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2024-11-26 Council MinutesEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL MEETING APPROVED MINUTES November 26, 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 Michelle Bennett, Police Chief Uneek Maylor, Court Administrator Phil Williams, Acting Public Works Director Kim Dunscombe, Acting Finance Director Angie Feser, Parks, Rec., & Human Serv. Dir. Jessica Neill Hoyson, HR Director Rob English, City Engineer Shannon Burley, Deputy Parks, Rec., & Human Serv. Dir. Jeff Taraday, City Attorney Scott Passey, City Clerk Jerrie Bevington, Camera Operator The Edmonds City Council meeting was called to order at 7:02 pm by Mayor Rosen in the Council Chambers, 250 5t' Avenue North, Edmonds, and virtually. The meeting was opened with the flag salute. 2. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Councilmember Nand read the City Council Land Acknowledgement 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. PRESENTATIONS PROCLAMATION FOR SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY Mayor Rosen read a proclamation proclaiming November 30, 2024, as Small Business Saturday and urged the residents of our community, and communities across the country, to support small businesses and merchants on Small Business Saturday — celebrating its 15t1i year in 2024 — and Shop Small throughout the Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 1 year. He presented the proclamation to Sheila Cloney, BID Vice President. Ms. Cloney thanked Mayor Rosen and the council for supporting Small Business Saturday. Like many other businesses in Edmonds, she loves being part of what makes Edmonds unique and special. The businesses especially appreciate the support the City gives to the shop local culture; Edmonds is a wonderful place to do business. 2. SISTER CITY COMMISSION 2024 REPORT TO COUNCIL Sister City Commissioner and this year's Youth Exchange Chaperone Karen Heinekin provided an update on the work of the Sister City Commission (SCC) in 2024 and plans for the upcoming year: • Mission: It is the mission of the Edmonds Sister City Commission to promote international communication and understanding through exchanges of people, ideas, and culture. • 2024 Highlights o 2024 student exchange — summer 2024: ■ Recruitment of students via media release, posting w/Edmonds school district, posting on city website and Sister City Facebook page ■ Conducted student interviews and five orientation meetings ■ Planned and executed a ten-day itinerary for the Hekinan visit o Recruitment of two new commissioners in 2024 ■ Kiwa Tashiro in March ■ Karen Reid in April ■ There are currently 10 commissioners o Community Outreach @ the Museum Market ■ 7/13/2024 focused on Commissioner recruitment; there was a high-level of interest, and several commission applications were passed out ■ 9/21/2024 focused on Commission familiarization; another day of high-level interest, many brochures passed out, two previous student delegates stopped by and shared what a positive impact the program had on their lives o Created a policy for recruitment and selection for the adult exchange program, which is included in your agenda packet along with your directive ■ An opportunity was provided through Sister Cities International for students between the age of 19-27 to work at the USA Pavilion at the 2025 Osaka World Expo. We learned of this opportunity through our relationship with the Consulate -General of Japan in Seattle and passed it along to our list of past student exchange delegates. We are aware of one past student delegate who has applied 2025 Goals o Due to current budget constraints, the decision was made to cancel the 2025 student exchange and concentrate on fundraising in 2025 o In place of an in -person exchange we will plan a virtual meet -up, like the ones we did during COVID o Further explore the Commission becoming a non-profit organization o To bring attention to the Commission and our work locally and regionally, we plan to arrange speaking engagements, and participate in local markets, fairs, and cultural events Commissioner Heinekin reported on the 10-day 2024 Student Exchange with Hekinan, Japan • Traveled with 16 high school students, ages 15-18 • Quickly formed a cohesive group quickly and represented the City well • Tried variety of things, greeted everyone with smiles, practiced their Japanese, and rarely complained • Formed strong bonds of friendship with the Japanese delegation which carried over to their trip to Edmonds • Hosted by wonderful families who provided great home experiences Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 2 o During the first week, host families took students to many of their favorite places to experience Japan ■ Met Hekinan Mayor Koike ■ Five -story firehouse ■ Hekinan high school ■ Hekinan aquarium ■ Thermal plant ■ Traditional tea ceremony ■ Fishing at the Yahagi River ■ Made washi paper ■ Toyota museum ■ Temple visits in Kyoto ■ Shrine in downtown Nagoya and Nagoya Castle ■ Art museums and restaurants Commissioner Heinekin reported on the 10-day 2024 Hekinan, Japan Student Delegation that visited Edmonds • Seven students plus a chaperone • Visited many places in Edmonds and throughout the area to give them an experience of life in Washington. o Favorite activities included ■ Meeting Mayor Rosen ■ Edmonds fire station ■ Ferry to Kingston ■ Pike Place Market and MOHAI Museum ■ Scavenger hunt in Edmonds ■ Boehm's Chocolate Factory tour ■ Snoqualmie Falls ■ Woodland Park Zoo Ms. Heinekin reported following the student exchange, two students have joined City boards. She thanked the Edmonds and Hekinan SCCs for their hard work and planning to make this year's exchange, the first exchange in five years, a success. The cities have worked hard to promote international communication and understanding with 36 years of successful exchanges as sister cities. She has been part of the SCC for 11 years and has seen the value it provides to the cities, students and adults. The SCC hopes to continue their work to build the City's relationship with Hekinan, Japan. She displayed a video of the Edmonds' student trip to Hekinan and Hekinan students' trip to Edmonds. Councilmember Paine commented she wants to go; it was lovely to see all the pictures. Councilmember Eck thanked Commissioner Heinekin for the time she has invested in the SCC. She remarked on the priceless experience of the student exchange for the youth, that will pay dividends. She thanked all the volunteers on the SCC. Council President Olson echoed other councilmembers' comments. She gave a shout out to Carolyn LaFave who has done a phenomenal job shepherding this program for the past 12 years. She thanked Ms. LaFave on behalf of the City and international relations for all she has done for this program and thanked all the volunteers for their support. 3. MAYOR'S FINANCE UPDATE Mayor Rosen had no update. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 3 5. APPROVAL OF AGENDA COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO APPROVE THE AGENDA IN CONTENT AND ORDER. COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND, TO AMEND THE AGENDA BY ADDING A BUDGET AMENDMENT FROM THE COURT TO FOLLOW CONSIDERATION OF COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT'S MOTION THAT WAS TABLED AT THE PRIOR MEETING. MOTION CARRIED (6-1-1) COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH ABSTAINING. Councilmember Nand relayed she would like to bring some contingent budget amendments forward if certain savings can be ascertained within the proposed budget. She asked if she should make a motion to amend now, or should she do it subsequently. City Clerk Scott Passey suggested making the amendments during deliberations on the budget. MAIN MOTION AS AMENDED CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6. AUDIENCE COMMENTS There were no audience comments. 7. RECEIVED FOR FILING 1. CLAIM FOR DAMAGES FOR FILING 2. WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS 8. 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 NOVEMBER 2, 2024 2. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 4, 2024 3. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 4, 2024 4. APPROVAL OF CLAIM CHECKS AND WIRE PAYMENTS. 5. APPROVAL OF PAYROLL AND BENEFIT CHECKS, DIRECT DEPOSIT AND WIRE PAYMENTS 6. SOCIAL WORKER POSITION 7. CONFIRMATION OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION & ACCESSIBILITY (DEIA) COMMISSION APPOINTEES ELAINE DUCHARME & JOSEPH TAI ADEMOFE 8. APPROVAL OF AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH SNOHOMISH COUNTY AND MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, TO RENEW AN ON -GOING WATER QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAM FOR LAKE BALLINGER 9. APPROVE SUBAWARD SAFETY ACTION PLAN AGREEMENT BETWEEN PUGET SOUND REGIONAL COUNCIL AND CITY OF EDMONDS 10. APPROVAL OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT AMENDMENT FOR PHASE 12 (2025) & 13 (2026) SEWER REPLACEMENT 11. PERMITTING PROGRAM MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION 12. CODE AMENDMENT ECC 2.10.010 13. CONFIRM APPOINTMENT OF BOARD/COMMISSION CANDIDATE 9. COUNCIL BUSINESS Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 4 1. INT'L DISTRICT BANNER UPDATE Arts & Culture Program Manager Frances Chapin relayed this is an update regarding the Highway 99 International District Banner project; no decision is required, just an opportunity to review the progress to date and the selected designs. She explained the banner project is focused on the 14 red light poles on Highway 99 in the International District and are part of a project that started in 2008 as an economic development and arts project. The lanterns on seven poles and one in the island, Eight Paths of Light, designed by artist Patty Beyette. That project included fiber banners that were installed above the lanterns and on the other light poles that were visible when entering the International District from either direction. That area is quite a wind tunnel and the fiber banners didn't last very long. When they were removed, there was a plan to put up permanent cut metal banners in the future. Ms. Chapin continued, the arts commission was interested in permanent artist -design banners for the poles to provide public art on Highway 99. There was some funding left in the original project and the arts commission suggest using some public art money on the banner. That budget and the request for artists was approved by council. A request for qualifications went out, 21 artists applied and were invited to provide submissions last summer and a selection panel chose artists to design banners for the site. The selection panel, consisting of Councilmembers Nand and Paine, Arts Commissioners Chung and Leute, and Robert Ha, a member of the International District business community, selected five artists to create final designs for the 14 poles, 2 of each design and 2 individual designs. The designs are developed for fabrication but have not yet been fabricated. The banners will be made out of cut metal, viewable from both sides, and include a range of artistic themes that reflect the cultural and environmental context of the Edmonds International District. Ms. Chapin displayed the designs the committee selected which were designed by artists Romson Regarde Bustillo, Rebecca Elaynow, Stuart Nakamura, June Sekiguchi, and Gabrielle Wildheart. The multiple ethnic and cultural traditions of the International District are reflected in the various designs, from textile to print patterns, from Hispanic to Japanese and Filipino and references to nearby habitats of the lake and forest. She displayed renderings of the banner graphics and their locations on Highway 99: s The panels are on .o, fabricationp. 