cmd050821 RetreatEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL
VIRTUAL ONLINE BUDGET RETREAT
APPROVED MINUTES
May 8, 2021
ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT
Mike Nelson, Mayor
Susan Paine, Council President
Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, Councilmember
Kristiana Johnson, Councilmember
Luke Distelhorst, Councilmember
Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember
Vivian Olson, Councilmember
Laura Johnson, Councilmember
1. CALL TO ORDER/FLAG SALUTE
STAFF PRESENT
Dave Turley, Finance Director
Scott Passey, City Clerk
Maureen Judge, Council Executive/Legis. Asst.
The Edmonds City Council virtual online retreat was called to order at 1:02 p.m. by Council President
Paine.
2. ROLL CALL
City Clerk Scott Passey called the roll. All elected officials were present, participating remotely.
3. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Councilmember K. Johnson 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."
4. COUNCIL BUSINESS
1. CITY COUNCIL BUDGET RETREAT
WELCOME
INTRODUCTIONS
Council President Paine introduced Mike Bailey and described his background.
Councilmembers and Mayor Nelson introduced themselves. During introductions, the following requests
were made:
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• Councilmember Fraley-Monillas commented last year, the City received numerous budget requests
right before the Council voted on the budget. She suggested Mr. Bailey address the advantage of
submitting budget requests far enough in advance so Councilmember have an opportunity to
consider them.
• Councilmember Olson expressed interest in funds that will be provided to the City via the federal
infrastructure bill.
2022 CITY BUDGET
Mayor Nelson said when thinking about 2022, it is important to talk about where we have been before
discussing where we are going. The City has accomplished a lot of amazing things under the circumstances,
including providing direct financial aid to residents for food, rent, medical costs, childcare and tutoring for
working parents as well as provided over $1 M, the majority of the City's CARES Funds, to struggling small
businesses in Edmonds, donating personal protection equipment, compostable packaging, and creating a
way for restaurants to remain open year round by allowing customers to safely dine outside. While other
cities have seen businesses shuttered, Edmonds has helped keep businesses open. The City provided funds
to food banks to help those most in need, funds to ensure seniors had food delivered to them and mental
health services, and kept the City's parks clean and safe as local park usage skyrocketed. City staff dedicated
thousands of hours to ensure all these programs were administered successful, services that were never
contemplated in the City budget.
Mayor Nelson explained in 2021, the City hoped for the best, but prepared for the worst. Millions were cut
from the City budget, hiring was frozen, childcare was provided for those in need, a human services program
was built, parkland acquisition strategies created, Highway 99 safety and beautification improvements were
pursued, neighbors were engaged in creating a Highway 99 renewal plan, pedestrian safety improvements
were created citywide, the Climate Action Plan was updated and there was community engagement between
police and residents. The impacts of COVID-19 will exceed one budget cycle and have created serious
challenges as well as unique opportunities. It has shifted the way people work and live, modified the way
they received medical care, communicate, travel, shop, and made us long for and value human connections
as well as exposed vulnerabilities while creating opportunities for the City.
Looking at 2022 from a budget perspective, Mayor Nelson said it comes down to how to make the City
more livable in this new era. He suggested the best way to achieve that is by continuing to support the most
vulnerable and the environment by investing in future infrastructure needs by expand communication to
residents, implementing racial equality initiatives and dismantling systemic racism, and by supporting and
growing the local economy. He looked forward to collaborating with the Council to make these
improvements for this and future generations and exploring opportunities together.
REVIEW OF THE PROCESS WE'LL TAKE TODAY
Council President Paine advised she will be the MC with timekeeping reminders from Council Legislative
Assistant Maureen Judge. She suggested Council input in the exercises later on the agenda occur in order
of Council position.
Councilmember L. Johnson commented the video is not streaming on the City's website. City Clerk Scott
Passey advised it is not streaming on the website but anyone can connect to the meeting via Zoom.
COUNCILMEMBER K. JOHNSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT PAINE, TO
APPROVE THE AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
COUNCIL ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Mike Bailey presented regarding municipal budgeting for elected officials
• A budget team construct
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o Budgeting is a team effort
o Different team members have different roles
• A Budget Team Construct
Finance Role
(which resources)
c
Operations Role
(how, when & with what/who)
�W
Policy Role
U
(what results, how much, ground rules)
*Government Finance Officers Association's (GFOA) Budget Peer Review Program Framework
Roles of the Budget Makers
o Policy makers (council) — make policy!
■ Provide policy guidance at the beginning
■ Confirms budget meets direction by adoption
■ Monitors for conformity and results
o CEO/CAO (Mayors, city managers) —
■ Propose policy at the beginning
■ Develops organization strategy to implement policy
o Departments
■ Develop operational strategy
■ Provide service (departments can be passionate about this!)
■ Accountable for "day to day"
o Public — "stakeholders"
■ Observes results and "counsels" policy makers
With regard to late budget requests, Mr. Bailey pointed out when request are not provided early on, it makes
it difficult and unfair to expect others to respond to last minute ideas/interests.
• The right tools for the job — aka "The Reporting Pyramid"
Residents, business,
ommunity
Investors
(IRedia / outreach efforts)
Council/
Po ' y/Accountability
Commission
(brie n s, reports,questions)
Mayor / Manager
Z
Orgam ational Management
Chief Executive Officer
(briefing reports, high level data)
Department Directors
Functiona anagement
(reports, mi level data
Managers / Supervi rs
Program Man ement
(line item level ta, transactions
• Governmental Accounting Terminology
o Appropriation — Legal authorization granted by council to make expenditures
o Reserved Fund Balance — balance not available for appropriation because it is legally
restricted
o Unreserved Fund Balance — balance available for appropriation, may also be known as
"ending" fund balance
o Inter -Fund Transfer — Flow of assets (such as cash) without equivalent flow in return and
without requirement to repay
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o Inter -Fund Loan - Loan mechanism authorized between funds if legislative authority adopts,
provides for concise repayment plan
o Budget Ordinance - The legal document that adopts the budget and sets the appropriation
construct and limits
Key Elements of City Finance
o Budgeting
■ Appropriation ordinance for immediate needs
■ Strategic planning (long term)
o Reporting
■ Internal and external
o Oversight (Internal Control)
■ Review
■ Monitoring
■ Policies
Budgeting
o Budget is economic plan that focuses entity's financial & human resources on the
accomplishment of specific goals & objectives established by policymakers
o Establishes annual (or biennial) expenditure levels for all departments & funds
o Expenditure levels are called appropriations & represent spending limits
Budgeting Mission
o Mission of budget process is:
■ Help decision makers make informed choices about provision of services and capital assets
■ Promote stakeholder participation in the process
Budget Policies
o Sample topics to consider:
1. Type of budget (priority -based budgets)
2. Duration (annual or biennial
3. Use of one-time resources/definition of balanced budget
4. Fund balance targets
5. Amending the budget
6. Budget calendar/approach
7. Fees/user charges
Getting the Most
o Policy Elements
■ Strategic Focus/alignment with policy goals
■ High level description of value to be delivered (results!)
