2023-11-21 Regular MeetingEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL MEETING
APPROVED MINUTES
November 21, 2023
ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT
Neil Tibbott, Mayor Pro Tern
Vivian Olson, Council President Pro Tern
Will Chen, Councilmember
Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember
Susan Paine, Councilmember
Dave Teitzel, Councilmember
Jenna Nand, Councilmember
ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT
Mike Nelson, Mayor
1. CALL TO ORDER/FLAG SALUTE
STAFF PRESENT
Dave Turley, Administrative Services Director
Angie Feser, Parks, Rec., & Human Serv. Dir.
Susan McLaughlin, Planning & Dev. Dir.
Jeff Taraday, City Attorney
Scott Passey, City Clerk
Jerrie Bevington, Camera Operator
The Edmonds City Council meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. by Mayor Pro Tern Tibbott in the Council
Chambers, 250 5t' Avenue North, Edmonds, and virtually. The meeting was opened with the flag salute.
2. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Councilmember Teitzel read the City Council Land Acknowledge Statement: "We acknowledge the
original inhabitants of this place, the Sdohobsh (Snohomish) people and their successors the Tulalip Tribes,
who since time immemorial have hunted, fished, gathered, and taken care of these lands. We respect their
sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and we honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land
and water."
3. ROLL CALL
City Clerk Scott Passey called the roll. All elected officials were present with the exception of Mayor
Nelson.
4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND, TO
APPROVE THE AGENDA IN CONTENT AND ORDER.
COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT PRO TEM
OLSON, TO ADD AN ITEM TO COUNCIL BUSINESS 8.2, PRESENTATION REGARDING A
THANK YOU FROM CHASE LAKE ELEMENTARY.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
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5. AUDIENCE COMMENTS
Marlin Phelps, Marysville, reported he came to the courtroom last week on Monday as Judge Rivera was
holding video court. He attempted to observe court, but the doors were locked. He asked the clerk why the
courtroom doors were locked and was told there was no security guard. He looked this up in the RCW and
conferred with Kathleen Kyle and learned those defendants' constitutional rights were violated. He asked
the court the number of trials this year and was told one. He asked how many jury summons had been sent
and was told 1,650; those were sent out for trials that did not exist. People receiving a jury summons have
to take a day off work, some get babysitters, etc. The summons make it look like there is a working court
when in fact the court violates constitutional rights every time an innocent defendant has no path to prove
their innocence. He plans to make motion so that any time a jury summons is sent out, there has to be a
corresponding case number and a trial date. He also plans to make a motion so all the defendants in video
court last week and all defendants seen at a court where the doors are locked have their cases dismissed,
receive proper reparations for time served, and have their fines returned. He summarized this City continues
its corruption; it is time to honor the people's constitutional rights and the law as it is written.
Jay Grant, Edmonds, Port of Edmonds Commissioner, speaking as commissioner, congratulated everyone
who was elected in the recent election and thanked those who lost, noting the importance of democracy. He
thanked Jim Orvis, a retired captain of the US Navy who is retiring after serving as a Port Commissioner
for 20 year, for his service, noting the Port will lose a lot of knowledge with his retirement. He thanked
Councilmember Teitzel for serving as the council's liaison to the Port. The Port and Councilmember Teitzel
have had a good dialogue and he has been very valuable in helping Port with several things this year. He
wished everyone a happy holiday season.
Jim Ogonowski, Edmonds, gave a shoutout to Councilmember Teitzel and everything he has done,
stepping in during a difficult time and helping lead the way. He wished him good luck in whatever he
planned to do next. With regard to the budget, the council has done the hard work; establishing the revenue
stream and determining how much to allocate to the budget was a monumental task. The next step is
expenditures, but those cannot exceed revenues unless the council plans to expend more of the City's
financial reserves which he strongly discouraged in order to replenish reserves. The timeframe for
replenishing reserves will be part of the council's discussion. The replenishment plan in the agenda packet
is not a plan at all.
Jerry Whitmarsh, Edmonds, thanked council for serving, recognizing it was a difficult job. He especially
thanked the councilmembers who would be leaving the council after the election. During the transition, he
hoped the council would more readily and successfully address budget concerns, the outdated code, and
citizens' comments and questions.
David Preston, Edmonds, Port Commissioner, thanked Councilmember Teitzel for serving as the council
liaison to the Port and for filling the huge shoes of the late-Councilmember Kristiana Johnson, one of the
better long term councilmembers. She was balanced and would listened to both sides and if she didn't like
your opinion, she would tell you. He trusted that the Councilmember Eck will be able to fill those shoes.
He announced Holiday on the Docks at the Port of Edmonds (in front of Anthony's) on December 14
starting at 6 pm. Boats will be lit up, and there will be Santa, and at least one band. He looked forward to
whoever would be the Port liaison in 2024.
Trisha Evilad observed "small town feeling" was removed from the comprehensive plan vision statement.
That is part of Edmonds and what people want to see in Edmonds. She referred to planners like Frederick
Olmstead or architects like Alvarado who talk about nature, space, and breathing room which is the way
people have lived for thousands of years. Changing that because it is no longer fashionable is ridiculous.
Residents try to do what's good to be healthy and live well; no one ever says they want to live in a crowded
place where they're anonymous and no one knows them. People choose to live in cities because they work
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November 21, 2023
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there, but Edmonds is not that kind of a city. People like to live in Edmonds, not just exist. She urged the
council to return that part of the vision statement because it is important to residents.
Natalie Seitz, Edmonds, expressed support for the City's continued evaluation of the Burlington Coat
Factory property for a potential public -private partnership to bring cost-effective City services to the SR 99
corridor sooner rather than later. There are currently more people living on the east side of Edmonds than
the west side. The most densely populated areas are no longer downtown, they are along the SR 99 corridor.
The 2017 upzone of the SR 99 corridor expanded and intensified this trend. She has heard a lot about fiscal
responsibility and the need for Landmark to have a fully conceived financial plan at this early stage. She
hears people say it is too expensive. She requested the council ponder the following questions during budget
deliberations: knowing growth has been allowed on the south and east sides of the City, why is there no
financial plan to support the large scale investments needed for growth? Why is there no budget to pursue
these opportunities?
Ms. Seitz continued, density and population are not an accident. The 2017 upzone to meet the City's growth
targets wasn't an oversight. Why does the City feel it is not a good idea to take the lead in manifesting the
planned action vision? Everything downtown has been manifested by staff time and resources. Why would
the same not be required in the SR 99 corridor? Who has the responsibility to provide essential services to
all Edmonds residents? Even if the Landmark property fails in the next round of evaluations, the need for
local government services in the SR 99 corridor is real and the costs do not go away. Just because the City
has not budgeted to support growth does not mean a price is not paid, it is just paid by the community in
the form of crime, displacement, and lack of public spaces for the community and their families to thrive.