1 Councilmember Tibbott thanked Ms. Chapin for her enthusiasm for this exciting project. He asked about maintenance over the next 5-10 years. Ms. Chapin answered very little maintenance will be required, the Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 5 banner will be made of painted cut aluminum and should be fine for at least 10 years. This project also includes fabrication of the banner arms. Councilmember Tibbott summarized they will look great for 10 years. Ms. Chapin hoped they would look great for 20 years. Councilmember Nand commented as Ms. Chapin is retiring, she wanted to highlight what an incredible resource and asset she has been for the City. She found it very exciting to participate in the selection process for this project. When looking at the business district on Highway 99, there has always been an abrupt change between Shoreline and Edmonds. Shoreline has very similar poles with public art. Culturally and visually matching Edmonds and Shoreline will enhance prospects for small businesses along Highway 99. She viewed this as a valuable investment, and expressed her appreciation to Ms. Chapin for what she does to make the City beautiful, visually interesting and memorable for people who come here to live, work, shop and the City's increased tax base. She summarized Ms. Chapin has been a very valuable asset for the City. Councilmember Paine agreed participating on the selection panel was a fun project; the volunteers were very engaging and the artists did a lot of spectacular work. She asked when Ms. Chapin will be retiring. Ms. Chapin answered she was retiring in February. Councilmember Eck echoed the comments about Ms. Chapin, thanking her for her commitment and the time spent. She appreciated the intentionality of placing these banners on Highway 99 to honor the culture and history, but also placemaking and community building and ensuring no matter where residents live in the City, they have the same amenities. This is a very important layer among other layers that will be occurring. Councilmember Chen expressed appreciation for Ms. Chapin's efforts. When he goes to the International District in Seattle, he is proud to tells them Edmonds has an International District. These projects require volunteers, leadership, artists and many hours of work. He hoped Ms. Chapin will stay engaged after her hard-earned retirement as he anticipated there will be other opportunities for art and gathering places on Highway 99. Councilmember Dotsch echoed other councilmembers' comments. She saw the designs at the council committee and was very excited for this project, bringing art to Highway 99 and beginning to revitalize that area. 2. COUNCIL 2025-26 BUDGET DELIBERATIONS, INCLUDING POSSIBLE VOTING ON BUDGET AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY COUNCILMEMBERS DURING MEETING COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO TAKE THE ITEM FROM THE PREVIOUS MEETING FROM THE TABLE. Mr. Passey said for anything that was postponed, the correct motion would be to take it from the table; that motion requires a second and is non -debatable or amendable and requires a majority vote. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Taraday relayed the following was his attempt to rephrase Councilmember Tibbott's motion with the clarification that resulted from the Q&A during the special meeting: To strike the main motion and replace with the following: reduce the general fund appropriation by $1.5M and have the administration report back to the council by no later than April 1, 2025 with a report as to how the reduced appropriation will be achieved along with any proposed amendments to the authorized positions ordinance that would be necessary to achieve the reduce appropriation. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 6 COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER CHEN, TO THE STRIKE MAIN MOTION AND REPLACE WITH THE FOLLOWING: REDUCE THE GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATION BY $1.5M $3.5M AND HAVE THE ADMINISTRATION REPORT BACK TO THE COUNCIL NO LATER THAN APRIL 1, 2025 WITH A REPORT AS TO HOW THE REDUCED APPROPRIATION WILL BE ACHIEVED ALONG WITH ANY PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE AUTHORIZED POSITIONS ORDINANCE THAT WOULD BE NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE THE REDUCED APPROPRIATION. Councilmember Tibbott asked where the intent was for the savings to go toward reducing the loan. Mr. Taraday assumed that would be understood, but it could be discussed. Mayor Rosen relayed the original intent was $2M in the second year. Councilmember Tibbott agreed the original intent was to find $2M in savings by April with an appropriation of $1.5M in 2025. Mr. Taraday clarified it is a $3.5M reduction over the biennium. Councilmember Tibbott agreed that was correct. The above motion was changed from $1.5M to $3.5M. Mr. Taraday said his understanding was any reduction in the General Fund appropriation would necessarily correspond with a reduction in the loan from the utilities. In the interest of simplicity, it may be worthwhile stating that as a general operating principle and the final ordinance would reflect hat. If the General Fund appropriation is reduced, it will also reduce the loan; if the General Fund appropriation is increased, it will increase the loan. In the interest of simplicity, that does not need to be stated with each motion where the savings would come from. Councilmember Nand commented Councilmember Tibbott is senior to her and has been through more budget cycles. She was confused by the April 1, 2025 report back by the administration. The council is deliberating on the 2025 and 2026 budget; if this were a motion to add $3.5M worth of additional cuts over what the administrative has proposed for 2025 and 2026 with full transparency to the council and public, that would make sense to her. She did not understand why the council would ask the administration in almost a secretive manner to institute another $3.5M in cuts and bring that forward to council by April 1. She was not comfortable authorizing the administration to do that without full transparency before the council and public, therefore, unless Councilmember Tibbott could justify the April 1, 2025 date and why the administration would do that without full debate on the dais, she will not support the motion. Councilmember Chen agreed it was assumed this would reduce the utility loan, but he preferred to have that documented and offered to make an amendment if required. Mr. Taraday said the final budget ordinance will reflect a total General Fund appropriation as well as any loan from the utility fund to the General Fund. The mayor's proposed budget includes a $7.5M loan; as the General Fund appropriation goes down, it was his understanding what comes back for final adoption is a corresponding reduction in the amount of the loan. A councilmember could make that as a general principle motion, but he did not think it was necessary because that's everyone's intention and the council will see it before adopting the final budget. Councilmember Chen commented when the council sees this opportunity to reduce General Fund expenditures by $3.5M over 2 years, it is very tempting to add back additional expenses. Mr. Taraday reminded if the council does that, the loan amount will go up. Every amendment the council makes between now and finalizing the budget, will either increase or reduce the amount of the loan depending on whether the amendment is increasing or reducing the General Fund appropriation. There is no other proposed source of revenue other than the loan. If an amendment increased the General Fund appropriation, it increased the amount of the loan; if an amendment decreased the General Fund appropriation, it decreased the amount of the loan. Councilmember Chen responded that was not entirely correct because there is still about $560,000 General Fund by the end of 2025 and $2.3M contingency fund balance that can be used. Mr. Taraday clarified the running assumption, unless council directs otherwise, is staff will provide a final budget ordinance that is consistent with what he just said; unless council directed staff to use the contingency or some other source, Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 7 the assumption is the final budget ordinance will reflect a loan amount that corresponds to any council amendments. Mayor Rosen commented with that clarification, it was council prerogative to make this motion if they chose. COUNCILMEMBER CHEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, THAT ANY EXPENDITURE REDUCTION THROUGH THIS EFFORT WILL BE USED SOLELY TO REDUCE THE INTERNAL LOAN FROM THE UTILITY FUND IN 2025 AND 2026. Councilmember Eck said she absolutely hears staff when they talk about other amendments on the table with regard to cutting hours and she no longer supported either of those amendment proposals. She sees the merits of this amendment. Her concern is as a separate branch, the city council should not normally relinquish control over where these cuts will be made. The council represents its constituents and should be keeping their interests in mind when making these decisions. There is merit in asking the administration to make a proposal, but for the council to agree on the cuts before seeing the proposal made her uncomfortable. Mayor Rosen clarified the amendment on the table is for expenditure reductions to be used to reduce the loan from the utility funds. Councilmember Nand said she did not support this amendment or the main motion. If councilmembers wish to accomplish $3.5M in reductions, the public, the council and staff deserve to see a line item breakdown of how those cuts will be accomplished. She did not like this abdication of council authority to oversee the budget process and be open and transparent with constituents about where cuts will be accomplished so the public can provide feedback. That is why the administration spent months preparing a proposed budget with line item reductions and proposals that the council has spent months deliberating on. Politically, she found it very uncomfortable to try to kick the can down the road this close to the filing deadline if someone is motivated to run against a councilmember because they disagree with their vote on the budget. The filing deadline is in May and April 1 is too close to that deadline to see where cuts were accomplished. Mayor Rosen restated the motion: ANY EXPENDITURE REDUCTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS MOTION WILL BE USED TO REDUCE THE LOAN FROM THE UTILITY FUNDS. MOTION CARRIED (4-3), COUNCILMEMBERS ECK, PAINE, AND NAND VOTING NO. Mayor Rosen reread the motion as amended: TO STRIKE THE MAIN MOTION AND REPLACE WITH THE FOLLOWING: REDUCE THE GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATION BY $3.5M AND HAVE THE ADMINISTRATION REPORT BACK TO THE COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL NO LATER THAN APRIL 1, 2025 WITH A REPORT AS TO HOW THE REDUCED APPROPRIATION WILL BE ACHIEVED ALONG WITH ANY PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE AUTHORIZED POSITIONS ORDINANCE THAT WOULD BE NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE THE REDUCED APPROPRIATION AND ANY EXPENDITURE REDUCTION ASSOCIATED WITH THIS MOTION WILL BE U SED TO REDUCE THE LOAN FROM THE UTILITY FUNDS. Councilmember