- Budget message
- Budget "highlights" sections"
■ Financial policies
■ Operation elements
■ Capital investments
■ Debt program
o Operations
■ Translating policy guidance into action
1. Organization chart
2. Authorized employees (with
3. Department descriptions
- Or similar organizational unit information
- Goals, accomplishments, action plans, performance data Financial elements
o Financial Elements
■ Strategic Financial Plan
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1. Sources and uses of funds (including the appropriation)
- Multiple years for comparison
2. Operating unit budgets (departments, divisions)
3. Description of revenues / basis for forecasts
4. Long range forecast (description and schedule)
o Communication Elements
■ Organizational transparency (it's other people's money!)
1. Budget message (again)
- Also highlights
2. Clearly organized
- (plain language, include a table of contents /
3. Environmental scan (what's changed that you are reacting
4. Charts, graphs
Accountability vs. flexibility - an important policy consideration
o Debt
o Reserves
o Investments
o Revenue & expenditure
o Operational budgeting
o Capital budgeting
MRSC Budget Process summary
o Pre -budget (Spring/Summer)
o Budget Estimates (Summer/Fall)
o Preliminary budget (Fall/Winter)
o Final Budget (Winter)
Resources
o AWC (wacities.org) workshops/training
o MRSC (mrsc.org) webpages & trainings
■ mrsc.org/financialpolicies
■ mrsc.org/budgeting
■ Call/email with questions
o GFOA (gfoa.org/publications)
■ Publication series for elected officials
■ Best practice series
o WA State Auditor's Office (sao.wa.
■ The Center performance@sao.wa.gov
■ SAO Helpdesk
Council President Paine commented there has never been a year like the past year where it has been
necessary to be thoughtful and creative and to address needs rapid fire. She hoped the City would not be
impacted as much by COVID in the coming year and could focus on recovery and resiliency. She asked if
Mr. Bailey had seen good practices in other communities or things Edmonds should avoid related to the
pandemic. Mr. Bailey agreed no one anticipated business would be conducted in this manner. The
fundamentals that have been discussed in the past become even more important, continuing to be prepared,
virtual meetings are more difficult than in -person meetings, the nature of the work is more difficult because
communicating effectively is more challenging. It is important to be even more respectful of the
fundamental elements of good communication, being thoughtful and respectful. He acknowledged he did
not have a good answer.
REVIEW OF LAST YEAR'S COUNCIL PRIORITIES
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Mr. Bailey complimented City staff on the budget information that is available to the public. He noted many
of things that were discussed last year were included in the budget. Some of the plans in the budget were
disrupted by COVID so not everything that had been accomplished. However, things that were emphasized
last year such as the social worker and supporting the community were identified in the budget and there
was also a fair amount of investment in City facilities and infrastructure in the budget. He highlighted 15
items that were identified last year, acknowledging not all of them could be accomplished:
• Social worker
• CIP process and whether the focus on capital projects was missed
• Investments in sidewalks and pedestrian safety and access
• Infrastructure and facility upkeep
• Clarification around the building code, permitting, development
• Increased emphasis on human services programs
• Highway 99 corridor safety
• Enhanced support for 4' Avenue Arts Corridor
• Accessibility to parking downtown
• As become more urbanized, the challenge of identifying and acquiring more open space and park
land development
• Emphasis on communication on behalf of City
• Interest in protecting historic elements of City, particularly the Edmonds Theater
• Employee safety in light of COVID
• Maintain/rebuild reserves depending on what happens with the pandemic
• Planning for watershed
Mr. Bailey commented it is more difficult to find reductions versus make expansions. Some of things
suggested at last year's retreat regarding reductions included:
• Does the City need to own all the assets, is there opportunity to free up resources and obligation to
maintain those assets?
• Concern with overreliance on professional services, possibility reducing the professional service
budget
• Amount of money spent on overtime needs to be reviewed, particularly in law enforcement
• If an SRO is no longer provided, possible opportunity to free up resources
• Repurpose the money set aside for a City trolley
Councilmembers reflected on last year:
Councilmember K. Johnson said one of her concerns was the shortcomings of CIP/CFP review. In fact in
2020 it was so rushed that it was done at the end of the budget process and very little time was allocated to
it. At that time, the Council President suggested it be a topic of a future Council retreat. She felt the weight
of that limited review year after year and this year and recommended, the Council make a better effort to
evaluate the CIP and CFP before taking action.
Councilmember Distelhorst appreciated that the top six priorities from the 2020 budget retreat were funded
in the 2021 budget; that shows the importance of identifying the values and putting dollars to those values.
He noted some of them are multi -year processes and cannot be considered as one-off 2021 items but actually
long term investments for the community. He agreed there were some challenges at the end of last year and
he suggested keeping that in mind; the Council having all of its work done, questions answered, information
submitted ahead of time, etc. will help make the process more efficient and relieve some of the pressure
that everyone felt.
Councilmember Buckshnis echoed Councilmember K. Johnson's comments.
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Councilmember Olson expressed appreciation for the recap, commenting she still supports doing a lot of
the things that were identified. The City was in somewhat of an emergency mode last year, and it would be
nice to stand behind some of those priorities as the City gets out of emergency mode. She suggested looking
at things through the lens of what could be accomplished by harnessing more volunteer effort. She referred
to the Chamber of Commerce's model, a staff of 2-3 and a massive amount of volunteer power directed to
projects throughout the year that could never be accomplished with a 3-person staff. There are things the
City could be doing such establishing a citizen patrol as part of softening the approach to policing,
something citizens have said would participate in. With everything the City is doing, she suggested looking
at it through the lens of what citizens can stand behind and be a part of.
Council President Paine commented some of last year's priorities are still good ideas and should be moved
forward, but she also has some other ideas.
Councilmember L. Johnson commented listening to the recap, it was evident the Council did well budgeting
by priorities or at least getting started on them, particularly during these uncertain times. She commented
the items she was interested in highlighting moving forward were many of the same things that had been
started.
Mr. Bailey commented it was rewarding to see the City make progress on things it decided were important.
The Council should congratulate themselves because that is not always the case. That also illustrates there
was a fair amount of teamwork involved last year for those ideas to be included in the budget. As an outside
observer, he suggested one of financial policies the Council may want to consider is a biennial budget
process, pointing out in the off -budget year, the Council could devote time to capital budget planning. He
also suggested a financial policy regarding deadlines for new initiatives, nothing too structured as it should
be interactive, congenial and less regimented. If deadlines are a concern, the Council could adopt rule or
procedure that would help manage that.