She expressed support for the removal of "small town feel" from the comprehensive plan vision statement.
She thanked Councilmember Teitzel for his service and coming back to council. Councilmembers all donate
a great amount of time and although they do always agree, she appreciated each of them who stepped
forward when called to serve the city.
6. RECEIVED FOR FILING
1. BUDGET QUERIES - COUNCIL BUDGET QUESTIONS AND ADMINISTRATION /
STAFF RESPONSES
2. WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS
7. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS
COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL, TO
APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The agenda items
approved are as follows:
1. APPROVAL OF SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 6, 2023
2. APPROVAL OF SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 14, 2023
3. APPROVAL OF CLAIM CHECKS AND WIRE PAYMENTS
4. APPROVAL OF PAYROLL AND BENEFIT CHECKS, DIRECT DEPOSIT AND WIRE
PAYMENTS
5. APPROVAL OF PAYROLL AND BENEFIT CHECKS, DIRECT DEPOSIT AND WIRE
PAYMENTS
6. SNOHOMISH COUNTY JAIL CONTRACT EXTENSION
7. CITY OF LYNNWOOD/MEADOWDALE PLAYGROUND EXPENDITURE REQUEST
8. COUNCIL BUSINESS
RESOLUTION THANKING DAVE TEITZEL FOR SERVICE ON THE CITY COUNCIL
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Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott read a resolution of the Edmonds City Council thanking Councilmember Dave
Teitzel for his service on the city council.
Councilmember Teitzel thanked council for the nice words, commenting it is amazing how fast the last year
and three months have gone by, but a lot had been accomplished. He was appointed to briefly occupy the
late-Councilmember Kristiana Johnson's seat. She set very high standards on council and was very
collaborative, even tempered, data driven and nonpartisan, great standards for all councilmembers to keep
in mind while serving on council. He was sure Chris Eck would do a great job. It has been great, rewarding
and a privilege to work with the citizens and an honor to work with the City's professional, talented staff
who do great things for the City. He also thanked his fellow councilmembers, commenting it had been very
rewarding to work with them although they agreed and disagree at times. There is a talent and skill to
disagreeing in an agreeable way and he hoped the council would continue in that regard.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT PRO TEM OLSON MOVE SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND,
THAT THE COUNCIL APPROVE THE RESOLUTION THANKING COUNCILMEMBER
TEITZEL FOR HIS SERVICE ON CITY COUNCIL.
Council President Pro Tem Olson expressed her gratitude to Councilmember Teitzel and to Kathy Teitzel
who saw very little of Dave as he literally squeezed four years of work into a spectacular year of service to
the City of Edmonds. It was a gift to her that he put in his name in the hat and was appointed by council.
The vacancy left by Councilmember Kristiana Johnson's death left voids of process, parliamentary
knowledge, and friendship. While she was irreplaceable, Councilmember Teitzel leapt in on day one,
proceeded as the experienced councilmember he was, and contributed immensely to council's success
during the time he served. He is an amazing colleague and an amazing Edmonds councilmember.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
2. THANK YOU FROM CHASE LAKE ELEMENTARY
Councilmember Paine read a thank you from the students of Chase Lake Elementary School and referenced
the compassion award the council received for providing the needed funds to support the student
intervention coordinator position in their school; ARPA funds allocated for those positions helped over
1000 students in Edmonds. Chase Lake Elementary has a set of beliefs that guide their school culture: take
care of yourself, take care of others and take care of this place. The council received the compassion
certificates because they have those beliefs in common with the student body.
3. PLANNING BOARD RECOMMENDATION ON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN VISION
STATEMENT
Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott advised the council was not taking action tonight. The intent is to hear the planning
board's recommendation, continue to gather community input, and take action at a subsequent council
meeting.
Planning & Development Susan McLaughlin explained the planning & development department worked
collaboratively with the community during summer 2022 to develop a draft community vision statement
meant to guide the work of the comprehensive plan. Via resolution 1529, the council asked for the vision
statement to be returned to the planning board for their consideration. Based on discussion at the planning
board on October 11, 2023, a slightly modified version of the vision statement was proposed, discussed and
recommended to the city council. She read the revised vision statement: "Edmonds is a welcoming city
offering outstanding quality of life for all with vibrant and diverse neighborhoods, safe streets, parks, and
a thriving arts scene shaped in a way to promote healthy lifestyles, climate resiliency, and access to the
natural beauty of our community." Staff supported the modifications as they reflected on the commonly
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used words for each of the phrases in the vision statement and determined it was consistent with the 8500
comments received.
Councilmember Nand asked Ms. McLaughlin to speak to the phrase "small town feel," on which council
has received a significant volume of comments. As a person of color, she understood some people felt this
statement was exclusionary, however, when a councilmember in another city disparagingly referred to
Edmonds as quaint and small town, she laughed and said that was what people like about Edmonds. She
recognized in terms of density, housing justice, history of redlining and racial segregation, this is a very
fraught topic. On the surface a small town feel is not a controversial term. She asked staff to speak on that
and why the planning board felt that could be misconstrued and should be removed.
Ms. McLaughlin answered there is a lot of subjective to interpretation; the planning board student rep
strongly objected to small town feel as she did not feel it represented the youth or a 20-year vision of
Edmonds. The student rep put her objections in writing which Ms. McLaughlin offered to share with
council. Upon receipt of that youth perspective, it was discussed at the planning board and some members
agreed and some disagreed, but ultimately the board felt because of that reaction and perhaps the
subjectivity and interpretation of that phrase, if it needed further definition or explanation, maybe it was
not the best phrase for universal understanding. She recalled the vision statement went through a pretty
robust interpretation process to ensure it was understood in a variety of languages with easy to understand
phrases that wouldn't be misconstrued. Small town feel was not used initially and would need to go through
that process to understand if it was understandable in multiple languages.
Councilmember Buckshnis spoke in favor of restoring the small town feel language. In reading the source
data, there were a lot of comments about small town feel. She found it interesting that one youth's comments
were used to represent all youth in Edmonds. Another approach would have been to ask the youth
commission and she offered to ask them at Wednesday's meeting. She found it unfortunate that the vision
statement was changed based on one person's comments when the council's suggestion to include gem of
the Puget Sound was rejected. She did not view the proposed statement as a vision statement. In her opinion,
small town feel should be restored to the vision statement as one student does not represent all youth in the
City. Ms. McLaughlin said the role of the planning board's student rep is to represent the youth perspective
for the planning board in their discussions which is what she did.
Council President Pro Tern Olson said some people may think small town feel is colloquial, small and
undeveloped. She said Washington DC has a small town feel although it is definitely an urban environment.
It has a small town vibe, people know each other and there is a welcoming feeling so small town feel
portrayed something very different to her. She referred to a comment by Planning Board Member Nutsch
that it seemed like what they were trying to get at is that Edmonds is a place you want to live and where
you want to be, not just where you have your address. She said that was an expression of what small town
feel meant to her.