Tibbott offered rebuttal to the comments about transparency and kicking the can down the road. His preference when this was first discussed was to go out to June to give the administration plenty of time to deliberate with organizations representing City staff, look at areas of savings including purchases, operations, programs, etc. because there is not enough time to do that deliberation now. This motion is intended to offer as much flexibility for staff to bring back $2M in cuts in the budget that would be applied in 2025 and 2026 for a total of $3.5M. This is an opportunity for the administration to do their work using their expertise and bring back their very best recommendation to council for approval or rejection. There will be complete transparency between January 1 and April 1 about what the budget cuts will be, there will Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 8 be discussion back and forth and council will do their due diligence with regard to approving any budget amendments that result from this effort. He supported the motion as written and liked the fact that reductions would be applied to the loan balance. Councilmember Paine commented this will delay impacts from the mayor's proposed budget until April 1. Ms. Dunscombe said this would be in addition to what is already in the proposed budget. Councilmember Paine relayed her understanding that the proposed cuts would be solidified and any additional cuts would be delayed until April 1. The council will have to see what the administration would propose; it is a lot of finagling and working with numbers that the administration knows best. The additional cuts would have to be approved by council because these are big policy discussions. The council will be working on the budget all next year and having other discussions depending on how the votes go. This approach probably results in less harm than the 35 or 32 hour workweek proposal which council has heard tonight is damaging morale and has been difficult for staff to accept. She supported the motion, commenting cuts have to be made and they have to start now. The things that can be given up now will only help later next year and the years beyond. Council President Olson commented it is important to commit to lowering the loan amount and it shows the council's resolve by having the benefit of the administration's support in finding the best places to exercise BBP and there is some history and trust that council and community priorities will be acted on and upheld. The survey was not done willy nilly and for no reason, it was intended to find out the community's core priorities and whether they thought the City was over or under performing on those. She appreciated the administration and Mayor Rosen's willingness to work on this further and to bring back a proposal. When this proposal comes back to council, if council doesn't like what's in it, due to the target number, any changes will require swapping other expenditures due to the commitment to reduce the loan. If this passes, which she supports, that's great; if it doesn't pass, she looked forward to two other councilmembers joining her between now and Tuesday figuring out where additional cuts can be found because that's the alternative. The council either identifies specific cuts, or have the people who know which staff impact the priorities do it. Councilmember Chen commented by taking this approach, allowing the administration the flexibility to come up with cuts, the negative impact to staff will be far less than the 32 or 35 hour workweek. Using this approach, the administration has the opportunity to look at program cuts, purchasing cuts, or cuts to other areas to achieve a reduction in internal borrowing. He preferred this option over the reduction in work hours. His hesitation in reading the motion, even though English is his second language, he sees opportunity for the administration to push the $3.5M entirely into 2026 and carry on business as usual for 2025. If that is done, there is almost no chance of recovery because by then the City will not only be in the hole for $20M plus the $7.5M loan, but it also creates a hole of almost $30M plus interest. The City would then have to go to the public for a levy lid lift for that amount, an 160% increase in taxes on top of the RFA annexation and other tax increases by other taxing authorities. He did not see that being successful. COUNCILMEMBER CHEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO AMEND TO CLARFY THE REDUCTION OF $3.5M WILL BE ALLOCATED IN THE AMOUNT OF $1.5M IN 2025 AND THE REMAINDER OF $2M WILL BE IN 2026. Councilmember Dotsch asked what if there is opportunity for more than a $1.5M reduction in 2025. Mayor Rosen relayed his assumption that if more cuts were found in 2025, it would reduce the amount of reductions in 2026. Councilmember Chen restated the amendment: TO CLARIFY THE REDUCTIONS WILL BE AT LEAST $1.5M IN 2025 AND $2M IN 2026. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 9 Councilmember Nand said she was unable to support the amendment. If Councilmember Tibbott or other councilmembers wish to accomplish $1.5M in reductions in 2025 and $2M in 2026, the council has the budget book with programs, they should pick programs and positions to defund and have an open discussion on the dais. She did not understand this mechanism to bypass open discussion before the public about which programs the council intends to defund. It is an attempt to bypass politically unpopular decisions and delay the impact of those politically unpopular decisions, it is illegitimate and disrespectful to the public. Councilmember Paine said she wished it hadn't been changed. The council is pushing a lot and it will come out of the hard work staff does. Having the administration identify programs for council, that will be extremely helpful. As it is now, she will not support the amendment. Ms. Dunscombe clarified while this is a biennium budget, it is presented as two 1-year budgets. While she was fine with the motion, the $1.5M would have been shown in 2025 and $2M in 2026. It would have been very clear and transparent that the $3.5M was split into two years. MOTION CARRIED (4-3), COUNCILMEMBERS ECK, PAINE AND NAND VOTING NO. Councilmember Dotsch referred to language in the motion, report back to council for approval no later than April 1. Approval is an assumption; she suggested it would be preferable to say the administration will report back to council with this by a certain date such as March 11. Mr. Taraday suggested changing "approval" to "action." The date the report is due could also be earlier. COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO AMEND TO CHANGE APRIL 1, 2025 TO NO LATER THAN MARCH 11, 2025. Councilmember Paine did not support the amendment because she would prefer changing "for approval by April 1" to "action by April 1." Councilmember Nand did not support the amendment because if the council wants to make changes to the proposed biennial budget, they should be done by December 31 to be completely open, honest and transparent with constituents about the cuts that will be made. If constituents aren't happy with council, they can start preparing to run against them. She did not like this finagling with the timelines and this attempt to hide the ball. Mr. Taraday shared how this proposal would be implemented. Some of the labor unions have 45-day layoff notice requirements so if the council is contemplating there may be additional layoffs on April 1, that decision would need to be made by February 11, not March 11. Unless that is done, for the unions that have a 45-day layoff notice, layoffs could not take effect early enough to be on target for the $1.5M reduction in 2025. Not all the unions have a 45-day layoff notice, and non -represented employees do not have that requirement, but it is something to keep in mind. Mayor Rosen said another option would be for the administration to accommodate that in meeting the targets. Councilmember Dotsch restated the amendment: TO CHANGE APRIL 1 TO MARCH 11 AND STRIKE "FOR APPROVAL." Councilmember Dotsch commented her intent was to have the report to council by April 11 and it would be up to council to approve it by whatever date they wished. Mayor Rosen commented if council approval is delayed beyond the April 1 target, the amount would need to be increased. Councilmember Nand said she didn't know why the City spent so much money on Mike Bailey's services and devoted so much time this year toward implementing a biennial budget, BBP and attempting to pass a Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 10 balanced budget by December 3 1 " if the council is now going to play these calendar games which is a huge waste of taxpayer resources. AMENDMENT CARRIED (4-3), COUNCILMEMBERS ECK, PAINE AND NAND VOTING NO. Councilmember Eck said she respected the process used for BBP and recognized the importance of multiple public forums for input. She was not willing to abandon that, because it is valid, there was a lot of good public input. For the record, she pointed out she was keeping the voices of the most vulnerable people who cannot attend these meetings in her mind during these conversations. She will respect the BBP process, but will continue to raise her voice to help amplify the voices of people who were unable to attend those meetings. Councilmember Tibbott said he brought this forward due to other amendments that were being offered with regard to reducing hours, positions and benefits during this deliberation. The administration is in the best place to identify areas where savings might be realized that keep the most employees and the most relevant programs and services in place. Doing this now allows the council to make a commitment to making reductions in the future and by requesting the administration report to council by March 11 is a good way for the council to move forward. Councilmember Paine commented these proposals will absolutely have to be transparent with the same reporting the council gets related to finances. There aren't other programs that can be cut that won't be devastating to the community. The first cuts resulted in zero wiggle room so some of the changes will have to be structural. She anticipated it would be devastating for employees. Councilmember Dotsch expressed support for the motion. The 10% reduction suggested last week was $2.3M and this motion is now $1.5M; there still have to be more cuts. The tipping point is coming fast next year and revenues are not an option. She recalled that sales tax was down $500,000 last month. Ms. Dunscombe responded sales tax is down, increasing 1% in 2024 over 2023 and she has a 3% increase in 2025 over 2024. She acknowledged the trend in sales tax revenue was definitely slowing. Councilmember Dotsch commented the impacts on staff are not lost on councilmembers, but the fiscal cliff will require cuts the City cannot plan for if there are not enough cuts now. In that respect she agreed with Councilmember Nand's thought process about identifying cuts this year. There is still time this year to do more and she hoped councilmembers would consider that. Councilmember Nand stated for the public the council could easily authorize a $7.5M interfund loan, the council could decide to place the RFA annexation before the voters, the council does not have to drive the City over a fiscal cliff. The council could be responsible to its constituents, the City's workforce and visitors and make fiscally responsible decisions. The council could choose to be open and transparent about programs they choose to defund now using the gigantic budget book full of programs to achieve $3.5M in savings. She continued to protest this attempt to kick the can down the road; the budget is the purview of council and it is supposed to be open and transparent to the public so they understand the decisions the council is making based on policy and if they disagree, they can hold the council accountable via the political process. She did not support the motion. Mayor Rosen read the motion with amendments: TO REDUCE THE GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATION BY $3.5M (AT LEAST $1.5M IN 2025 AND $2M IN 2026) AND HAVE THE ADMINISTRATION REPORT BACK TO THE COUNCIL FOR APPROALAL BY NO LATER THAN MARCH 11 APRIL 1, 2025 WITH A REPORT AS TO HOW THE REDUCED APPROPRIATION WILL BE ACHIEVED ALONG WITH ANY PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE AUTHORIZED POSITIONS ORDINANCE THAT WOULD BE NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE THE REDUCED APPROPRIATION AND ANY EXPENDITURE REDUCTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS MOTION WILL BE USED TO REDUCE THE LOAN FROM THE UTILITY FUND. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 11 MOTION CARRIED (4-3), COUNCILMEMBERS PAINE, NAND AND ECK VOTING NO. Court Related Amendments COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND, TO ACCEPT THE COURT'S PROPOSED BUDGET AS PRESENTED BY THE COURT AT THE 10/22/24 COUNCIL MEETING: REDLIGHT PROGRAM — CLERK FTES - $2.66, $279,210 REDLIGHT PROGRAM — PRO TEM BUDGET - $25,000 REDLIGHT PROGRAM — INTERPRETER BUDGET - $15,000 REDLIGHT PROGRAM — EQUIPMENT COST FOR FTES - $15,000 (ONE TIME FOR DESKS/COMPUTERS/SUPPLIES. Councilmember Paine explained this is to correctly document the net budget impacts necessary for implementing the red light camera program. Court Administrator Uneek Maylor recalled the budget she and Judge Weiss presented to council on October 22 that included a slide with all these amounts, the court's analysis of the cost of the red light cameras. The court provided a 13-page workbook on June 24, 2024 that explained how the court's needs were determined. Councilmember Paine commented if there isn't staffing available to perform all the tasks associated with red light cameras, the court prioritizes their work as described in a PowerPoint that was attached to an email sent to council today, the same PowerPoint provided to council at the October 22 meeting. The estimates in the court's budget assumed revenue from the red light cameras. This is the staffing workload that was not included in the budget; this is the court's opportunity to ensure they have access to the level of funding and FTEs they need to accomplish the financial goals from the red light camera revenue. Ms. Dunscombe said it appears by the court's request that revenue would be reduced by $500,000 and expenses increased by $190,210 which is a hit to the General Fund bottom line of $690,210. She asked for clarification, if this passes, where those funds would come from. There is not that much in fund balance so it would probably require an increase in the interfund loan. Ms. Maylor explained the court brought these figures to the administration in June. The administration was informed of the staff needed, she sent an email to Mayor Rosen in June and sent a workbook that the judge worked on to council in June that explained based on citation count, the court would need almost 4 people to do the job. She didn't receive any indication that that would be included in the budget. She reached out to other court administrators, surveyed other courts that have red light camera programs and looked at many decision packages that the council has voted on in the past to ensure her information was as clear as possible so the council could make a decision on funding for the program. They then had a meeting with HR, law enforcement, Mayor Rosen, and Ms. Dunscombe and that meeting didn't go well. The mayor and administration asked why the court couldn't just assume the work. This work is almost four times the existing caseload in any given month. It would be asking a staff of four to take on four times what they normally do in a 40 hour week without any help. She explained in the best way possible that that couldn't be done, adding 400 hours/month of staff time cannot be assumed by people already working full-time. Ms. Maylor continued, at that point she went back to the judge; the judge created an excel spreadsheet based on citation count to provide a clear look at what they were trying to explain. That excel spreadsheet was based on her work productivity. She worked as a clerk, and timed herself doing all the tasks. She did not know of any other director that has come to council, the mayor or finance director and said they timed themselves mowing grass or fixing a pothole to ensure the staffing they were requesting was the appropriate amount. She did that and created an excel spreadsheet where the citation amount could be changed to figure out the amount of staff needed. It was presented multiple times to the administration and the information was provided to council. This is the staff that is needed to produce the amount of revenue that is included Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 12 in the budget book. The budget includes $2.5M; that wasn't a number developed by the court. To put money into the City accounts, there need to be people to receipting that money. Without enough staff, the court cannot put the money into the criminal data base that issues a check to the City. The logic of not staffing appropriately to receipt money that is already spent in the budget doesn't make sense. Ms. Maylor continued, she attempted to have this conversation with the administration multiple times. She was told orally in a director's meeting that the court would be given three people in the budget, but learned on the night the budget was presented that the court was given two people and the next day the printed budget book says 1.5 people. Per GR29, the judge has sole discretion to present their budget to the city council and be voted on. Typically the judge and the mayor get together prior to the budget reveal and agree upon the court's budget that will be included in the budget book. This has been an issue that has come up in multiple administrations; she is on the third mayor, third finance director and third police chief. For example in 2018 or 2019, Judge Coburn asked for full-time security; the court had part-time security at the time. There was a court rule that came out that required full-time security for the court house so Judge Coburn put in a decision package and the finance director at that time, Scott James, decided not to include it in the budget that was presented to council. The judge then informed council the finance director does not get to determine what she requests and made her presentation to council during her budget presentation and it was voted on separately and added to the budget. Ms. Maylor continued, ultimately the council approves the court's budget; they have been very clear, very transparent, and she has done everything she can to report how many minutes it will take to process these documents. She has gone above and beyond to try and work with the administration to make sure it is clear what will happen if these positions are not approved. The legislative bill states revenue from the cameras can be used to process citations. The fact that none of that revenue was included in the court's budget to pay for these positions is not on her. She was sorry that occurred, was sorry the budget book included revenue that was used elsewhere that should be used to fund these positions, but she was unable to speak to why that was done. Mayor Rosen recalled his hesitation was those people will not be needed day one. There is a 30-day warning period, it is unknown exactly how many citations will be issued so gearing up and staffing as needed based on science and the reality of experience seemed preferable to him. The City also has ultimate control so if staff capacity is being reached, the cameras can be turned off and/or slowed down which would have an immediate reduction in demand. Those things gave him comfort in recommending gearing up as appropriate and as required and that was addressed in the conversation with the court. Ms. Dunscombe agreed the revenue is high in the proposed budget which was concerning to her. She felt it was appropriate to see Edmonds' experience before increasing staff. The City is in a position now where everything that is approved requires saying no to something else; there is no budgetary slack for the potential of staff need. Although she was concerned the revenue was high, $144,000 was allocated to the court in increased salary and benefits to ramp up when the ticket volume was experienced. The current contract will implement the red light camera program in January with one -month grace period. How that is staffed and the City's experience in 2025 with regard to ticket volume, staff can come back to council to ask for amendments when ticket volume is known. She did not feel it was a good idea to add staff to the budget that might not be needed based on another cty's experience or information received from the vendor in their presentation because that would require saying no to something else and identifying the funding in some other department or expenditure. She concluded that was the logic that went into those decisions. Councilmember Paine expressed appreciation for Ms. Dunscomb's explanation, relaying her understanding how that came to be, but the court is not another department, it is an entirely different branch of government. Looking at the study done by Ms. Maylor brought back memories from her years in courts; the studies Ms. Maylor provided regarding how much time it took to docket the tickets and going through the entire life cycle of a citation demonstrates what courts do, everything is calculated by citations. Her concern is the Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 13 court not being able to fund the necessary people and build in the necessary capacity. Ms. Maylor is a very good court administrator and a qualified probation officer; no other court has a court administrator that is also a probation officer. Court employees wear many hats which is what all courts do. The study did not use numbers from another city, it reflects actual hours by the court administrator to ensure the council understands how much time it takes to put a ticket into the system. She worried tickets would have to be sent back and money refunded if citations/infractions are unable to be adjudicated. She summarized the decision on when to hire would be up to the court; the court has not made rash decisions across time. The council supported red light cameras at two of the City's most dangerous intersections; public safety was one of the top priorities in BBP. Councilmember Nand commented since the discussion regarding red light cameras first came forward under the previous administration, she had had a lot of questions about appropriate staffing, issues with getting the administration to ascertain appropriate staff support for this program, and the effect staff will have on revenue. HB 2384 requires disaggregation; she has asked how the finance department will disaggregate and properly allocate automated traffic safety camera revenue. She hoped councilmembers understand this was never just free money; it was never a really easy way to plug a budget hole. When a