2022 COUNCILMEMBER PRIORITIES
Emphasize
Council President Paine invited Councilmember to identify items they wanted to emphasize and
deemphasize. Mr. Bailey encouraged Councilmembers to bring forward an item that was on last year's list,
whether it was something that was being worked on or had not gotten started, and/or support an idea
suggested by another Councilmember.
Councilmember K. Johnson
Priority: Update the Strategic Plan. The City developed a Strategic Plan a decade ago, a process that
included community support and involvement, definition of priorities and who would accomplish them.
Through that process, the need to rebuild the senior center was identified and the senior center was identified
as the lead agency. The senior center accepted that responsibility, thanks in part to the Senior Center Board
and the Director, and the result was a community -supported success story. Another idea from the Strategic
Plan was a downtown restroom which was also implemented. If communication is the glue that holds the
City together, it should not be just the Council's ideas but also an opportunity for the community to be
involved. She clarified she was suggesting an update, not the full-blown process but a modified process to
keep the Strategic Plan relevant in the budget process.
Councilmember Distelhorst
Priority: Continue efforts related to transportation mobility continue and be even more robust potentially
with the City's American Rescue Plan funds. This was identified last year as sidewalks, bike lanes, trails,
ADA ramps with tactile feedback in places where there are still full curbs, sidewalks that prevent tripping
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hazards, etc. He acknowledged with the amount of work that needs to be done, it is easy to get overwhelmed.
The City could begin doing minor improvements across the City and see benefits for all residents from
children to seniors. Multi -unit residences are almost exclusively on arterials which are often faster and
wider roads which make them much more dangerous for pedestrians or wheeled devices. He summarized
his first priority was an intentional focus on areas around destinations like businesses, parks, and schools.
Councilmember Fraley-Monillas
Priority: Agreed with updating the City's goals which budgeting by priority may assist with. Interested in
locating a community center/community police facility east of Highway 99. Citizens in east Edmonds are
interested in ways to join the upper part of Edmonds with the bowl.
Councilmember Buckshnis (relayed by Councilmember K. Johnson)
Priority: Complete the environmental analysis for the two bodies of water that enter Puget Sound, the
Edmonds Marsh and Perrinville Creek. With regard to the Edmonds Marsh, complete two optional tasks in
the Windward contract related to implementation and opportunities to improve the environment. With
regard to Perrinville Creek, she expressed interest in taking a salmon recovery view of Browns Bay through
lower Perrinville Creek where it is obstructed by Talbot Park. That environment was rich with salmon at
one time, but no longer supports salmon and Perrinville Creek has become a de facto drainage ditch.
Councilmember Olson
Priority: Support for the quality and care of the Perrinville Watershed and for the walkable nature of the
City. The comments related to the bike lane project emphasized the priority of a walkable town and how
many people are walkers and want that aspect of their lives improved. Her number one priority is building
maintenance, the aging infrastructure, the age of the City and the age of the buildings. That segues into
private and publicly owned building and supports the priority of the code rewrite because many private
buildings will need to be redeveloped as well as prioritizing the City's building maintenance. Not doing
maintenance in a timely manner makes those repairs more expensive in the long run.
Council President Paine
Priority: Share a lot of Councilmembers' priorities. Top priority this year, which was also mentioned last
year, is BD1 zone design standards. The BD1 zone is the heart of the downtown core and the design
standards should reflect what everyone loves about downtown Edmonds. It would be a shame not to have
design standards is there were an earthquake. Focusing outside the bowl is critical as well, but design
standards for the BD 1 zone will help keep Edmonds looking like Edmonds.
Councilmember L. Johnson
Priority: Similar to Councilmember Distelhorst, interested in increased accessibility especially related to
disability language and the geographic location of neighborhoods. How people get around town, get from
Point A to B, their access to services such as parks, shopping, etc., accessibility to government functions
and communication from the city. That encompasses numerous areas from human services to investments
in pedestrian safety, infrastructure, building access, Highway 99, transportation improvements and
communication.
Councilmember L. Johnson
Priority: Environmental concerns and prioritizing the watershed. It has been apparent through things the
City is working on and emergencies that have come up that the watershed is of huge concern. That includes
open space acquisition, urban forestry management, etc.
Council President Paine
Priority: Echo the comments about the criticality of the Perrinville Watershed and looking at it from top to
bottom to ensure it is serving the Puget Sound environment, salmon and providing killer whales access to
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salmon. The City also needs an urban forestry program, one that is right sized and funded in a meaningful
way so there are services for residents related to trees and a well -written plan that is data driven. She
summarized her emphasis was on Perrinville and the environment, specifically supported by an urban
forestry program.
Councilmember Olson
Priority: Overall justice issues. This topic has already been addressed by sub -pockets of the population,
but she would like to have a whole community engagement about justice and how that is approached as a
city. That is a community value that many people care about and she wanted to see it expanded to everyone.
Citizens who are not getting that cannot be expected to feel good about anything else happening in
Edmonds. There are a lot of ideas and great approaches that haven't been considered. She referred to the
report from the Equity and Justice Task Force, recalling she had offered that idea to one of the task force
members, but did not see it mentioned in the report. A citizen suggested having an administrative judge that
would go to the Diversity Commission once a month where complaints could be heard which may be more
comfortable for people than going to the police. With regard to a citizen patrol, she felt having more
members of the community interfacing with officers and knowing the job would be helpful to the
community as well as the police department.
Councilmember Buckshnis (presented by Councilmember K. Johnson)
Priority: Agree with the need for a timelier review of the CIP/CFP. This has been talked about for years,
but it always comes to the Council in a rush. The information is presented late, the budget takes priority
and the CIP/CFP is an ancillary issue. However, the CIP/CFP is where the City spend most of its
discretionary money — fixing sidewalks, funding a trolly, building parks, or purchasing opening space. The
CIP/CFP should be a high priority for the Council because it is how the priorities and policies are
implemented. The Council does a pretty good job of determining the policies but does not go the next step.
If the Council wants improved sidewalks, walking trails, bike lanes, etc., the Transportation Plan states
sidewalks are only required on one side of an arterial street and no sidewalks are required on local streets.
She suggested determining if that still works for the City. When Edmonds was unincorporated Snohomish
County, there were no sidewalk standards which is why there are sidewalks below 9'1i Avenue and not
above. Those policies need to be reevaluated, maybe not through the budget process, but during the year to
see if they are still appropriate.
