2023-04-11 Finance CommitteeMinutes
FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
April 11, 2023
Elected Officials Present Staff Present
Councilmember Will Chen (Chair) Dave Turley, Administrative Services Director
Councilmember Susan Paine Angie Feser, Parks, Rec. & Human Serv. Dir.
Council President Neil Tibbott (ex-officio) Todd Tatum, Comm. Serv./Econ. Dev. Dir.
Councilmember Vivian Olson Shannon Burley, Dep. Parks, Rec. & Human Serv. Dir.
Scott Passey, City Clerk
Guests
Scott Bauer, Northwest Municipal Advisors
1. CALL TO ORDER
The Edmonds City Council Finance Committee meeting was called to order virtually and in the City
Council Conference Room, 212 – 5th Avenue North, Edmonds, at 5:30 p.m. by Councilmember Chen.
2. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
1. Delegation Bond Ordinance
Scott Bauer, Northwest Municipal Advisors, reviewed:
• Current bond market
o Long-term interest rates increased for much of 2022
Rates decreased at the end of 2022 and in January 2023, but increased through
February, before dipping in March
The charts below show an index of well-rated, 20-year, general obligation tax-exempt
bonds
• Limited Tax General Obligation Debt
o 2012 Bonds
Currently Callable
No savings due to rates on outstanding debt versus current bond market rates
Bonds remain callable and outstanding
o 2016 Bond
Placed with JP Morgan
Callable 12/1/2023
No savings expected due to rates on outstanding debt versus current bond market
rates
Continue to monitor
• Water and Sewer Revenue Debt
04/11/23 Finance Committee Minutes, Page 2
o 2013 Bonds
Callable starting on and after June 1, 2023
Est. savings shown on next slide
o 2021A LTGO Bonds
Portion of the 2011 Water and Sewer Revenue Bonds refunded by the 2021A LTGO
Bonds
Payable from utility revenues
• 2013 Water and Sewer Rev. Bond – Est. Refunding Savings
o Estimated net present value savings are better for a public bond issuance
o Savings are dependent on current interest rates
Rates have been fluctuating
Rates for private placement highly dependent on bank
The bank that provided the indicative rate requires a structure that has a Weighted
Average Life of ≤ 10 years and Final Maturity < 15 years from issuance date
- In this scenario, all savings is at the end (payments would be approx. the same
until then)
One month ago, a private placement was estimated to save NPV $384,865 / 2.9%
• Differences of Bond Issue versus Bank Loan
• Next Steps
o Draft and adopt a delegation Bond Ordinance
Allow for the refunding within parameters approved by the City Council
Allow for refunding via public bond issuance or private placement
o The Designated Representative (Administrative Services Director or other designee) starts
financing process when savings are compelling
Bond is only sold if savings exceed target set by the City Council
Mr. Bauer responded to questions regarding net present value savings that makes refunding
compelling, setting parameters in the delegation ordinance, council action required on the delegation
ordinance, the City’s current bond rating, how much rates will change between now and when
04/11/23 Finance Committee Minutes, Page 3
documents are prepared and approved, Snohomish County LGIP interest rate, whether refunding will
affect the City’s bond rating, funds in cash and investments, and estimated cost of refunding.
Committee recommendation: Present draft ordinance with parameters to finance committee.
2. Committee Updates
OpenGov Implementation Plan
Mr. Turley reported implementation is nearly complete, a final meeting will be held this week with the
executive team and training for users will begin in the next few week. Budget information for 2024 will
be accessible online instead of via a budget book. A brief discussion followed regarding how
OpenGov will impact the budget process.
2022 ARPA Fund Update
Mr. Turley summarized $1.2 million was spent in 2021, $1.4 million in 2022 and $750,000 so far this
year for a total expenditure of $3.3 million, leaving approximately $8.5 million of the original $11.9
million. He recommended questions regarding future ARPA spending be directed to Community
Services/Economic Development Director Todd Tatum.
3. 4th Avenue Cultural Corridor Contract
Mr. Tatum relayed the budget includes $34,000 from the City, $34,000 from a matching State grant,
and a memorandum of agreement with the Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA) for their portion.
Although this phase is within the mayor’s authorized limit, the contract allows the contractor to be
selected for future phases of design and construction so the amount could exceed the mayor’s limit.
This contract includes 10% design of the street layout, the art corner park, connection to the ECA, and
a phasing and funding strategy that will consider work the City plans to do in this corridor and
coordinate it with this project.
Questions and discussion followed regarding this contract taking the project to 10% design, informing
property owners of the right-of-way location on 4th Avenue, boundaries of the corridor, partnership
with ECA, timeline for the remainder of the design, asking council if they support the expenditure to
design a parklet in this area, and identifying funding sources related to the Creative District and
economic development.
Committee recommendation: Full council 4/18
4. 2023 April Budget Amendment Ordinance
Mr. Turley reviewed:
• If approved, budget amendment would increase forecast revenues by $2,984,257, increase
budgeted expenditures by $7,409,280, and reduce the ending fund balance by $4.4 million.
• Proposed amendments
1. AFSCME Salary Increase approved by council in November 2022 - $1.6 million
2. Stormwater On-Call Professional Services Agreement - $125,000
3. ERP Project Manager - $60,000
4. Adjustment to Contingency Reserve balance per the Fund Balance Policy (4% of General
Fund Adopted Operating Budget)
5. Extension of “Let’s Go” Bicycle Education Program - $15,000
6. Creative District Grant for Conceptual Design - $34,000
7. Leasehold Improvements to Neighborhood City Hall to comply with police safety protocols
in preparation for hiring a storefront officer - $85,000
8. Library Repairs - $800,000 (reimbursed by insurance)
9. Household Grant Fund Increase - $420,000
04/11/23 Finance Committee Minutes, Page 4
10. Add new FTE Fleet Mechanic Position- $117,000 beginning in 2023
11. Teamster Salary Increases approved by council in January 2023 - $1.5 million
12. Non-Represented Salary Increases approved by council in December 2022 - $538,000
13. Adjustment for WCIA Insurance Increase - $63,387
14. 76th Ave Overlay (196th St SW to Olympic View Drive) – reimbursed by grants/outside
agencies
Questions and discussion followed regarding salary increases approved by council but not included in
the budget, support for ESD’s “Let’s Go” Bike Program, improvements to the neighborhood city hall,
future location of the neighborhood city hall, safety of staff at the neighborhood city hall, repairs to the
library roof, substantial number of household grants awarded to seniors, potentially reallocating ARPA
funds from the job retraining category into household grants, administering the household grant
program, having the ARPA auditor provide an update to the finance committee, whether departments
have been able to purchase new vehicles, ending fund balance for each affected fund, and ongoing
budget impact of salary increases and the additional position.
Committee recommendation: Full council April 18
5. February 2023 Monthly Financial Report
Mr. Turley responded to questions regarding expenditures in the technology rental fund,
administrative services, and facilities maintenance; and investments in the Washington State LGIP
versus Snohomish County LGIP.
Committee recommendation: Received for Filing
3. ADJOURN
The meeting was adjourned at 7:27 p.m.
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SCOTT PASSEY, CITY CLERK