Council President Pro Tern Olson recalled one of the original vision statements referenced engaged
residents. Ms. McLaughlin said it was in the original vision statement. Council President Pro Tem Olson
missed that phrase in the version that the planning board recommended because that is an identifier that
separates Edmonds from others in the current day as well as into the future. That is one of the City's best
traits and something she wanted to build on and expand.
Councilmember Teitzel expressed support for including small town feel in the vision statement. A vision
statement is aspirational in nature so small town feel is where the City is now and where residents want to
go. He doubted anyone on the dais aspired to be Bellevue, Seattle or Ballard; they aspire to be Edmonds
which has small town charm, not only downtown but Firdale Village, Perrinville, Westgate, Five Corners,
the International District, the Hospital District, etc., each of which has its own small town charm. He
reiterated that phrase should be included because that is what residents aspire to be.
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Councilmember Nand liked Councilmember Teitzel's use of the phrase small town charm because
Edmonds is famous for its charm. That is what people talk about, a quality that is not necessarily linked to
density or size because Edmonds is one of densest, largest cities in Snohomish County. Given consideration
of the 8500 comments, the discussion between the subcommittee and the planning board and their
recommendation, she did not necessarily want there to be more process and preferred to finalize the vision
statement and proceed. She recalled a lot of people liked the phrase gem of Puget Sound and Council
President Pro Tem Olson wanted to have engaged citizens included and she would like to have the word
charm included because she thinks of Edmonds as a charming place. In considering the allocation of staff
resources and volunteer time, it would behoove the council to adopt some version of the vision statement
tonight. Although she would like to add small town charm to the vision statement, she did not want it to be
a point of contention that takes more time.
Councilmember Chen commented small town charm is what everybody loves and wishes the City would
continue to be, but the reality is there are different parts of Edmonds with different demographics and that
feel different. Highway 99 is very dense and the crime rate is higher than other parts of the City. If the
council wants to be all inclusive, they needed to face reality.
Councilmember Paine appreciated the efforts of staff, the planning board and the community to get this
right. The vision statement is a profound statement for the next 20 years. She agreed with Councilmember
Chen that there are differences in the City. The proposed vision statement is 95% accurate and further
wordsmithing will gain very little. She will be curious to hear what the youth commission says and looked
forward to the vision statement coming back to council for action.
Councilmember Chen commented the council has spent so much time on the vision statement, something
that is not required. He suggested tabling it because it was too controversial.
Councilmember Buckshnis supported Councilmember Chen's suggestion to table, noting branding and the
vision statement are not required. If the correct language cannot be found, perhaps it should be left out.
Councilmember Nand disagreed with tabling the vision statement because she wanted to respect the work
of the planning department, volunteers, and citizen activists. The reason this discussion has become so
fraught and absorbed a lot of time and attention and has been more controversy than anyone anticipated is
because it is of high value to the community. The vision statement won't be branded on city hall, it will be
included in the comprehensive plan. The community felt this was an opportunity to announce a common
identity for Edmonds and the council needs to respect that.
Council President Pro Tem Olson commented the resolution was written to be passed by the end of the
year. She did not anticipating having any difficulty doing that so there was no reason to table.
Councilmembers can listen to each other, digest what was said tonight, and finish it in early December.
4. REPLENISHMENT REPORT
Administrative Services Director Dave Turley presented a Replenishment Report in accordance with the
Fund Balance the Fund Balance Reserve Policy adopted in July 2019. He reviewed:
• Introduction
o What is this report tonight?
■ Fund Balance Reserve Policy Article III — If any use of the General Fund Operating
Reserve has occurred, the Finance Director must present to Mayor and City Council an
annual Replenishment Report during the month of November. The Replenishment Report
must be presented each year, until the reserves are fully replenished. The Replenishment
Report must include the following information:
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
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1) Amount of Reserves used
Citing the information provided in the September quarterly report, our current
estimate shows that end of year fund balance will be about $3,047,446. The amount
currently required by policy is $8, 067,160, which means we are estimated to have used
62% of the General Fund Operating Reserve by December 31, 2023.
2) Whether it is anticipated additional Reserves will be needed in the following budget
cycle
Based on the actions taken by Council last week to remove significant revenues from
the Proposed Budget, we do anticipate that the use of General Fund Operating
Reserves will be required in the 2024 budget cycle.
3) If no additional Reserves are needed, then the Replenishment Report must include a
plan for replenishing the Reserve to policy mandated levels.
See the Budgetary Plan included in a later slide.
■ Article III also states:
- "If the reserve is drawn down by 26-50% of the reserve fund balance, then a budgetary
plan shall be implemented to return the reserve level to between 75% and 100% of the
minimum balance over a 5 to 7 year period." (Note the specific usage of the term
"budgetary plan")
- To be clear, we are not required to bring the reserve balance back to 100% of policy
requirements immediately; rather we are supposed to implement a budgetary plan that
would accomplish that within 5 to 7 years.
Budgetary Plan
o "If the reserve is drawn down by 26-50% of the reserve fund balance, then a budgetary plan
shall be implemented to return the reserve level to between 75% and 100% of the minimum
balance over a 5 to 7 year period."
o The budgetary plan presented by the Administration was included in the Proposed Budget, and
included a combination of 1) increasing property taxes by the allowable 1% plus recapturing
banked capacity, 2) transferring $6.5 million of ARPA money to the General Fund, 3)
transferring $2.0 million from Fund 016 to the General Fund, and 4) installing red light cameras
to both improve public and pedestrian safety as well as increase infractions revenue.
o If taken by Council, these four actions would bring the General Fund Operating Reserve back
into full compliance with Policy by December 31, 2024.
Replenishment Report - Recap
o The Replenishment Report must include the following information
1) Amount of Reserves used - Estimated amount for 2023 was provided.
2) Whether it is anticipated additional Reserves will be needed in the following budget cycle
- It is currently anticipated that Reserves will be needed in the 2024 budget cycle.
3) If no additional Reserves are needed, then the Replenishment Report must include a plan
for replenishing the Reserve to policy mandated levels - The Budgetary Plan created by
the Administration and included in the 2024 Proposed Budget was provided.
Council President Pro Tern Olson said she wanted to share with the community the Q&A she and Mr.
Turley had via email, envisioning it would be enlightening and helpful for them. She had asked whether
the replenishment plan would reflect the action that council supports, for example the council did not
support some of the revenues. Mr. Turley's reply to her inquiry was the replenishment plan is effectively
altered by the budget process and that the replenishment plan would, of course, change. By policy, an
updated replenishment plan would be expected by November 2024, but perhaps via collaboration with the
administration and the mayor it could be done sooner. Mr. Turley said the policy states a replenishment
plan is provided every November. The administration presented a plan as required by the policy; the council
doesn't have to like or accept the plan and clearly the council did not like all aspects of the plan, but the
administration is not required to provide an updated plan. When council adopts the budget, that effectively
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Page 7
presents the new plan, finances are monitored throughout the year, and a new plan is provided next
November.