Councilmember Fraley-Monillas
Priority: Equity and inclusion for the other side of Edmonds. Not only are there no sidewalks or lights, but
there is also only one park with three parking spaces to serve one-third of Edmonds. Until this is considered
through an equity lens, nothing will change. Amazingly, there are no sidewalks leading to the park and she
sees preschoolers and their teachers walking down the middle of the road to reach the park. Equity is
important to her and to the residents living east of Highway 99. She requested consideration be given to
what needed to be done to bring the east side of Highway 99 up to the standard assumed in the bowl.
Councilmember Distelhorst
Priority: One of the City's commissions has discussed an Office of Human Rights for the City, a proactive
and forward approach to looking at issues of equity for all residents. The Highway 99 office and
placemaking is also one of his high priorities. In discussions last year with stakeholders, people indicated
having services online made them more accessible because they did not have to go to downtown Edmonds.
Having a resource that is closer physically as well as maintaining digital access such as the ability to have
video conferences with city or county resources through that office would provide a great equity component
for City residents.
Councilmember K. Johnson
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Priority: Updating the code, something that has been neglected for decades. The City continues to
experience problems because the code hasn't been updated. She supported continuing to include resources
in the budget to hire people to update the code.
Councilmember K. Johnson
Priority: Communication, the City needs to do a better job of communicating. She regretted that at times
the City Council had been informed of the administration's actions via announcements from the Public
Information Officer. The Council should be informed in advance so they are not the last to know what is
occurring in the City. The City hired a Communication Officer but she did not think they were serving the
boards and communications. It was initially intended as someone who would coordinate public information
and communication in the community, not just be a Public Information Officer. She recommended
revisiting that and finetuning it to make it better for the City.
Councilmember Distelhorst
Priority: Echoed Councilmember K. Johnson's comment, noting one of his priorities last year was
communications and public engagement. The City's communication person is still part-time, and with a
population of 43,00, the diversity of neighborhoods, and the diversity and complexity of projects in the
City, consideration needs to be given to increasing that 1.5 FTE. There are numerous opportunities for
public participation in City decision -making and that engagement could be increased with additional staff
and would address equity, accessibility, etc. He summarized his support for an Information, Communication
and Public Engagement Department to serve the whole City.
Councilmember Buckshnis (presented by Councilmember K. Johnson)
Priority: Transportation projects. The City is a doing abetter job than it did a decade ago, but still need to
fix potholes, pave streets, maintain the existing infrastructure, etc.
Councilmember Olson
Priority: Communication and engagement would address one of the bigger picture issues, getting the
community involved in problem solving. Possibly an administrative judge could serve that function or do
what an Office of Human Rights would do. If the City engaged the entire community in these conversations,
there would be better outcomes, policies that serve people better and possibly cheaper alternatives. As
Councilmember K. Johnson said, when the Council get news of what the administration is doing instead of
being brought in early, the inputs Councilmembers get from the community are not included in the
administration's problem solving process. This may be a topic for a Council retreat and not a budget retreat.
Council President Paine
Priority: (If the Council decides to advance the Housing Commission's recommendations), subarea
planning for neighborhoods and multifamily standards which will require intensive community engagement
and budget resources. Another priority is maintenance projects for facilities, parks, roads and streets
sidewalks, etc. and looking at those with an equity lens.
Councilmember L. Johnson
Priority: Agree with Council President Paine's comment about housing. Strongly support Councilmember
Distelhorst's priority for an Office of Human Rights which would greatly benefit the community. As liaison
to the Youth Commission, anything we can do to continue to listen to youth, learn from them and prioritize
their interests. The youth are our future and they have been through a lot lately; there may need to be some
additional resources toward that segment of the population during recovery from COVID. It can be tricky
with older teens; they want you to think they have everything under control, but they have been through the
ringer. Resources could be anything from mental health to increased safe activities for them. Parks &
Recreation has done a fabulous job, continuing to fund that should be a priority.
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Council President Paine
Priority: COVID recovery for local businesses and the most vulnerable residents. Looking forward to
American Rescue Plan funds.
Councilmember Olson
Priority: Do not forget about parking as a concern and a priority.
Councilmember Buckshnis (presented by Councilmember Olson)
Priority: Move funds for the marsh daylighting project to the proper place.
Councilmember Distelhorst pointed out a Washington State legislator was cited for participating in an open
public meeting while driving. He wanted to ensure Councilmembers were kept safe and out of the headlines.
Councilmember Fraley-Monillas commented a Councilmember could be on their headset or talking
handsfree and would be acceptable. She was not comfortable with Councilmembers expressing priorities
for other Councilmembers and preferred they were present to provide input.
Councilmember Buckshnis said she was listening to the meeting. She was dismayed that Councilmembers
did not trust that she had had conversations with Councilmembers K. Johnson and Olson about expressing
her thoughts, commented that in itself was a communication issue. She concluded Councilmembers K.
Johnson and Olson were doing a great job expressing her priorities.
Councilmember Fraley-Monillas
Priority: Budgeting by priorities. This allows citizens to determine the highest priorities. She recalled
former Finance Director Scott James was interested in budgeting by priorities but the administration did
not support it. She suggested the Council discuss budgeting by priorities.
Councilmember Distelhorst
Priority: Continuing to fund the Human Services program and staff. Eviction moratoriums due to COVID
have been in place for 14-15 months but data shows renters may be very behind in their rent and vulnerable.
He wanted to ensure there was a robust program in place when the eviction moratorium ends at some point.
Renters are disproportionately impacted, but homeowners are also impacted. Data provided by AHA
indicated forced sales in Snohomish County were almost at global financial crisis levels.
Councilmember K. Johnson
Priority: Capital funding for a Creative District project for 4' Ave Corridor. It would enhance Edmonds as
an arts community and support historic downtown Edmonds. Some design standards were developed for
downtown Edmonds 20 years ago by Mark Hinshaw, but they were primarily related to placement of signs
and building facades. Anything that can be done to support historic downtown Edmonds, the theater and
the shopping district would be positive and worthy of the City's efforts.
Councilmember L. Johnson raised a point of order, relaying her concerns with the safety of a
Councilmember driving and participating in the meeting and the example that was setting. Clearly there is
engagement occurring and she requested the Councilmember either pull over and fully engage or refrain
from a back and forth. The Council is setting an example for the community, teenagers, new drivers, etc.
Council President Paine said she had thought it would be nice to have Councilmember Buckshnis' input
but she did not want anyone to be put at risk. She suggested it be addressed during the break.
Councilmember Distelhorst
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Priority: Echo what was said about the environment and looking at watersheds and pollutants running into
the watersheds. There is a major highway leading to the ferry; there may be opportunities for better
partnerships with WSDOT and WSF to help minimize the impact of that transportation corridor next to the
marsh. He acknowledged there are no idling signs in the ferry lanes, but suggested consideration be given
to ways to reduce emissions.