new program is implemented in any branch of City government, it has to be appropriately staffed. With drastic budget cuts slashing millions from programs, the council cannot expect people will grow extra sets of arms to do yet more work. She thanked Ms. Maylor for sharing her frustrations and the court concerns about proper implementation of this program, remarking it is information the public needs to hear. Councilmember Eck commented this was an investment to create greater revenue. She asked the amount of revenue that was counted on for 2025. Ms. Dunscome responded the budget includes $2.5M for red light cameras. She assured it was not her intent to balance the General Fund with this revenue, it is just part of the math and part of what was included in budget based on a contract signed in 2024. There was no intention of hiding it or making it balance, her only request was to wait and see the volume of Edmonds' experience with red light cameras before hiring staff. There is $144,000 in the budget, if the volume justified more FTE, it is a simple budget amendment mid -year to show those details. Councilmember Eck relayed her understanding and respect for the work Ms. Dunscombe has been doing. Councilmember Eck observed if the court is not staffed correctly, the City will not realize that revenue. It's a decision point, the administration was counting on this revenue and if the cameras are paused, that jeopardizes that level of revenue. She understood the wait and see approach, but being too reactive puts a lot on the court, waiting for them to cry uncle before they are staffed appropriately. Ms. Maylor said $2.5M in revenue equals clerk time, but it doesn't equal 1.5 clerks. To have a budget that is balanced off $2.5M in red light camera revenue without the staff to put those payments into the criminal justice system is not reality; a payment equals time, it is not an automated system. A citation is not a like a PUD bill where the account number and the amount is input and it magically goes somewhere; this is money a clerk looks at and types into a dot matrix system that was created in 1983. For a finance director or anyone in the administration to say this revenue can be created by this staffing doesn't make sense because they do not work in the court. Ms. Mayor continued, the City of Lynnwood's budget was approved yesterday and it included three more clerks in addition to the clerk they asked for earlier this year plus a full-time commissioner to manage their caseload of red light cameras. Lynnwood's court already has 10 clerks for 1 full-time judge. Edmonds court has 4 clerks; if a court that has 10 clerks can't keep up with the red light camera revenue, regardless of whether they have more citations than Edmonds, Lynnwood already has almost 6 more clerks than Edmonds. She assured $2.5M in revenue will not be realized with 1.5 personnel if the City receives that volume of citations. It takes time for a staff member to type that into a computer. When she calculated the time it takes, she went as fast as she could and she has 20 years of experience. She likely will not get someone with 20 years of experience to do that type of work and it takes at least 6 months to train a clerk to process all the required documents. The computer systems and processes the court uses require working Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 14 with live data and working multiple case types that require multiple screens. Training new clerks takes time which is why she indicated the court would not start hiring until March. Ms. Mayor continued even if the volume is not as high as expected, the court has to be ready to deliver access to justice. It is not just about processing payments, it is answering the public concerns and processing documents regarding their rights, as well as hearing management. The budget does not include funds for a pro tern judge; the court has a full-time judge working a full-time caseload. The red light cameras also have the potential to add thousands of citations to a hearing process, meaning if there are only 40 hours in a week and someone asks for a hearing, does the judge come in on Saturdays to process those or are those citations dismissed because there is no pro tem budget to allow someone to review the hearings by mail? Whether the City receives 1000 citations or 2300 citations, the 2300 citations were based on the lowest amount that would be received. She recalled the expected volume was 17 tickets per camera per day. She recalled pointing out to the mayor when she went to Whole Foods, she saw 3-4 cars getting a red light camera ticket. The numbers are very conservative. The City was told they could receive 500-800 citations per month without the City being billed extra; the court used the 500 number. Councilmember Eck pointed out Ms. Maylor's comments highlight the City cannot wait, the court has to have staff in place ahead of the volumes coming in. Council President Olson referred to information the council received, account in BARS shows a decrease of $2M in revenue; she assumed that was incorrect, that it was an adjustment from $2.5M to $2M. Ms. Maylor said she put $2M based on clerks and average hearings and payments. An Excel spreadsheet was provided based on hearings and processes and the revenue based on that ticket count, not necessarily based on staff time. Based on 500 citations/month/camera, this is an estimated average and does not include all the independent decisions that a judge makes on the bench. The calculation was 500 multiplied by 5 multiplied by the average hearing amount and considering cases paid outright based on historical data. Council President Olson asked if it was expected to have $500,000 in revenue. Ms. Maylor apologized if she filled out the form incorrectly. She was saying $2M was more reasonable based on the ticket count, not $2.5M. Council President Olson observed the impact to the budget is $834,210 as presented. Ms. Dunscombe said the way the budget amendment is written, the impact to the General Fund would be $690,210. Council President Olson observed computers, desks and chairs were part of the budget ask. She wondered if any of those items were available to avoid purchasing new desks and chairs. She observed someone said no. Councilmember Dotsch thanked Ms. Mayor for the clarification. With regard to the FTE number, the budget books says one thing and Ms. Mayor said something else and now she sees 2.76 FTE. She asked what was allocated in the budget and what additional FTE did the court need. Ms. Maylor answered the court total is 2.66 which is a very, very conservative number. The original number she presented to Mayor Rosen was 4 based on 800 ticket count; the ticket count was reduced to 500 with the hope the spigot would be turned off at 500 tickets/month. If that happens, based on her average, 2.66 FTE was the bare minimum. That FTE does not include many other things such as answering phones, fax machines, front counter help, vacations, sick leave, etc. The reason the 1.5 was included in the budget book was because the court was not included in that conversation. She found out about that number when the court got a printed copy of the budget book the day after the mayor's presentation. Ms. Dunscombe responded there was a meeting scheduled that Ms. Mayor did not attend. Councilmember Dotsch referred to page 73 which shows an addition of 2 court clerks. Ms. Maylor said whatever is in the budget book is not what the court presented. The court is presenting 2.66 total FTEs in addition to the 2. She noted the top of that program page was not completed by the court; it was completed by finance. Councilmember Dotsch pointed out the budget book says 2. Ms. Maylor responded the number does not equate to 2 full-time employees. Councilmember Dotsch commented the 1.5 is baked in and the Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 15 court needs more. Ms. Maylor responded 2.66 minus 1.5 equals the total amount. She had about an hour to complete the form while having a conversation with the city attorney and others. All these numbers and information were provided to council during the court's presentation. The only reason she is presenting this information now is to ensure there are no legal issues between the three branches of government and what is approved/not approved, and what the court has requested and what the council votes on is transparent to the public Councilmember Dotsch relayed one of her concerns when the red light camera program was proposed was not enough consideration was being given to how to run the program. If the goal of the red light cameras is safety, there is a cost to run the program and that comes out of revenues. She recalled the numbers were conservative understanding there was a grace period, but also time to get staff trained. She concluded there will need to be cuts elsewhere in the City's budget to cover this. Council President Olson commented equipment costs are a one-time cost so the total impact is $653,420 versus $690,000. Ms. Dunscombe responded the amount she calculated was for 2025; the $690,000 did not reflect an amendment to 2026. Council President Olson observed $334,210 is what the things at the top added up to. Ms. Dunscombe relayed her assumption with how this was written was $334,210 in expenditures; there is already $144,000 for additional staff in the current budget. She noted that was an assumption because she saw this proposed amendment just minutes before the meeting. There is $2.5M in the proposed budget; if the court's proposal is accepted, the revenue would need to be reduced to $2M which is $500,000 in reduced revenue and $190,210 in increased expense which equates to $690,210 in 2025. If the council wanted to do the same for 2026, she would need to consider the FTE that was added I 2026, recalling the FTE was phased in 2025 but included the full amount in 2026. She did not have that information available tonight. Council President Olson said she stands by her original support for the red light cameras at troubled intersections. This is obviously disconcerting because there are budget impacts that the council didn't already considered which is stressful, but it is obviously net positive for the entirety of the program. More importantly, while driving on 212t' today and passing the cross country team running, she drove very slowly and carefully in that school zone which is the effect the traffic safety cameras have. She suggested tabling this amendment as it is the first time the council has seen it and there is a lot to discuss and think about. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO TABLE THIS TO A FUTURE MEETING ON THE BUDGET. Mr. Taraday said if the motion is actually to table, it is not debatable. If the motion is to postpone to a future date, it is debatable. The council often makes a motion to table when they don't really mean it. He assumed the motion was really to postpone. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON WITHDREW THE MOTION. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER CHEN, TO POSTPONE TO DECEMBER 3, 2025. Councilmember Nand asked when the court made its presentation to council with the description of appropriate staffing for Edmonds' automated traffic safety camera program. Ms. Maylor answered the council was provided a 13-page document with a workload estimate on June 14 based on 500-800 citations and her timing of every aspect of the document process. At the court's October 22 budget presentation to council, the judge explained the last slide in that presentation; there had been multiple discussions with administration but an agreement had not been reached which is why the red light camera presentation was provided to council in that form. Councilmember Nand recalled Judge Weiss emailing a worksheet describing the calculation for the required FTE hours. She did not think the council needed more time to Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 16 consider the court's request and she did not support a motion to postpone. The council should vote on it tonight and start making responsible budget decisions in a timely fashion. Councilmember Paine did not support the motion to postpone for the reasons Councilmember Nand stated. The council and administration has had this information and it's unfortunate that some lines of communication weren't as successful as hoped. Councilmember Chen said he has supported the red light cameras program from the beginning for public safety and did not want to delay it any longer. In a new biennial budget process, things fall through. He did not support postponing council action. Councilmember Dotsch commented it seemed there were multiple decisions to be made, whether the amount in the budget book of $2.5M or the $2M from the court was accurate which equates to a $500,000. The other decision is the staffing necessary to process citations from the program. She needed clarity and wanted to ensure whatever is approved, everyone is on the same page. The only reason she may support postponing is to get clarity about the impacts. Councilmember Eck said she was comfortable supporting the request for additional FTEs tonight. It remains to be seen how it will be accounted for on other side which is a conversation the council needs to have in the next budget conversation. MOTION FAILED (2-5), COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON AND COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH VOTING YES. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE AND SECONDED TO CALL THE QUESTION. Mr. Taraday advised a super majority is required to approve a call for the question. CALL THE QUESTION CARRIED (5-2) COUNCILMEMBERS TIBBOTT AND DOTSCH VOTING NO. The motion as clarified during council discussion was displayed as follows: TO ACCEPT THE COURT'S PROPOSED BUDGET OF: RED LIGHT PROGRAM — CLERK FTES - $2.66, $279,210 (MINUS $144K OF THE NEW SALARIES AND BENEFITS FOR THE 1.5 FTE IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET) RED LIGHT PROGRAM — PRO TEM BUDGET - $25,000 RED LIGHT PROGRAM — INTERPRETER BUDGET - $15,000 RED LIGHT PROGRAM — EQUIPMENT COST FOR FTES - $15,000 (ONE TIME FOR DESKS/COMPUTERS/SUPPLIES. UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION CARRIED (5-1-1), COUNCILMEMBERS ECK, CHEN, TIBBOTT, PAINE AND NAND VOTING YES, COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH VOTING NO, AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON ABSTAINING. Mr. Taraday pointed out what is shown on the screen and what the council voted on does not include the revised revenue assumption. If the council wants to make a motion to use the court's revenue assumption rather than the revenue in the proposed budget, that would be an appropriate amendment. COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO CHANGE THE ESTIMATED REVENUE FOR THE RED LIGHT CAMERAS FOR 2025 TO $2 MILLION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 17 Ms. Maylor advised the court will present regarding citation counts, staffing, program outcomes, and other real data during their spring state of the court address to council. Mayor Rosen declared a brief recess. Mayor Rosen recalled a number of amendments were postponed to this meeting. Police Leadership Structure — Amendment #C6 Councilmember Chen advised this was addressed by the administration reducing the General Fund by $3.5M. Reduce City Hall Operations to 32 hours a Week Except for Police, Court and Wastewater Treatment - Amendment #C8 Mayor Rosen relayed his assumption that C8 would also be removed. Reduce Work Week to 35 hours/Week with Exceptions - Amendment #C15(A) COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER ECK, TO REMOVE AMENDMENT C15(A), 35 HOUR WORK WEEK. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Mayor Rosen asked if motions were necessary for C8 and C6 as well. Mr. Passey relayed he was uncertain the council needed to take affirmative action on any amendments. If the council wanted to bring back an amendment, it could be taken from the table. Workforce Planning Study - Amendment C15(B) COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND, TO DISCUSS THE WORKFORCE PLANNING PROPOSAL. Councilmember Paine explained this is $20,000 to add to a workforce planning study to establish the proper staffing based on programs. This study was planned for 2025 and was brought up at the council retreat earlier this year as information that would be helpful for council's mandated role in budgeting and understanding staffing levels and what would be appropriate for the size of Edmonds. This amendment was postponed as HR Director Neill Hoyson was not available to describe the study. She supported having this workforce planning study done to provide data and outside analysis regarding the City's workforce needs. In light of council's decision to authorize the administration to seek another $3.5M in cuts in 2025 and 2026, Councilmember Nand asked staff to speak to how this study could help accomplish that in a data driven and intelligent manner. Ms. Neill Hoyson responded when the council is looking at cuts, being able to fully identify the people resources needed to support projects and initiatives is very important. Without that, it's very difficult to make clear decisions. The administration absolutely depends on directors to know what they need to accomplish projects, but having outside validation is important. Ever since she joined the City, she has known the staffing levels are not the correct size for the workloads which is why the City has added positions over the last couple years. Unfortunately, the City can no longer afford those positions. A full workforce planning analysis will provide information that will assist with making informed decisions about the people attached to projects and programs based on the funding available. Council President Olson referred to the police audit that was conducted and how the consultant identified the ideal organization which was implemented and now the City cannot afford it. She questioned the value of a study to identify the idealized workforce when the City is in this financial situation. It seems like it's a consulting report that is not of value and she would rather use the $20,000 toward head count. Ms. Neill Hoyson commented it would not be looking at an idealized situation; workforce planning would look at the projects, initiatives, and the work that the city council wants to accomplish and provide to residents and what bodies does it take to achieve that. It is not idealized, it is where we are right now and looking at where Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 18 do we need to be, providing a clearer view of where the City needs to be to do every single thing the City wants to do and what needs to be done to reduce that. Council President Olson clarified if the study said it will take this much staff and that is beyond the budget amount, more programs would need to be cut. Ms. Neill Hoyson answered there would need to be a look at programs and the number of bodies attached to that program, and if the City cannot afford that, consider cutting that program. Councilmember Dotsch commented thinking in terms of a dental practice, each practice is a bit different, just the same each city is different. There are so many moving parts right now, although such a study could be helpful, she did not think it was helpful right now because it can't really be realized until the City gets through this initial phase. She did not think undertaking this at this point in time would provide actionable information. She did not support the motion. Councilmember Nand commented based on council decisions over the last few years and particularly tonight, the City will have less than 250 FTE. In shrinking the workforce, she supported doing it in the most intelligent, 2l'Y century way. She was tired of the City being caught in a situation where there are a lot of great ideas and suffering from severe mission creep in multiple departments. She would like there to be better alignment between the number of FTE hours the City can fund and the number of objectives the City is attempting to meet. She wouldn't want to work for a place where she was expected to do four times as much work as she was being paid for, a frustration the courts just voiced. The courts' frustration is a perfect objective lesson for funding a study like this to ensure there is intelligent alignment between the number of FTEs and what they are expected to do. Councilmember Eck referred to work studies, job observation, shadowing, etc. done in her career, realistic information about what the City is doing that is used for those studies. This would also be helpful with BBP conversation because as programs are trimmed, the City can say we are understaffed for things the community wants. She had no doubt staff would continue to do their best, but she wondered if they were working more than 40 hours/week to make that happen. This study feels much more scientific and should the City get into a better budget position in 2-3 years, there will be data to figure out the right staffing for the programs the City wants to provide for the community. Councilmember Chen said he sees the value of this study, but viewed it as a long term strategy, looking at appropriate staffing and service levels. In this moment, the City's precious dollars should go to paying the already overworked staff and then maybe when the City gets out of this budget crisis, the City would have the luxury to fund the police department and other departments as they should be. He fully supports the idea, but the timing is not ideal. Ms. Dunscombe asked if this passes, was it council's intent to use information to somehow inform the recommended motion to reduce $1.5M in 2025 and $2M in 2026. If so, the timing for that reduction in 2025 might be tight. Councilmember Paine responded in conversations with Ms. Neill Hoyson, she indicated the study could be done pretty swiftly and she was left with the understanding that the study would also be useful in looking at scaling down. Ms. Neill Hoyson answered it would depend on the availability of consultants; she anticipated once a consultant was retained, the study would take no more than 60 days. Councilmember Tibbott said he was originally in favor of this study. He still thinks it is probably valuable, but given the time constraints between now and when the council is asking the administration to make budget reductions, the money is better spent in other areas and an amendment could be proposed in the future if it make sense to do the study. He did not support this expenditure at this time. MOTION FAILED (3-4), COUNCILMEMBERS ECK, PAINE AND NAND VOTING YES. Creation of a New Fund to Support the 35-Hour Workweek — Amendment #C-15(C) Councilmember Paine withdrew the project completion fund attached to the 35 hour/week proposal. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 19 Reinstate Funding for the Police Community Engagement/Crime Prevention Position - Amendment #C 16 COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND, TO REINSTATE FUNDING FOR POLICE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT/CRIME PREVENTION POSITION. Councilmember Paine relayed this position provides a great service to our community by providing outreach to the public, making and keeping community connections regarding crime prevention programs. Councilmember Nand recognized councilmembers are very budget conscious, but she regarded the work the community engagement officer does to be preventative in terms of costs to the City and the savings in terms of human cost that the position has accomplished in her long career with the Edmonds Police Department. Current funding is quite lean with one full-time community engagement officer; the council is potentially offsetting many more contacts that would be costly and negative for community members and the city government. This would be an appropriately preventative measure to save time and heartache as well as from an equity perspective, the human cost that can happen when the City does not have the model police department that Edmonds has due to the very thoughtful workforce planning and investment from people like Ms. Shoemake. UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION CARRIED (4-3), COUNCILMEMBERS ECK, CHEN, PAINE AND NAND VOTING YES; COUNCILMEMBERS TIBBOTT AND DOTSCH AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING NO. Reinstate Funding for the Police Public Records Position - Amendment #C 17 COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND, TO REINSTATE FUNDING FOR POLICE PUBLIC RECORDS POSITION. Councilmember Paine relayed this position requires technical and legal training and decision -making, along with an understanding of timelines and deadlines associated with records requests. Council President Olson said she doesn't have a lot of hope there will be approval when staff comes back with their proposal regarding how to make $2M more in cuts. She agreed this position was valuable, just like she agreed the community engagement position and all the positions in the City are valuable. This is an example of duplication, where more than one person was doing the job or a program, such as community engagement, that could done by other officers. The City just doesn't have money, that is the bottom line. She was really concerned about the proposals to add things back to the budget. Councilmember Nand referred to an email that Chief Bennett forwarded from Commander Hawley regarding the potential impact related to litigation exposure if this position is eliminated. Chief Bennett provided a recent example, an 82-year old woman who assaulted sign holders in Edmonds that made the international news; there were 20 public disclosures related to that incident. As Commander Hawley stated in his email, it takes one big incident to wipe out hours of what the City is responsible for civil liability wise. Another issue is who does the work if one person is out sick, on vacation, etc. There are frequent lawsuits against law enforcement and government agencies for not following public disclosure laws. Chief Bennett continued, a search of 2024 found 6,400 public disclosure lawsuits filed in Washington State. Local examples included a University of Washington settlement with the Seattle Times for $100,000 over a PDR lawsuit, the UW lost a PDR lawsuit with PETA in King County Superior Court that was $540,000. Settlements for PDR lawsuits are not covered by WCIA. There has been discussion about outside attorneys doing some of the PDR work if someone is out sick as long as that wasn't a union issue, but that would require paying a high hourly rate. One of the PDR staff averages over 48 new PDR/month; some of them involve hours of video and audio redaction. One incident can be 40 hours of PDR redaction and another Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 20 could take 4 hours; it is hard to gauge the time required. She concluded those were the salient points addressed in Commander Hawley's email. Councilmember Paine asked Mr. Taraday to describe the email he sent which included information regarding the process. Mr. Taraday explained the question he was looking into was to what extent have the courts articulated a standard for staffing public records staff at a city. There obviously won't be a particular FTE because that will vary by city, according to established case law, as long as a city is making reasonably diligent efforts to fulfill a request, the city will not be not penalized for a delay in processing a request simply due to being under-resourced. Some requests take a lot of time due to nature of the request. Requests usually require some level of video or attorney client privilege redaction which is very time consuming. Sometimes reasonable diligence in fulfilling a request takes the form of production over a period of time such as releasing the response to a massive request in increments over a period of time. Obviously a city needs to resource sufficiently to meet the reasonably diligent standard, but he could not say what exactly that was. If he was trying to figure that out, he would be curious to know how long the department has been taking to fulfill requests. Lighthouse advises the police department but does not have access to the number of outstanding requests. Mr. Taraday continued, to Chief Bennett's point, there is some unpredictability because the department never knows when a massive request will come in. The City has 4 FTEs doing public records production, 2 in the police department plus the chief s administrative assistant, and 2 in administrative services. He could not say that was the FTE needed to avoid getting sued. Most of the lawsuits that happen have little to do with resources and are related to refusing to communicate with a requester, not performing a proper search etc. In reading case law, there wasn't one that alleged a city didn't hire enough people and therefore was being penalized. The conclusion he has reached is he would disagree with the suggestion that simply by dropping from 2 to 1 public records positions in the police department would necessarily translate into a lawsuit. Of course, it increases the risk in some marginal way, but he did not think there was a major risk from what he hears from Patricia Taraday in his office who works with police department staff. It would be a loss to lose one of the public records staff, but they are both very good which gave him confidence the City might be fine with either one staying on. Councilmember Chen asked if a public records request came up, similar to the example Chief Bennett gave, could existing, experienced police officers or others in the office provide assistance or could the public records position work overtime to address the spike. Chief Bennett responded police department public records positions do body worn camera public disclosure which is a specialty within public disclosure. The other people in the City do not do that work and her administrative assistant doesn't do that type of work and if she did, it could be an unfair labor practice. Some of the public disclosure requests her administrative assistant does will take up to 9 years to fulfill. There has to be timely notice to extend, but when there is not a lot of staff, and there are continual extensions, the worry is something is unintentionally missed. If there is only one person doing PDRs and there are a lot of requests, the requester has to be provided notice of how long it will take, and staff has to work on them to get them fulfilled and in the meantime, more PDRs are received. She summarized it is a piling on of workload versus just overtime to finishing one request. Councilmember Chen observed there may be some delay, but the level of workload varies. Chief Bennett answered it has increased since the positions were added in 2022 which makes sense because more body cameras and in -car cameras have been added. Councilmember Eck asked whether Chief Bennett would have still offered this position as one to cut had this information come to light when it was proposed in the mayor's budget. Chief Bennett answered as mentioned earlier, all positions are vital. It was hard to find any positions to propose as a cut. As Council President Olson said, each department had to come up with something so one of the factors that was considered was redundancy. Command staff made decisions based on mandates and potential redundancy, but that did not negate all the issues that came with those cuts. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 21 MOTION FAILED (1-6), COUNCILMEMBER NAND VOTING YES. General Fund Labor/Benefits Expenditure Reduction - Amendment #C19 Councilmember Dotsch withdrew the amendment. Councilmember Nand advised given the addition cuts that have passed, she will not bring forward any of her contingent amendments. Include Fund Balance Reserve Replenishment in Strategic Outlook - Amendment #C2 COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO RENEW AMENDMENT #C2, INCLUDE FUND BALANCE RESERVE REPLENISHMENT IN THE STRATEGIC OUTLOOK. Councilmember Dotsch explained this was to incorporate the fund balance reserve replenishment plan into strategic outlook once the budget process is completed to demonstrate the intent to replenish the reserves to policy mandated levels. Ms. Dunscombe responded given all the new amendments and new information, she will be happy to include that as a separate line item in the strategic forecast. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Rebalance Intergovernmental Loan Principal and Interest Amounts Based on Final Loan Details A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH AND SECONDED TO REBALANCE THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL LOAN PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST AMOUNTS BASED ON FINAL LOAN DETAILS. Councilmember Dotsch explained this was regarding how all the changes impact the loan amount. Ms. Dunscombe responded given the amendments passed tonight, the intergovernmental loan will need to be rebalanced. Given that most of the amendments tonight went the opposite way, she will need time go back to the drawing board. Councilmember Dotsch relayed her interest in accurately reflecting the loan amount for transparency. Councilmember Paine asked if the loan was intergovernmental or intragovernmental. Ms. Dunscombe answered it is an intergovernmental loan because it is between an enterprise fund and government. MOTION CARRIED (5-2), COUNCILMEMBERS CHEN AND TIBBOTT VOTING NO. COUNCILMEMBER ECK MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO EXTEND TO 10:15. MOTION CARRIED (6-1) COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT VOTING NO. 3. 2025-2030 CAPITAL FACILITIES PLAN (CFP) AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CIP) Parks, Recreation and Human Services Director Angie Feser introduced City Engineer Rob English, Acting Public Works Director Phil Williams and Deputy Parks, Recreation and Human Services Director Shannon Burley. She explained this is the final draft of the 2025-2030 CFP/CIP. Staff has been in front of council a handful of times including a presentation to the planning board on September 11 and public hearing on September 25, presentation to council on October 8 and public hearing on October 22. The document has been available to the public and council and questions have been answered via the budget query process. The plan as proposed and attached in the packet includes one amendment approved by council on November 12, a $100,000 reduction related to the Johnson property master plan in 2026 that is reflected in the parks capital program. Staff s request is approval of the document as presented; it will be formally adopted with the comprehensive plan as an element which will occur later this year. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 22 COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO PRELIMINARILY APPROVE THE PARKS CFP/CIP. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER CHEN, TO AMEND TO REDUCE THE REET AMOUNT ON THE MEE PROPERTY FROM $80,000 TO $10,00 WHICH WOULD ALLOW PERMITS TO STILL BE PULED AND TO DO A MORE GRASSROOTS, INHOUSE EVALUATION OF THAT MASTER PLAN. Council President Olson said she was really excited by this addition to the park. She asked staff via email whether the park could be utilized without doing the master plan process first and was told yes. It is a great space with a lot of great trees, a wonderful place to picnic or throw a ball or frisbee and that will not change if master planning is delayed. With the City in a financial crisis and so many other projects delayed, most notably street projects where the pavement on many of the City's streets is alligatored. In the short term when the City doesn't have enough resources, this is a project that can and should be put off. Councilmember Nand recalled a conversation with Ms. Feser earlier today that with $20,000, master planning for the Mee property could be done internally. Ms. Feser responded one option is to leave the allocation of $80,000 in the capital plan, but use park impact fees to fund it. There are two parts to this, one is transferring $70,000 in REET funds out of the parks capital program and into streets. The other part is whether the council wants to reduce the project when there are other funds that can be used to do the master plan. One option is the possibility of bringing the master plan inhouse and doing a community engagement process to help determine amenities in the park. The Mee property adjacent to Mathay Ballinger is about 50% the size of Mathay Ballinger so it considerably expands the park. It would be good to design how it ties into Mathay Ballinger and allow people in the surrounding neighborhoods and the entire City to be involved in the design. The funding provided by Snohomish County Conservation Futures grant limits uses to passive recreation as well as limits impervious surface so it will not be a very elaborate design. She anticipated it could be brought inhouse; she is a licensed landscape architect and could lead and manage the design process due to the small, simple scope. It would be nice to have some funds allocated to offset staff time, materials for the process, etc. COUNCILMEMBER NAND MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO AMEND TO PROVIDE $20,000 FROM REET FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND MASTER PLANNING FOR THE MEE PROPERTY. Mayor Rosen clarified the amendment would be reducing $80,000 to $20,000 instead of reducing $80,000 to $10,000. Councilmember Chen asked for clarification that the $80,000 was not covered by the Snohomish County Conservation Futures grant. Ms. Feser answered the grant does not cover master planning or improvements to the property, it was solely for acquisition and securing the site such as demolition of the house which has been done and costs related to purchasing the property. Councilmember Chen asked if the design could still be done in-house if the amount is reduced from $80,000 to $20,000. Ms. Feser answered yes. Councilmember Chen observed the reduction will not impact the timeline to use the Mee property. Ms. Feser answered in-house master planning will be contingent on other upcoming budget cuts if more staff are eliminated in parks. Councilmember Chen commented that was unrelated to this project. Ms. Feser responded it is related because if other staff are cut in the department, her responsibilities may shift to fill those voids. Councilmember Chen commented this project lifted up the entire community during this budget crisis and he hated to see any funding cut from it. The budget constraint is in the General Fund, not in the capital project funds. He did not support the motion. Council President Olson pointed out the City doesn't have enough money in streets and it has been really underfunded for a long time. She found it a bit of a misstatement to say there is plenty of money if it can be done in a more budget -oriented way. Whether the master planning is done or not, it is not a matter of Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 23 using the property, it is just how extensive the planning is. The property will be used regardless of whether any money is allocated. Councilmember Nand said she found it odd given the investments in improving park properties in other parts of the City that the one addition to a park in southeast Edmonds is getting short shrift. She supports doing master planning and community engagement and if that can be done for $20,000, she did not see why that was such a difficult lift for the council considering $13M was spent on Civic Park. Councilmember Paine relayed Ms. Feser could inform council if this could not be done due to further cuts in the first quarter of next year and then the council could consider reallocating funds. Ms. Feser agreed that could be done once the budget all shakes out. Councilmember Paine relayed the hope the City will not lose any more staff. AMENDMENT TO THE AMENDMENT CARRIED (5-2), COUNCILMEMBER CHEN AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING NO. AMENDMENT CARRIED (6-1), COUNCILMEMBER CHEN VOTING NO. MAIN MOTION AS AMENDED CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO PRELIMINARILY ADOPT THE PUBLIC WORKS CFP/CIP FOR THE YEARS 2025-2030. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO EXTEND TO 10:20. MOTION CARRIED (5-2) COUNCILMEMBERS TIBBOTT AND DOTSCH VOTING NO. Council President Olson referred to an email exchange she had with Mr. Williams regarding minor amendments and suggested they be offered as amendments for council to vote on. She referred to PWT-30, the narrative sounded like it was only the sidewalk install on 236t' which did not match the red line of the project on the map. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER DOTSCH, TO AMEND TO AUTHORIZE STAFF TO UPDATE THE NARRATIVE TO INCLUDE 96TH AND 94TH AS SHOWN ON THE PROJECT MAP. AMENDMENT CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 10. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Nand acknowledged this evening's approval of the consent agenda included confirmation of Elaine Ducharme & Joseph Tai Ademofe as the newest members of DEIA Commission. She thanked them for volunteering. Councilmember Paine thanked everyone for coming and talking about the importance of their jobs; she recognizes the importance of their jobs to getting work done in the City. Councilmember Dotsch thanked everyone for their participation tonight. She relayed concern the council was going in wrong direction with regard to the budget; insolvency will be brutal, the council has to make cuts, and may even have to sell buildings. There are a lot of things on the horizon that could be quite catastrophic if assumptions are not realized, many of which are out of the council's hands. The council has added a lot back into the budget without the funds to sustain it and have anything left over next year. She was hopeful the council could come back next week with some opportunities for additional cuts to keep the City solvent next year. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 24 Council President Olson wanted to be on the record saying she supports the wonderful Tabitha Shoemake, every bit as much as other councilmembers who voted in favor of keeping that program and position in place, a $181,000 cut in the proposed budget that now adds to the amount to be cut. The addition of clerks in the court are offset by revenues. She would have loved for Ms. Shoemake to pursue a job in the courts so the City does not lose her. The community engagement/crime prevention position was one the City can do without in the short term. The $181,000 includes funds that go along with that position. She feared the council went in the wrong direction today. What she was hoping to avoid as councilmembers make these hard choices and have difficult conversations regarding the budget happened today to her disappointment. Casting dispersions about taking REET funds out of the CFP/CIP for the Mee property for example, commenting she was happy to share an email with the councilmember who pointed that out. One of the ways those funds could be used was the sidewalk on 84t' which is in that same neighborhood. This is about making hard choices and getting the core things done in this year when there's not enough money to do everything the community cares about and prioritizes which is everything the City has funded before. Councilmember Tibbott said he found this deliberation process very difficult; last year was hard for different reasons. Having to cut positions and programs has been really difficult. As Council President Olson stated, the council has now added to the proposed budget so councilmembers will need to roll up their sleeves in the next week and find additional cuts before the end of year in order to pass a balanced budget. There are a lot of things he was excited about in Edmonds in the new year such as the arts programs, the school district's offerings, and families' involvement. He thanked everyone involved in helping the council through this budget process and the directors for their time to provide explanations to council. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER CHEN, TO EXTEND FOR 4 MINUTES. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Councilmember Chen thanked the public for expressing their concerns to council. Making budget cuts is a very difficult decision -making process and the City's financial situation requires the council make hard decisions. With regard to the community engagement position, it is one the City can potentially live without, but considering the history of the City from an equity perspective, that position provides services to the underserved population which is why he made the exception to retain that position. With regard to the police and court, especially the court, red light camera revenue put the budget in an unfavorable position. The entire City needs to work together to find opportunities. The council is focused on expenditure cuts, but energies also need to be focused on revenue generation as well as expenditure reductions. He summarized the council still has work to do. Councilmember Eck welcomed the new DEIA commissioners. She has the honor of being the council liaison to the DEIA Commission and has met both commissioners who will be fantastic. She realized the council did not make the headway that was hoped tonight. The council has to determine what revenue opportunities can be implemented, because the council cannot cut their way out of this. 11. MAYOR'S COMMENTS Mayor Rosen commented every decision being made here tonight will affect every individual in the City. Everyone is either facing challenges or knows someone facing challenges. This week is Thanksgiving and he encouraged everyone to reflect on the things they are thankful for and move forward with empathy and grace. ADJOURNMENT With no further business, the council meeting was adjourned at 10:23 pm. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 25 SCOTT PASS EY; CLERK Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes November 26, 2024 Page 26