 Work Plan Packet Pg. 79 Ch. 2.05 City Attorney and City Prosecutor I Edmonds City Code Page 1 of 1 8.1.a i obeobi e fl»®±(D ,2 ,/,> as '»©o The city council shall convene a permanent, standing legal assessment committee, comprised entirely of three council members or less, who undertake the responsibility of assessing both the city attorney and the city prosecutor's performance on an annual basis. The legal assessment committee may make a recommendation, from time to time, as needed, to the entire council to either continue with the present professional services contracts, publicize a request for proposal process, or seek to transition towards making either the city attorney or city prosecutor positions as employees of the city administration. The mayor and city council may also conduct joint performance reviews as appropriate. [Ord. 4318 § 2 (Exh. A), 2023; Ord. 4279 § 1 (Exh. A), 2022]. ±2'/4 1?. /1(&62 (EL «' N®142 �2 1/� i i e66° �--»'/O�§ i' N 6-1 i 6 Disclaimer: The city clerk's office has the official version of the Edmonds City Code. Users should contact the city clerk's office for ordinances passed subsequent to the ordinance cited above. City Website: www.edmondswa.gov Hosted by General Code. The Edmonds City Code is current through Ordinance 4356, passed May 21, 2024. Packet Pg. 80 8.1.b OF LY O� O Edmonds City Council lx9° LEGAL ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE CITY COUNCIL CONFERENCE ROOM 121- 5TH AVENUE N, EDMONDS, WA 98020 Proposed 2024 Legal Assessment Committee Work Plan COMMITTEE MEMBERS: JENNA NAND (CHAIR), MICHELLE DOTSCH (COUNCIL MEMBER) 1. Annual Assessment of Legal Vendors 1. City Attorneys Assessment: Invite the following members of Edmonds city government to private interviews with members of the Legal Assessment Committee: • Elected Officials: Mayor, Councilmembers Administration/Staff who regularly interact with City Attorneys: Directors, Senior Management, Court Staff (e.g. Court Administrator), Police Staff (e.g Public Information Officer, Domestic Violence Specialist) • Have follow up meeting with a representative of the city attorney firm to discuss results of interview. • Draft a memo to be presented to Council and the public summarizing results of the interview process with the Committee's recommendation (if any). 2. City Prosecutor Assessment: Invite the following members of Edmonds city government to private interviews with members of the Legal Assessment Committee: • Elected Officials: Mayor, Councilmembers Administration/Staff who regularly interact with City Attorneys: Directors, Senior Management, Court Staff (e.g. Court Administrator), Police Staff (e.g Public Information Officer, Domestic Violence Specialist) • Have follow up meeting with representative of the city prosecutor firm to discuss results of interview. • Draft a memo to be presented to Council and the public summarizing results of the interview process with the Committee's recommendation (if any). Packet Pg. 81 8.2 City Council Agenda Item Meeting Date: 07/9/2024 Fireworks Update and Options Staff Lead: Chief Bennett Department: Police Services Preparer: Alexandra Ehlert Background/History The fireworks ordinance was revised in 2022. Chief Bennett will be updating the Mayor and Council on how July 4 2024 went, concerns and a possible improvement to the ordinance. 1. Existing Fireworks Ban (Edmonds/Snohomish County) 2. The community's desire for compliance 3. Enforcement challenges 4. Options Staff Recommendation City staff is seeking input and direction from council. Packet Pg. 82