Councilmember K. Johnson
Priority: Look at a ferry reservation system. A ferry reservation system might support downtown businesses
if people waiting for a ferry knew they had an hour to shop. The impacts of the ferry on SR 104 were not
anticipated, it was done pre-NEPA so there was no evaluation of the impact on the marsh. Acknowledging
it would be very expensive, she suggested exploring that as part of the total marsh restoration, not this year
but in future years.
Councilmember Olson
Priority: Review all the City's capital assets and assessing the location of offices and determining whether
buildings could be sold and therefore not upgraded or maintained. That could positively impact the budget
short term with revenue from the sale and long term with fewer maintenance expenditures.
Deemphasize
Councilmember Distelhorst
Deemphasize: Funds allocated for a trolley could be reinvested elsewhere especially due to other
transportation priorities and the availability of public transit.
Councilmember Olson
Deemphasize: Consider whether all boards and commissions are being utilized for the purposes they were
established. For example, the Economic Development Commission did not weigh in on Walkable Main
Street. If the City does not utilize a board or commission for the purpose they were established, is it good
idea to continue to allocate resources? Even though boards and commissions are volunteer, there is related
staff time.
Council President Paine
Deemphasize: Switch emphasis to hybrids or electric vehicles rather than a heavy reliance on gas vehicles.
Those also tend to be smaller vehicles and may be less expensive.
Councilmember L. Johnson
Deemphasize: Consider reducing reliance on professional and consultant services. They are often used for
urgent needs or when there isn't someone on staff with specific qualifications. Would the City be better
served by having someone on staff to do some of those things? Is it possible that the money and time spent
to procure professional services could be used to hire staff? The City may get more out of that and meet the
needs before they become urgent.
Councilmember K. Johnson
Deemphasize: Finetune the budget. Taking a conservative approach, there are many small
projects/programs funded that do not need to be funded such as the Commute Trip Reduction. Since no one
is commuting, the City did not need to spend $30,000 to support that program. Instead of offering a fixed
amount each month and/or purchasing ORCA passes, she suggested the City could have reimbursed
employees for actual expenses and that would have been a minuscule amount. In addition there are three
boards/commission with consultant staff. The consultant was originally provided when the
board/commission was new, but now that the board/commission is established, the consultant staff is no
longer needed. She suggested making minor adjustments could save a lot of money. Another expenditure
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that could have been avoided was the $20,000 to make the WWTP bonds environmental. She often has
many recommendations because she has taken a proposal by proposal approach to the budget to evaluate
whether the money needs to be spent or if there was a way to do it for less.
Mr. Bailey commented there were 26 priorities identified by Council, but far fewer items to deemphasize.
He commented sometimes Councilmember do not want to identify something to eliminate because there is
constituency for it and it is fundamentally more difficult to identify items to delete from the budget.
However, that sets the Council up for a conversation in the fall regarding how to make the items fit into the
budget so the administration can make recommendations to pursue the Council's priorities.
Mr. Bailey recalled last year the Council spent a fair amount of time discussing the nature of policy goals
versus how to get something done. This year many of the ideas are very focused on what would happen as
result, the policy outcome. The nature of work done this year better reflects the role of the Council. As
discussed last year, he referred to the analogy of putting ten pounds of potatoes (priorities) into a five pound
bag (budget). He recommended the Council think about how to have that conversation constructively so
the right things are included in the final budget.
Councilmember Buckshnis said there is a safe driving mode on Zoom that she did not know about that
provides only a microphone. She assured Councilmembers Olson and K. Johnson had expressed all her
opinions. Although Councilmember K. Johnson stated the priority regarding transportation was hers,
Councilmember Buckshnis said she agreed with it.
Council President Paine declared a brief recess.
Council President Paine relayed Councilmember Buckshnis will be listening and will provide her thoughts
after the meeting.
BUDGET PROCESS REVIEW DISCUSSION
Likes. Dislikes. & Deadlines for 2021
Mr. Bailey said a lot of effort goes into setting up the conversations that happen in October and November
that result in collective decision making. That is a difficult process and doing it remotely makes it even
more difficult. Add to that the uncertainty related to resources as a result of the pandemic and it was very
challenging. It is always good to review what worked well and what could have been improved. He
recommended starting with a calendar for all participants. In his role as the Finance Director for several
cities, he would have multiple calendars, one for the Council and community that illustrated what the
Council's work would look like, when certain conversations would occur, when information would be
provided, when check -ins would occur, when workshops would occur, etc. He asked if that had been done.
Council President Paine answered it had not. Mr. Bailey recommended that be developed and said he
encourages Councils to adopt that calendar so the Council's fingerprints are on it.
Mr. Bailey invited Councilmembers to identify one thing that worked well and one thing that could be
improved.
Councilmember Distelhorst
Appreciated Mr. Bailey's earlier comments regarding timeline and flow that mentioned establishing rules
and procedures. With the help of City Clerk Scott Passey who developed a first draft, the Council is
considering adopting Rules and Procedures. He did not recall anything specific to the budget in the
document but agreed it was an opportunity to include reference to establishing a budget calendar.
Developing a timeline would help improve the process.
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Councilmember L. Johnson
Echoed Council President Paine's earlier comment about getting amendments in sooner rather than later. It
helps the process, shows respect for the process as a whole, and gives other Councilmembers a chance to
ponder, thoroughly vet and truly consider Councilmembers' amendment versus getting them at the last
minute and not having an opportunity/time to thoroughly vet them. If amendments are provided early in the
process, they can be considered holistically with the budget and other amendments. She wanted to give full
consideration to all amendments, but doing it on the fly at a Council meeting is more challenging.
Councilmember Fraley-Monillas
As Council President last year, a date was established for amendments and reminders sent out, but at the
last minute 24 amendments were submitted that no one had a chance to vet. She did not understand the
purpose of that when Councilmembers had 2-3 months to submit amendments. That slowed the process and
she estimated 95% of the amendments failed because there was not enough time to consider them. It is
important to identify a drop dead date for amendments; procrastinating on amendments does not help the
Council work as a team or move the City forward. Last minute amendments put staff on the defense trying
to figure out how the amendments impact their department, the cost of amendments, etc. Another concern
was questions were not asked of staff in advance and questions asked at the meeting put staff on the spot.
This has happened in the past and it is very, very frustrating for all involved. What went well was identifying
the Council's highest priorities utilizing community input that Councilmembers receive and the top 4-5
ideas were reflected in the budget.
Councilmember Olson
Establishing a calendar that identifies when input is due allows Councilmembers time to consider
amendments. Rather than grouping amendments by Councilmember, suggest group them by budget line
item so amendments are grouped by topic. That requires amendments be submitted early enough so the
Council's Legislative Assistant can organize them.
Council President Paine
The Council operates better with deadlines; that is a commitment to ourselves. The dates do not need to be
artificial but the deadlines need to be honored which includes allowing enough time for community input.