Council President Pro Tem Olson said she wanted to assure the public that attention will be paid to the
structural imbalance and that the imbalance between revenues and expenditures will be addressed. This
plan does not address that because the council did not approve some of the revenues proposed by the
administration and the process of fixing the structural imbalance is still ahead. Mr. Turley said the
replenishment plan did address everything, it was just that the council did not accept the plan.
Councilmember Teitzel commented what was presented did not address the issue because it used ARPA
funds to plug the gap which does not fix the structural imbalance, an issue that still needs to be addressed.
He observed the replenishment plan refills the utilization of reserve funds in 2023, but it appears the reserves
will also be drawn down in 2024 as well. He asked how that worked from a process standpoint, replenishing
the reserves at the same time they were being used. Mr. Turley answered it's estimated by the time the 2024
budget is adopted, there won't be enough of a revenue increase or expense reduction to return to the full
20% reserve so reserves will still be used in 2024. Councilmember Teitzel relayed his understanding there
would be another replenishment report next November to describe how the gap will be filled. Mr. Turley
agreed, unless something happens between now and then. A replenishment report will be done every
November until the reserves are fully replenished.
Councilmember Paine observed the administration was relying on council to develop additional revenue
sources for the coming year to replenish the reserve and that gap is more than 1%. The council needs to
look at increasing revenue either via a levy, joining the RFA, or finding other revenue sources such as red
light cameras after further study occurs. The council needs to talk about those so ideas can be presented to
the administration to fill that gap. It also means holding the line on additional spending. Mr. Turley agreed
with those comments. Councilmember Paine relayed there are few opportunity to generate revenue beyond
a levy which will require a long discussion with the community and will take until 2025.
Councilmember Nand said as many community members have communicated to council, she was also
deeply troubled that the City will not have $6.5 million in ARPA funds next year to plug into the structural
gap and that the City will not be issuing 29,000 red light camera tickets to generate $3.5 million in revenue
because the council already voted that down although the administration is still pushing for that. She asked
where that left the City next year with regard to the structural gap assuming the red light cameras are not
approved next year. Mr. Turley answered it left the City worse off than it was with the proposed budget
where the gap was small and got bigger. The council removed $5.5 million in revenue from the General
Fund last week which will make things more difficult. The City is still expected to have a balanced budget,
but it will be an ugly budget. There is still work to be done before the 2024 budget is adopted.
Councilmember Nand thanked Mr. Turley for his hard work, recognizing this was a difficult conversation
that the council and administration was forced to have.
Councilmember Buckshnis recommended bringing back the long range financial planning committee to
update this policy. When the policy was initially written, it was never anticipated that the administration
would burn through $15 million in a couple years. She commented lines were being blurred, with the
council president serving as mayor pro tem, he can technically tell staff to make changes. She relayed her
concern with policy decisions that were made in the projections on things the council had not yet decided
on which is the reason some revenues were removed from the proposed budget. She relayed if $2 million
in bond proceeds had been transferred, it would have resulted in arbitrage and there has not been any work
done related to the red light cameras. The council rejected revenues that were in the projected budget, but
cannot direct staff to prepare a revised replenishment report. The council can work on revising the
legislative policy next year. She concluded this is serious stuff and the council needs to look at the reserve
policy as well as the administrative and legislative roles.
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November 21, 2023
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Councilmember Chen agreed the council had voted down quite a few of the revenues in the replenish plan
including red light cameras and the transfer of $2 million in bond funds. The council cannot wait until next
November for another replenishment plan; consideration of a replenishment plan should start now or at
least January 2nd when the doors open for business. Mr. Turley commented there have been so many
misstatements tonight he was unable to keep up. No one said work on a replenishment plan wouldn't start
until next November. The policy states the next time a presentation needs to be made to discuss the plan
will be next November. He agreed as soon as the budget is adopted, the administration plans to work with
the council throughout the year and much closer financial monitoring will be done. No one said staff will
sit around until next November before looking at the next year; that was a gross mischaracterization of what
the administration has said and what council has said. Councilmember Chen responded that was great, the
administration and council were on same page.
Councilmember Chen referred to packet page 257 which states the reserve amount currently required by
policy is $8,067,160 and asked if that was based on the 2023 adopted budget. Mr. Turley answered it was
based on the adopted operating expenditure budget for 2023. Councilmember Chen observed total
expenditures in the adopted 2023 budget are $55,741,788 and 16% of that is $8.9 million. Mr. Turley said
he did not have that information in front of him, but he was confident the numbers in the report were correct.
Councilmember Chen suggested checking the math.
Councilmember Nand observed multiple revenue sources cited in replenishment plan have already been
voted down by council. She relayed hearing a level of frustration in Mr. Turley's response and mirrored by
council, that there doesn't seem to be communication about how to create a feasible, workable plan to
address the fiscal structural gap. She was still hopeful use of the term fiscal emergency in its full force could
be avoided before the end of year. She wondered if this budgetary plan was the work product of the seven
directors working independent of the mayor or was the mayor still weighing in on these suggestions. She
felt there was a complete void and was trying to get information and find a way to work collaboratively as
the directors stated in their memo to council. Mr. Turley answered the proposed budget that is presented to
council is a monumental effort undertaken by 7 department directors and 50 people in the departments as
well as the mayor and this year embodies the plan to replenish reserves. He did not think he should be taken
to task for not developing a new replenishment plan as it had only been one week since the council began
deliberations on the 2024 budget.
Councilmember Nand assured she was not attempting to take Mr. Turley to task, she was only trying to get
more information about the situation on the ground. Mr. Turley said it has only been one week since council
began deliberations. Staff is doing their best to keep up with questions on the budget and does not have a
lot of new information at this point. Councilmember Nand thanked Mr. Turley and the other directors for
their hard work, recognizing this was a very politically fraught time, politics were affecting staff's jobs
even though they was not supposed to. She was hopeful the council and administration could work together
collaboratively and not end up with hurt feelings this year.
Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott relayed his understanding the City was likely to use reserves next year to work
through fiscal requirements in 2024. He asked if that was acceptable, legal, and a useful way to work
through the process of identifying either budget cuts or new sources of revenue during 2024. Mr. Turley
responded there were about five questions in Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott's question. The policy says the City
can dip into reserves for 5-7 years because the council has declared a fiscal emergency and has 5-7 years to
replenish the 20% reserve. He acknowledged it wasn't pleasant to be using reserves, he wanted big, fat
reserves, but to Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott's question whether it was legal, he said yes and it was within policy.
Nobody wants to be scrapping the bottom, everyone wants to replenish the reserve and work together to
either increase revenues or cut expenses and at this point the budget is still balanced.
Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott relayed everything he has heard from staff is this is something that could be worked
on during the first and second quarter of 2024 to bring more of a balance to the reserves and theoretically
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
Page 9
be in the black. Mr. Turley said he really looked forward to working closely with council in the coming
year. There will also be a new mayor next year and he has no idea what Mayor -elect Rosen will bring to
the table so it is difficult to address what will happen in the next six months. After January 1, 2024, Mayor -
elect Rosen will provide direction to directors and he was confident Mayor -elect Rosen will work
collaboratively. Mayor Pro Tern Tibbott said from everything he has heard, the directors and mayor -elect
are interested in digging in right away to deal with the issues that are uppermost in everyone's mind.
Mayor Pro Tern Tibbott asked, in light of this conversation, does the council need to pass a balanced budget
this year where expenses do not exceed revenues. City Attorney Jeff Taraday commented the phrase
balanced budget can be used differently. He defined a balanced budget as revenues matching expenses, not
revenues plus fund balance matching expenses. Assuming Mayor Pro Tern Tibbott's question was whether
revenues had to match expenses, he said that had never been the case and more often than not recently, the
council adopts a budget where expenses exceed revenues so that would be nothing new if the council did
that this year. The fund balance policy does not require the council, even in the case of a fiscal emergency,
to adopt a budget where revenues do not exceed expenses or to adopt a budget where revenues match
expenses because there can be circumstances where even in the face of a fiscal emergency and having
already dipped into the reserves, the City may need to dip into them further. These are policy questions for
the council to ultimately decide, how much, if any, of additional reserves it wants to use next year. The
council is not required to adopt a balanced budget this year.
Mayor Pro Tern Tibbott asked if that was according to RCWs. Mr. Taraday responded the City cannot have
a negative fund balance. As long as there is fund balance, the City would be compliant with the RCWs. Mr.
Turley said the last time Edmonds adopted a budget where revenues were greater than expenses was 1988.
Councilmember Teitzel said the council has heard the City's workforce is very concerned about use of the
term layoff or force adjustments. He assured everyone including the unions that council and the
administration were doing everything they can to fix the structural imbalance to avoid layoffs so he wanted
to assure that was not on the horizon at least in the near term.
Councilmember Buckshnis commented the City was in the best financial shape it had ever been in 2020
when then -Mayor Earling left with at least $12-14 million in reserves. When she joined the council in
20210, right after Great Recession, the fund balance was $2.3 million. The City then sold the fire
department, but the onetime hit couldn't sustain the City so there were layoffs and furloughs in 2012. She
expressed concern with blurring administrative and legislative roles. The union sent council a letter telling
them not to do layoffs, but that is something the mayor should be addressing. She pointed out the council
president has been acting as the mayor pro tern for four meetings. She asked if Mayor Pro Tern Tibbott,
who is acting as the mayor, could ask staff to revise the reports so council could see where the budget is
instead of waiting until the entire budget process is completed. As she explained to a union person, it is not
council's role as policy makers to say what will happen. All the council can do is tell the administration to
fix it.
With Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott serving as mayor, Councilmember Buckshnis asked if he could ask Mr.
Turley to revise the projections sooner rather than later. She has heard that the budget needs to be completed
before the projections can be revised. She spoke with one of the City's former finance directors today who
said the City has $12 million in fund balance and she explained that was not true as the projections were
made with policy decisions the council had not approved. She was trying to figure out how to navigate
getting this corrected so the council can get through the budget process and figure out where the City's
budget really is. She asked if Mayor Pro Tern Tibbott could direct staff to do that since he was acting in the
mayor's capacity now. Mr. Taraday said he did not know when Mayor Nelson returns from vacation and
did not want to speculate. He was hesitant to recommend Mayor Pro Tern Tibbott do that because he if he
directed staff to do something different than Mayor Nelson wanted done, it ends up being wasted energy.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
Page 10
He summarized it did not seem to be a good idea, but he would not tell Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott how to
exercise his discretion as mayor pro tem. It seems like there should be some collaboration.
Councilmember Buckshnis agreed there should have been collaboration all year. She referred to the memo
the council received from the directors asking the council to work collaboratively with them, which the
council has been trying to do, but that memo should have gone to the mayor asking him to work
collaboratively with them. Her biggest concern is who is driving the car now. She has policy issues that the
council should be addressing, but they are not and the numbers need to be changed so the council can see
where the City stands and citizens can see that there is not $12 million in fund balance.
Councilmember Buckshnis reiterated her question, who is driving the car? Mr. Taraday said he cannot
answer that question the way it's phrased. Mr. Turley said Mayor Nelson is still acting as mayor, he spoke
to him about three hours ago and discussed several budgetary topics. Council President Tibbott is acting as
mayor pro tem during this meeting. The insinuation that Mayor Nelson is not doing his job is incorrect. The
administration cannot implement layoffs without council approval so the council cannot say the
administration has to do everything and they sit back and watch. The administration has not done anything
that hasn't been approved by council which Councilmember Buckshnis accused them of.
Councilmember Buckshnis said the council approves the budget and did not approve furloughs; that was
done by administration under the budget approved by council. Mr. Turley said administration cannot do
furloughs without council approval; it requires labor negotiations with the labor unions and a new contract
that the union would have to agree to. That cannot be done by the administration without council approval.
Councilmember Buckshnis said furloughs were not done for union employees in the past. Mr. Turley said
he was talking about 2023, not 2010. Councilmember Buckshnis agreed furloughs for union employees
would require council approval. Mr. Turley said layoffs and furloughs would require council approval, that
cannot be done unilaterally by the administration. Councilmember Buckshnis said the administration would
need to come to council with a package. Mr. Turley was unsure that was correct per RCW.
Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott relayed in discussions with Mr. Turley, he is prepared to provide a list at the
meeting on November 28 or 30 of what has been passed and the impact that has on the projections. There
will be several more council motions on decision packages between now and then that can be included on
that list and illustrate how it impacts the budget.
Councilmember Nand said some of confusion by councilmembers was because it has been made very clear
by Mayor Nelson that he directs staff, not the council. When the council is asking for changes to the
budgetary assumptions and the replenishment report to reflect votes council has already taken, the council
has no way to direct staff to do that because that is Mayor Nelson's job. In his absence, the council was
trying to figure out how to properly channel those communications to Mr. Turley and other members of the
administration in ways that don't put him or council in an inappropriate position. She was heartened to hear
that Mayor Nelson was responding to Mr. Turley's communications because he was not responding to
council communications and council is confused about how to proceed. Mr. Turley said with regard to the
budget tracking worksheet that he spoke with Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott about presenting, in the past the
council would have 4-6 budget deliberation meetings; the first 4 were discussions and votes occurred during
the last 2 meetings. Preparing the tracking spreadsheet takes a lot of time and he wasn't prepared for voting
on the first night of council deliberations. Staff will provide a budget tracking spreadsheet at the November
30 meeting. The council has only made about 6-7 changes that affect the General Fund.
5. THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL UPDATE TO COUNCIL
Administrative Services Director Dave Turley presented the 2023 Third Quarter Financial Update and end
of year projection:
• Some items to note 3/4 of the way through the year are:
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
Page 11
o Sales Tax revenue is up $280,697 from this point last year, which is 3.4% higher than this time
last year, and behind budget by $102,571.
o Property Tax revenues are up $279,507, which coincidentally is also 3.4% higher than this time
last year.
o Sales Tax and Property Tax combined make up over 50% of General Fund Revenues. With
inflation ranging between 4% to nearly 10% over the last three years, our General Fund
Revenues are significantly lagging behind inflation.
o Interest revenues are up $435,097 from this point last year, a 57% improvement.
o Year-to-date revenues in the General Fund for the 9 months ended September 30 are
$1,023,859 under budget (2.95%)
■ If this holds true through the end of the year, the ending GF Revenue for 2023 would be
$51,008,345 ($52,558,830 X 97.05%)
o Year-to-date expenses in the General Fund for the 9 months ended September 30 are
$2,982,210 under budget (6.42%).
■ If this holds true through the end of the year, the ending GF Expenses for 2023 would be
$59,863,832 ($63,970,754 X 93.58%)
o Year-to-date Real Estate Excise Tax Revenues for the 9 months ended September 30 are
$290,386 behind last year, and $967,976 under budget. Slowing development in Edmonds and
high interest rates everywhere are negatively affecting Real Estate Purchase/Sale transactions.
o Conversely, high interest rates everywhere mean that our interest revenue is improving.
■ Our investment portfolio this year will return the highest amount of interest income ever
for the city.
Annual Interest Income
$1,400,000
$1,200,000 $1 236 875 $1,197,609
$1,000,000
947 931 5950,684
1 091 709
gg2556
$800,000
$600,000
$400,000
$200,000
$-
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 YTD 2023
o YTD Sales Tax Revenue for the 9 months ended September 30 are $280,697 (3.4%) ahead of
last year, and $102,571 (1.18%) under budget. The Consumer Price Index for the Seattle region
over the last 12 months advanced 4.8%. This means that our sales tax growth is lagging 1.4%
behind area inflation.
■ The city is going to need to explore new revenue sources just to keep up with inflationary
pressures.
Breakdown by business category of the change in Sales Tax revenue for first three quarters of 2023
compared to first three quarters of 2022
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
Page 12
• Strategic outlook from the 2024 proposed budget book.
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Start with original beginning fund balance estimate: $11,902,933
o Remove the revenue and expense estimates that were prepared in July of $51,613,452 and
$56,851,791
o Replace with updated revenue and expense estimates of $51,008,345 and $59,863,832
o Gives you an updated estimate for Ending Fund Balance of $3,047,446 instead of $6,664,594
Updating the estimate for 2023
o Ending Fund Balance by $3,617,148
■ ($6,664,594 minus $3,047,446) carries forward to the 2024 Beginning Fund Balance and
should be taken into account during 2024 budget deliberations.
o After the 2024 budget is formally adopted, the Strategic Outlook will be updated to reflect
current estimates for 2023.
Councilmember Buckshnis said she asked for the General Fund changes in fund balance which is typically
part of the quarterly report, but she hasn't received it so she did her own calculations. It appears revenues
were approximately $33,627,000 and expenses were approximately $43,450,000 which results in a net
change in position of approximately $9,822,000, bringing the ending fund balance to about $2 million as
of September. She recognized revenues would be coming in from property taxes and asked if Mr. Turley
was only anticipating $1 million more in property taxes to bring the ending fund balance to the projected
$3 million. Mr. Turley answered the projections carry out three months beyond this report. Councilmember
Buckshnis observed the projected ending fund balance would be approximately $3,047,000. Mr. Turley
agreed that was the current estimate.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
Page 13
Councilmember Buckshnis observed property taxes are received in November but it appears expenses are
outpacing those revenues. Mr. Turley advised by December 31, there will be more revenues than just
property taxes as well as a lot of additional expenses. Property taxes are just one factor in calculating the
ending fund balance at the end of the year. The City receives the cash for property taxes in November; due
to changes in accounting rules, that deposit is recorded in October because it is technically available in
October even though it has not been deposited. If that journal entry is made October 1, September 30 is the
absolute worst looking day for the City of the entire year because it is when most of the money has been
spent and one day before another $5.5 million in revenue can be recorded. He joked that was some of the
fun of doing monthly reporting which is different than budgetary reporting and financial reporting and
trying to reconcile the three.
Councilmember Teitzel referred to the slide regarding sales tax, relaying Edmonds' local sales tax rate is
.001 lower than Lynnwood's sales tax rate and evening that out to increase the rate would create additional
revenue for 2024. That requires a vote and he asked how soon that could happen. Mr. Turley said he had
not research it but believed the next time it could be on the ballot was April. If it were approved by voters,
he was unsure the amount of time between approval and implementation. Councilmember Teitzel asked if
he recalled how much that .001 would generate annually. Mr. Turley recalled the deputy administrative
services director calculated it would be approximately $1.1-1.2 million. Councilmember Teitzel encouraged
councilmembers to pursue that as early as possible next year.
Councilmember Nand thanked Mr. Turley for the presentation, noting people were eagerly awaiting report
this time of year. She recognized it was a lot of work to prepare the quarterly report while working on the
annual budget. In response to Councilmember Teitzel's suggestion, she pointed out Lynwood has the
highest sales tax rate in the state. She disliked using Lynnwood as a comparator because they have the
regional attraction of the Alderwood Mall. If Edmonds had the highest sales tax in the state, people would
be more likely to purchase vehicles and high volumes sales in other jurisdictions. She pushed back on the
suggestion to raise the sales tax rate, preferring to have Edmonds' rate be less than Lynnwood's.
Council President Pro Tem Olson referred to a cultural access tax that is already allowed by the state via a
councilmanic decision. The City supports several things in the community that are culturally enriching such
as the low rent for the Driftwood Players and other art institutions. The tax would raise $1.1 million. She
appreciated Councilmember Nand's comment about the sales tax rate, citing sales tax collection regulations
related to origin versus designation. The cultural access tax would be a way to generate additional revenue
without a ballot measure along with a community conversation about preferences for generating additional
revenue.
Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott declared a brief recess.
6. COUNCIL 2024 BUDGET DELIBERATIONS
COUNCIL PRESIDENT PRO TEM OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER
NAND, THAT THE COUNCIL SUPPORT $6.25 MILLION IN ONE TIME ARPA FUNDS TOWARD
THE BUDGET THIS YEAR, A REDUCTION OF DECISION PACKAGE 65 OF $250,000.
Council President Pro Tem Olson commented the council is becoming more familiar with the dire situation
the City is in now. At the end of the budget process, the additional $250,000 may need to be added to the
budget to support City operations. However, all along there has been a strong desire by council to support
businesses impacted by the pandemic. Making those funds available for that purpose is the intent of this
temporary commitment to $6.25 million with the hopes of using the $250,000 in this way.
Councilmember Nand thanked Council President Pro Tem Olson for this excellent suggestion in response
to her original decision package to take the $250,000 in ARPA funds that was allocated in 2022 and 2023
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
Page 14
budgets and use it for the fagade improvement program. There has been zero spending in the small business
support category of ARPA funding for 2023. When the three directors working on the Landmark 99
property proposed converting the $250,000 in ARPA funds that council had intended be devoted toward
small businesses to help them recover from the financial impacts of the pandemic, the council strongly
stated that was not an appropriate use of those ARPA funds. In light of the plan to retain $6.5 million in
ARPA funds at the City level, the proposed use of $250,000 is minor. Obviously the council does not want
to cut any City staff, but these grants could potentially help small businesses that provide identity and
cultural significance and small businesses are one of the main economic drivers of prosperity for the middle
and working class to retain employees. The way Council President Pro Tem Olson brilliantly structured
this compromise would reserve the $250,000 for now, not use that small amount to plug the budget hole,
and see if it was possible to spent ARPA funds to support the small businesses in Edmonds who have done
so much to financially and psychologically carry the community through the pandemic with inadequate
support from most levels of government.
Councilmember Paine expressed her full support for moving $6.25 million into the General Fund. She was
not ready to commit until she heard more details about the small business grant program and to understand
from Director Tatum how that would be rolled into the work of his department. She appreciated making the
commitment to $6.25 million and looked forward to hearing more about the business community's needs.
Councilmember Buckshnis relayed her understanding that ARPA funds could not be used to replenish
reserves. City Attorney Jeff Taraday answered that is correct, ARPA funds cannot be used to replenish
reserves. He sought clarification regarding the motion, recalling it said to support the General Fund and
was unsure if the intent was to transfer the money into the General Fund or allow certain General Fund
expenses to be paid from the ARPA funds. He recommended the latter as it is more risk free from the
perspective of compliance with federal rules related to not using ARPA for reserve replenishment. Paying
certain General Fund expenses such as part of the fire contract from the $6.25 million directly from the
ARPA fund to the fire contract would accomplish Council President Pro Tem Olson's objective and
unburden the General Fund by $6.25 million of expense. He summarized it would have the same result, but
the ARPA funds are specifically used for fire services as required by the federal rule.
Councilmember Buckshnis said her understanding was the ARPA funds would be dedicated to fire services,
but that would be done once the fire contract is received or a separate resolution so there is a trail for the
auditor that the funds are designated for the fire contract. Mr. Taraday said if the 2024 fire contract is paid
with $6.25 million from the ARAP fund, that accomplishes the objective of the motion and keeps the City
in compliance with the federal rule.
Councilmember Buckshnis asked if that needed to be stated specifically in a resolution or could that specific
payment be incorporated into the budget to ensure it is not interpreted by the auditor as being used to
replenish reserves. Mr. Taraday explained the $6.25 million would never be transferred into the General
Fund; it would go straight from the ARPA fund to South County Fire. If it never goes into the General
Fund, there can be no argument the City is using it to replenish General Fund reserves. Councilmember
Buckshnis suggested not mentioning General Fund in the motion, but rather that it will be used for the fire
contract. Mr. Taraday said the motion stated support the General Fund which could be interpreted the way
he and Councilmember Buckshnis were discussing.
Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott asked how this would be executed and whether an ordinance would identify the
amount and its purpose. Mr. Taraday explained in the budget ordinance the General Fund expenditure line
would be reduced by $6.25 million and the ARPA fund expenditure line would be increased by $6.25
million. If the council wanted to "belt and suspender" that, the previously adopted ARPA ordinance that
identified how the funds would be spent could be amended to make it crystal clear where the ARPA funds
are going. Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott asked if that would be done in 2023 or 2024. Council President Pro Tem
Olson answered as part of the 2024 budget process.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
Page 15
Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott observed the council would direct staff to include this measure in the proposed
budget for 2024. Mr. Taraday said when Mr. Turley prepares the spreadsheet for November 30, it can reflect
the $6.25 million reduction in General Fund expenditures for 2024.
Councilmember Chen said in general this discussion is good, but the council needs to pay particular
attention to the accounting. As of now, the money is in the investment pool, but there is a liability in
unearned revenue which the auditors had an issue with. The council needs to be careful how they recognize
revenue and there needs to be a motion to remove the $6.25 million in the proposed budget that is recognized
as revenue in 2024. If that is done now, the $6.25 million is not available in 2024.
Council President Pro Tem Olson raised a point of clarification, the council is deliberating on the 2024
budget and the discussion is related to altering a decision package in the 2024 budget. It is not related to
ordinances or anything happening in 2023. This is a decision package alteration, a decrease in DP65 from
the proposed $6.5 million to $6.25 million in ARPA funds.
Councilmember Paine expressed support for the belt and suspenders approach and asked to have an
ordinance prepared to amend the ARPA ordinance for the spending specifically outlining $6.25 million for
the fire services contract. She will send an email requesting that.
Councilmember Buckshnis said it can be done as part of budget ordinance as was done last year. She agreed
the council needed to specify the ARPA funds would be used for the fire contract.
Council President Pro Tem Olson explained the reason she wanted to take this action now was so it can be
reflected in the spreadsheet the administration prepares and the council can see the impact of that decision
versus the $6.5 million. She recommended waiting to approve an ordinance until the budget is final because
until the budget process is complete, the council will not know for certain about using the $250,000 in
another way.
Council President Pro Tem Olson commented confusion may be caused by the wording of DP65 which
says transfer money from 016 and ARPA to the General Fund which makes it sound like the money is being
moved into the General Fund. Administrative Services Director Dave Turley completely agreed with
Councilmember Buckshnis and Council President Pro Tem Olson's comments about the decision package
being in 2024 and how to handle it. The decision package in the proposed budget proposes to move $6.5
million to the General Fund. Based on the discussion tonight, he understood the council's intent to take that
decision package out and instead leave the funds in Fund 142 and designate $6.25 million for the fire
contract, leave $250,000 for future designation and include lines in the budget ordinance clarifying that.
Staff understands council's intent and can show it in the spreadsheet next week.
Councilmember Nand asked if the original ARPA ordinance should be amended and wait for the $6.25
million or $6.5 million to be reflected in the overall budget ordinance. If the council wanted to ensure the
ARPA ordinances continue to accurately reflect the actual spending of ARPA funds, Mr. Taraday
recommended that be done. He also agreed with the suggestion that the ordinance come to council after the
budget has been finalized. It could be at the same meeting where the budget is finalized, but recommended
the budget be finalized first and the ARPA ordinance conform with the finalized budget.