Whether a biennial budget or a single year time budget, time commitments should be included in the Rules
and Procedures and the Council should honor them. Last year, she liked having enough time to submit
proposal for inclusion in the budget. Time dragged occasionally during last year's process and was not used
as productively as it could have been. She liked the idea of a calendar.
Councilmember Olson
Commend administration on the timing of providing the budget to Council; that was very helpful to the
process.
Councilmember L. Johnson
It was clear from the last budget retreat that the administration heard the Council's budget priorities and the
budget reflected an early start to the priorities.
Councilmember K. Johnson
The Council did a good job last year of identifying priorities and getting them costed out and included in
the budget. What did not work for her and has never worked for her was the long department presentations;
a month of presentations before the Council is allowed to provide input. She suggested having all the
presentations in one night, possibly at a special meeting. CIP/CFP public hearing are among the least
attended Council meetings.
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Councilmember K. Johnson commented the Council did not do a good job reviewing the proposed budget;
the Council knew what they wanted to add but not what they wanted to finetune which was why budget
amendments occurred at the last minute. Amendments were submitted on deadline but it was designed in a
way to fail. There needs to be less show and tell. From the date the budget is presented, that should be the
ready set go; the Council does not need to spend a month on staff presentations.
Councilmember Fraley-Monillas said last year the Council did not get a full report from each director like
had been done in years past. Last year was only an overview from each department and identification of
changes. Department budgets are generally the same year to year with the exception of one-time
expenditures such as police vests or Public Works purchasing a vactor truck. She preferred the shorter
presentations from staff and the ability for Councilmembers to communicate their interests.
Council President Paine
Council could review department budgets on separate nights, particularly departments with large CIP
budgets, but that may not be helpful for the comprehensive budget.
Councilmember Distelhorst
Liked getting the budget from administration early and seeing Council priorities reflected in the budget.
Public hearings are not the greatest venue for feedback; suggest in the future years having an early
spring/summer public engagement process with the broader community. Councilmembers talk to
community members, but there is an opportunity to expand that reach further.
Councilmember K. Johnson
Working on the Strategic Plan may not help with this year's budget but would loop in citizens and set
priorities for fixture budgets. The Council needs to look at not just the upcoming budget cycle but from a
long term perspective.
Mr. Bailey said the frustrations expressed by Councilmembers are not unique. Finetuning things like how
long staff presentations should be is helpful. Some level of presentation by departments is important and
staff is anxious to share. He suggested creating a window of time wherein that can occur, 2-3 meetings, one
long meeting, or a Saturday afternoon. Then staff can figure out how to say meaningful things within the
window of time given. Budget public hearings are required but are not most meaningful way to get input
from the community and he encouraged the Council to leverage other processes to gather input. As a peer
reviewer, he looks at a lot of budgets, the ones that routinely have the best policy structure were the ones
that leverage the Strategic Plan work.
TWO YEAR BUDGET CYCLE
Finance Director Dave Turley commented the first half of the retreat went the way he thought it would but
the last half hour has been very eye opening, Councilmembers said things that surprised him, primarily
because staff sees things from their perspective and Council sees things from their perspective and there
are things that staff didn't realize. The budget calendar is on the long range agenda but the Council and
staff has not done a good job week -by -week sticking to it. He was surprised the Council wanted fewer
presentations from directors. Directors want to share information with Council because if they don't, they
are afraid of being accused of not being transparent with the Council or the public. He commented if there
is two hours allotted for a presentation on capital projects, directors spend a week putting those presentation
together, it takes a lot of staff time to prepare presentations. He suggested including the information in the
packet, not spending a great deal of time on presentations, and allowing Councilmembers to ask questions.
Although she did not mean to discount Councilmember K. Johnson's perspective, Councilmember L.
Johnson said some Councilmembers have not been on Council as long as others and have not had the
opportunity to see numerous staff presentations. She was not necessarily in agreement with Councilmember
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K. Johnson's comment about presentations. There may be area for finetuning but she appreciated continuing
to have the presentations and staff providing information. Maybe it needs to look different but she did not
want to eliminate it.
Councilmember Distelhorst echoed Councilmember L. Johnson's comment, pointing out reading a
PowerPoint or an agenda memo does not provide as much context and details. It is important to make that
information available to the public in a more digestible manner such as a presentation. A presentation is a
much friendlier way to provide information. If improvements can be made that is fantastic, but he did not
want to go too far in the other direction.
Councilmember K. Johnson said the Council has suffered death by presentation where directors have used
it as an opportunity to showcase accomplishments, future plans, etc. and after two hours Councilmembers
just want to know what is in the budget. She appreciated Councilmember Fraley-Monillas' approach last
year where the presentations focused on changes. She liked the idea of having presentations on a Saturday.
She disliked having presentations week after week without the ability for Council to ask questions.
Council President Paine said she has not been slaughtered by the presentation style and there has been a lot
of change in electeds and directors. She asked for input on having evenings devoted to specific departments'
budgets.
Councilmember Fraley-Monillas said that was a great idea, but not if there were a lot of other items on the
agenda. The issue is not just the length of the departments' presentations, but everything else on the agenda
that makes the process very cumbersome.
Councilmember L. Johnson appreciated Councilmember K. Johnson's clarification and could see where
she was coming from now. While she appreciated the director's presentations and would like them to
continue, she agreed there were a lot of presentation before the Council had the opportunity for input. This
is a very beneficial conversation; she suggested breaking up the presentations and allowing Council to
provide input after each.
Councilmember Olson appreciated Mr. Turley providing staff and the public's point of view regarding
transparency. She was glad the Council had this conversation, observing there was a balance to be achieved.
Councilmember Distelhorst preferred if a "budget day" was necessary, holding it on a weekday so staff was
not giving up a Saturday.
Councilmember K. Johnson asked if the idea of focusing on a department would be for presentations only
or would Councilmembers have an opportunity to discuss the budget components as well. Council President
Paine said there is a lot of air space in that idea. Councilmember K. Johnson expressed concern with the
Council being in a listening mode for a month where they cannot provide input which results in urgency at
the end of the process. There are different ways to accomplish and she recognized that directors like to
explain their programs. The Council and staff need to think outside the box to figure out ways to accomplish
what needs to happen without the compression at the end of November.
Mr. Turley looked forward to talking with the Council over the coming months to improve the process. He
understood Councilmembers do not want the minor details, but staff is afraid if they do not explain the
reasoning, it will get cut from the budget. The administration has been working on the budget schedule for
this year; last year the budget was passed on December 10' and the CIP/CFP was passed on December 17'
This year's schedule anticipates passing the budget on November 23'. Last year the CIP/CFP was discussed
in November/December; this year it is scheduled for October/November. He asked how much earlier the
Council was interested in passing the CIP/CFP, noting some cities pass it in August.
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Councilmember K. Johnson suggested starting the review much earlier such as August. Mr. Turley asked
if the target would be to pass it in October/November. Councilmember K. Johnson answered yes.
Council President Paine agreed with that timeline and suggested also reviewing the salary ordinance early.
Mr. Turley said the salary ordinance is scheduled for August.
Councilmember Buckshnis said she stopped driving because this was her topic. She agreed with starting
the CIP/CFP start sooner and suggested it could be kicked off by the Finance Committee. She agreed with
having somewhat comprehensive staff budget presentations, but there should be an opportunity for Q&A
and budgetary discussions after each presentation.
Councilmember K. Johnson acknowledged the directors spend a lot of time putting together their
presentations and often include pictures, PowerPoints and other information that is provided at the Council
meeting but is not included in the packet in advance. She suggested there may be another vehicle for making
presentations so the information is available. The past process where staff makes presentations and the
Council is unable to ask questions impedes the budget process rather than assists it.
Council President Paine offered to work with Mr. Turley on options for a timeline and calendar and present
it to Council for discussion.
Councilmember L. Johnson recognized Mr. Turley for hearing the Council and for his openness; it was
refreshing and she appreciated it. Council President Paine agreed. Mr. Turley appreciated the Council's
willingness to speak up. He recalled last year at the December 10' budget meeting the Council suggested
grouping amendments by topic which worked much better. He summarized working together is the best
way.
Councilmember Fraley-Monillas recalled last year the Council was still working on budget amendments in
mid -December. Legally the Council has until the end of the year to pass the budget. There has to be an
agreement among Councilmembers regarding the deadline for submitting amendments and
Councilmembers need to hold each other accountable to the date selected.
Biennial Budgeting Process
Mr. Turley explained according to MRSC, 55 cities in Washington have biennial budgets including most
of the neighboring cities such as Bellevue, Bothell, Duvall, Kenmore, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park,
Lynnwood, Marysville, Mill Creek, Mountlake Terrace, Redmond, Renton, Shoreline, and Stanwood. He
is in favor of a biennial budget, explaining a biennial budget must start in an odd year so it cannot start with
the 2022 budget. The Council would be talking this time next year about its first biennial budget, but that
decision will need to be made well in advance.
Mr. Turley said some common advantages of biennial budgets include it reduces the amount of time in the
second year, freeing up time for projects, analysis, the CIP, long range planning, etc. It encourages Council
and staff to think over multiple years rather than a one year cycle. Few things happen in 12 months and
nearly everything has a long term impact. One of reasons a biennial budget starts in an odd year is in cities,
it depoliticizes the budget process as the budget is adopted in non -election years. He was not saying anyone
on the Edmonds City Council would do this, but some Councils may be prone to do campaigning as part of
the budget process which is not appropriate.
Mr. Turley explained disadvantages of a biennial budget include it take more time in the first year, but not
much. For example, when he is forecasting revenues for next year, he is already forecasting revenues for
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3-5 years. Things that seem like they will take more time really do not. For example large projects like
Civic Park or the WWTP incinerator are multi -year projects and have to be taken into consideration whether
it is a single year budget or a biennial budget. Another disadvantage is perceived loss of control by the
legislative body since they are approving the budget for two years at a time. That is a common perception;
Edmonds stopped doing a biennial about 10 years ago for that reason. He disagreed with that because the
Council is able to act quickly, analyze data and make decisions. For example, a couple months ago, the
Council agreed they could call a meeting on a Saturday if something needed to be done quickly. He did not
believe there was a loss of control with a biennial budget; adjustments can be made to the Council's budget
at any time.
Mr. Turley said another disadvantage is it is more difficult to forecast revenues and expenditures. Although
there is some truth to that because projections have to be made 2'/z years out, staff already does that. The
fourth disadvantage is some jurisdictions spend too much time on budget amendments during the year, so
they do not take advantage of the down time. That is a valid point, and it would be important to avoid it.
Both Mayor Nelson and he support a biennial budget. He anticipated the first year would be a little rocky
because it would be a big change system -wise, but he felt it was a good thing to go forward with.
Councilmember Fraley-Monillas asked if the legislature does a biennial budget. Mr. Turley said yes, but
June 30' is their fiscal year end.
Mr. Bailey said he is a proponent of biennial budgets. He reviewed:
• Biennial Budgets (RCW 35A.34)
o Some thoughts about biennial budgets
1. Must implement in odd year
■ Law requires a decision by mid -year prior via ordinance
2. Benefits
■ More strategic - in all aspects (policy, operations, finance)
■ More work to budget - but you get the "off' year
- Everyone gets the "off -budget year
- Spend it wisely and intentionally
■ Easier to manage, once mature (for everyone)
■ Some political benefit in timing (not sure if this was intended, but...
3. Potential drawbacks
■ Concern over loss of control
■ It is more work (and more complicated)
- Logistical issues (most of which can be addressed)
■ Difficulty in forecasting
- Revenue forecasting
- Expenditure forecasting
■ Tendency to abuse mid -biennium review
- Use as tune-up - unless the environment changes substantially
4. Approaches to biennial budgets
■ Full 24 month appropriation
■ Two separate 12 month appropriations
- But the second 12 months is appropriated
■ First 12 months appropriar3ed, second 12 months pending appropriation
5. Caution - be careful to avoid over complicating this - it will rob you of the benefits
6. Examples
■ Redmond - has been biennial budgeting for very long time. Full biennium (24
months) very mature model
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Lynnwood — I was Finance Director when we went to biennial. It was messy but
okay. Got better, now good
Renton - overcomplicated the mid biennium review. Reverted to annual, then
reverted back to biennial
Seattle - biennial budget but only appropriates l' year. Not very efficient but then it
is Seattle
Mr. Bailey commented the good news is Edmonds is early in process, the jurisdictions highlighted above
had these conversations much later in the process and put unnecessary pressure on themselves to
accommodate a biennial budget. The Council can begin thinking about a biennial budget now, and practice
by considering the second year as they adopt the 2022 budget. The biggest change will be thinking about
the budget in a two year perspective rather than an annual budget and not giving short shrift to the second
year.
Council President Paine asked what Mr. Bailey meant when he said changing to a biennial budget is messy.
Mr. Bailey answered Councilmembers can get bogged down in the details regarding estimates. Some things
like large projects are not different. He suggested Councilmembers not get bogged down in things like sales
tax trends coming out of the pandemic, round numbers and generalizations will serve the Council well and
they generally will be pretty close.
With respect to cities who already have a biennial budget, Councilmember L. Johnson asked whether the
COVID crisis complicated things for them or could significant adjustments be made. Mr. Bailey said having
a good working culture is important; the pandemic was disruptive for annual and biennial budgets. He
recalled about a year ago there were debates about how badly sales tax revenues would be impacted and
now it is surprising how robust it has remained. It is important to have confidence in the team to
communicate with the Council when things may move off the tracks. Mr. Bailey recalled he was in
Redmond during the Great Recession; a communication mechanism was created whereby staff
communicated monthly with Council and the community regarding finances. Mr. Turley commented last
summer, staff had little idea of the effect COVID would have on the budget. The City was doing a one year
budget and did not have any advantage over cities doing a 2-year budget.
Councilmember K. Johnson explained the last time Edmonds had a biennial budget, the City was faced
with the Great Recession and had to return to an annual budget due to layoffs, furloughs, restricted revenues,
etc. Coming out of the Great Recession, the Long Range Financial Planning Group was created to look at
revenues, expenditures and investments long term. In addition, the Finance Committee developed financial
policies. The City is in a much better position financially. Edmonds has shown during the pandemic that it
is pretty stable and can rely on revenues that are not as impacted as the national economy. Mr. Turley agreed
the City has more robust policies in place and is in a much better position now to have uncertainty in the
forecast than it was 10-12 years ago. He gave a lot of credit to past Councils for that.
Councilmember Distelhorst asked the average amount of time to do a biennial budget, commenting if a
one-year budget takes three months, he did not envision a biennial budget would tax six months. He
recognized the benefit of having time the second year to work on other priorities. Mr. Bailey suggested
adding 30-40% more time to the process for a biennial budget.
Councilmember Buckshnis said the concept of a biennial budget has been discussed for a long time. She
supports having a biennial budget because it assist with long range planning. She pointed out the need for
an Assistant Finance Director as a biennial budget will require more finance staff. She agreed the first
biennial budget may take 4-5 months but it gets easier.
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Council President Paine asked if looking at the CIP this year with a 2-year timeframe would be helpful or
a waste of time. Mr. Bailey said the City adopts a 6-year CFP and appropriates the projects that are moving
forward in the first year of the CIP. Looking at the CIP with a 2-year timeframe would be an interesting
way to practice and it would dovetail with the Council's interest in having adequate time to review the CIP
before adopting the ordinance. He suggested having Mayor Nelson, Turley and their teams consider how
that would work, possible dates, etc. and see if it adds value to the process.
Councilmember Buckshnis said the utility funds use the CIP for three years. She commented Council
President Paine's suggestion to look at the CIP this year with a 2-year time frame was an interesting concept
that she would think about that.
Whether the City has an annual or biennial budget, Councilmember K. Johnson recommended using the
budget process for major expenditures rather than the budget amendment process. There should be some
flexibility in the budget for things like the LEAP program during COVID but the mini excavator should
have been part of the budget and not an amendment. The Council should set policy/guidelines for what is
appropriate for including in the budget and what is appropriate for a budget amendment.
Council President Paine said some of the amendments have been proposed due to a better understanding of
the City's finances post crisis and being more comfortable with bringing things back into budget. Mr. Turley
said approximately three -fourths of the changes made to the budget last year were COVID related, for
example the CARES fund money and how it was expended, the LEAP program, etc. With an annual budget,
there are carryforwards every year because projects that were not completed and not budgeted in the second
year have to be brought forward.
Council President Paine asked about this year's budget amendments, some of which would have been
included in the budget such as the mini -excavator. She recalled that was on a wish list and was funded when
funds were available. Mr. Turley said that would require further discussion. One of the amendments was to
implement the effects of labor contracts which is something that cannot be anticipated. With regard to
budget amendments, he did not want Finance to drive operations. He agreed with Councilmember K.
Johnson that there should be a policy regarding what should be proposed via budget amendments.
Mr. Bailey said over time amendments can become a work -around the budget which is the reason for a
policy. For example in Redmond, once the budget was adopted, department heads began making budget
amendments for items that were not included in the budget that they thought should have been. One of the
first policy recommendations he made to the Redmond Council in 2008 was if something didn't get
approved in the budget, the amendment process was not a way to get it.
Council President Paine acknowledged otherwise the Council is doing the budget all year long.
DO WE HAVE TO HAVE A 2ND BUDGET MEETING THIS YEAR TO REDEFINE PRIORITIES?
Council President Paine asked whether Councilmembers wanted to have a second budget meeting this year
to redefine priorities.
Councilmember Distelhorst said going through the priorities again would not be helpful to him until there
was something to react to.
Council President Paine answered a budget retreat did not have to be about priorities, it could be to look at
the CIP with a 2-year timeframe or any other structure that Councilmembers were interested in. She
suggested Councilmembers think about and get back to her.
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Councilmember Fraley-Monillas agreed with Councilmember Distelhorst, she was not interested in another
retreat unless there was something to discuss relevant to this year's budget. She was disappointed the
Council did not have just a regular retreat instead of a budget retreat as there are a lot of things that the
Council could be discussed in a regular retreat.
Councilmember K. Johnson asked how Council President Paine envisioned the Council would move toward
a collective hierarchy of priorities. Council President Paine said the top priorities could be summarized
from the minutes and Councilmembers could vote on their top four. Councilmember K. Johnson suggested
the priorities that Councilmembers identified may need to be fleshed out such as the cost. Council President
Paine said that would be up to the Councilmember making the proposal. Councilmember K. Johnson
agreed, along with working with the administration.
WRAP UP
Mr. Bailey offered closing remarks: be careful not to over complicate it, stay at the policy level and
appreciate that it is difficult.
Councilmember K. Johnson thanked Mr. Bailey and Mr. Turley. Budgeting is a team sport and we all need
to work together and develop a good product with good communication.
Councilmember Distelhorst said there was a lot of productive discussion and having Mr. Turley relay what
he heard was very valuable. He thanked Mr. Bailey, Mr. Turley and Councilmembers for spending their
Saturday afternoon.
Councilmember L. Johnson expressed her appreciation to Mr. Turley and Mr. Bailey and to Council
President Paine for putting this together. It was a very productive meeting and provided her a lot to think
about.
Council President Paine said she had a lot of anxiety putting this retreat together but had enjoyed the
conversation. She appreciated Mr. Bailey and Mr. Turley for attending and adding their expertise to the
discussion. She liked the idea of a biennial budget. She appreciated everyone's thoughts and comments.
Things that need to be done include developing a budget calendar, a way to prioritize items and fleshing
out some of the priorities.
Councilmember K. Johnson thanked Council President Paine for doing an excellent job, for keeping a
neutral tone and allowing everyone the opportunity to speak on every topic. It is her personal opinion that
the budget is the most important thing the Council does every year.
Council President Paine wished all a Happy Mother's Day.
6. ADJOURN
With no further business, the Council meeting was adjourned at 4:40 p.m.
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