Councilmember Chen commented the intent of moving the $6.25 million is good, but DP65 combines Fund
016 and ARPA funds. He suggested a cleaner way would be to remove DP65 and create a new budget
amendment for the $6.25 million. Council has already rejected the $2 million from Fund 016 in DP65.
Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott asked the best way to proceed. Mr. Turley agreed with Councilmember Chen,
advising staff could draft that decision package as part of what is provided to council next week.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
Page 16
COUNCIL PRESIDENT PRO TEM OLSON WITHDREW THE MOTION WITH THE
AGREEMENT OF THE SECOND.
COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND, THAT
$6.25 MILLION OF THE ARPA FUNDS WILL BE DEDICATED TO THE FIRE SERVICE
CONTRACT IN THE 2024 BUDGET. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
COUNCILMEMBER CHEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL, TO
REMOVE DP65.
Councilmember Chen explained both funds identified in DP65 have been redirected or rejected during
council deliberations so it is appropriate to remove the decision package.
Councilmember Nand relayed her understanding the administration planned to amend DP65. She spoke in
favor of allowing the administration to do that in the next iteration of the proposed budget.
Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott advised council directed staff to prepare a new decision package so what
Councilmember Chen is proposing is a cleaner method.
Councilmember Teitzel said removing DP65 may not be necessary but it will be cleaner to remove it and
have staff return with a decision package to replace DP65.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
COUNCILMEMBER CHEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL, TO HAVE
AN OVERALL 2024 EXPENDITURE REDUCTION BY $4 MILLION.
Councilmember Chen commented as the council went through the September financial report, it was clear
the City's financial position is now using reserves to a greater extent and reserves are down to $2 million
which is $7 million below the required level. Correcting that budget imbalance will require a combination
of approaches including raising more revenue from various sources, possibly from residents via a tax levy.
In order for that to be successful, the council needs to express its sincerity in managing the City's budget
by looking at ways to reduce expenditures. That is the whole purpose of this proposal. Like Councilmember
Teitzel mentioned earlier, the council's intent is not have any negative impact on City employees, just
opportunities for reducing non -essential expenditures. He would leave it to the administration to determine
what reductions were appropriate.
Mayor Pro Tern Tibbott asked Mr. Taraday to speak regarding the motion and the impact it could have on
budget deliberations. Mr. Taraday responded this was a somewhat unorthodox motion and he wanted to
ensure council understood its ramifications. He felt it would be helpful to start with reviewing how budgets
control spending at the administrative level. Historically in Edmonds, the city council has adopted a budget
at the fund level. What that means is, for example, when the city council adopts a General Fund expenditure
appropriation of $X million, that fund level appropriation tells the administration they can spend $X million
from the General Fund and as long as that money is not overspent, there is flexibility within the
administration's contract limits to use that as they sees fit. The council receives a budget book at the
beginning of the process, the mayor's proposed budget, but that is not a line item budget; fund level
budgeting and line item budgeting are two totally different things. The budget book is a summary of how
the administration intends to spend the General Fund money, but it is not a line item budget that controls
spending. For example, if the mayor's proposed budget says the public works department get Y dollars and
the planning department gets Z dollars, those are not fixed in stone. Some of the Y money can flow over to
Z and vice versa. What is set in stone is the General Fund appropriation cannot be exceeded.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
Page 17
Mr. Taraday continued, the reason he was going into this background before he addressed Councilmember
Chen's motion was the same thing is true with this motion in that the council has an opportunity to decide
as elected officials where that money will be cut from. If the council doesn't want to do that, they are
essentially leaving to administration the ability to figure out for itself as 2024 rolls along where to spend
and not spend, which positions to fill and not fill, etc. and as long as the total General Fund dollar amount
is not exceeded by the end of 2024, then the administration will have complied with the budget. If this
motion passes, the administration is not required to file an approved budget book at the end of the year that
specifies exactly how that $4 million in cuts would be reflected in the budget. The council could do that via
motions, but if the council decides not to do that and just tells the administration not to spend a chunk of
money, there won't be an approved budget book at the end of the year that articulates the breakdown of the
General Fund expenditure which is a sharp departure from what has happened in the past. In the past,
councilmembers have made budget amendments to the mayor's proposed budget and the finance
department uses those amendments to create an approved budget book that conforms with the actual
adopted budget and councilmembers can generally see where the money is supposed to be spent.
Mr. Taraday continued, the council can pass this motion, but he wanted to ensure the council understood
what this motion did not do. It does not and cannot direct the administration to bring back an approved
budget book at the end of the year that shows $4 million in cuts. Instead, the council will have a budget
book with numerous asterisks saying the administration was directed to cut $4 million, we're not sure how
that will be done, but we will figure it out as 2024 progresses.
Councilmember Nand said she was going to ask a question about delegation of council authority and was
thinking about how congress interacts with the executive branch. With this motion, it seemed like council
would be delegating some of its authority and would not be customary to ask the administration to make
these cuts rather than the council targeting cuts it would like to see on specific decision packages. She asked
if it would more appropriate for Councilmember Chen to identify $4 million in cuts to specific decision
package and bring those forward for the council to vote on.
Councilmember Buckshnis said she was unsure she would support the motion, commenting in the past the
council has made amendments. She referred to page 117 of the budget book where planning & development
professional services budget in 2024 $1.604,000 in 2023 and last year the council approved $963,000 and
somehow that budget increased to $1.6 million. As professional services have increased 31 % this year, she
suggested the council could make cuts in the departments with huge professional service budgets and if
more professional services are needed, they can request a budget amendment. If the council gives direction
to make $4 million in cuts, there is no way to know where those cuts will be made although she recognized
the cuts could not be made in utilities and enterprise funds. She recognized it would be tedious to find areas
to cut; she tried to do that last year and the only one that supported her cuts was Councilmember Teitzel
because he understood what she was trying to do.
Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott asked Mr. Taraday to comment on Councilmember Buckshnis' approach to
reducing the budget by focusing on professional service contracts. Mr. Taraday said at the end of the day,
his overarching goal as city attorney is to ensure the council is making informed decisions; the council gets
to decide whether they are good or bad decisions. He was unsure that cutting professional services without
knowing what is in that line item is making an informed decision. There may be some professional services
that the council chose to cut, but until they knew what is included in that line item, it's a bit like throwing
darts blindfolded and you don't necessarily know what you'll hit. He encouraged the council to ask the
department heads what is in each line item and what would go away if the professional service budget was
cut. Most of the things being done via professional services are relatively mission critical things. The
council might prioritize things slightly differently, but most of the things in the professional services budget
are needed. For example the city attorney, the city needs an attorney either way; the council could cut
professional services, but would still have to hire a city attorney. He summarized it was important to
understand what would be cut.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
Page 18
Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott observed the point Mr. Taraday was making was there may be a more nuanced
way to handle this, but the question is whether to handle it in 2023 or wait until 2024 and work with the
directors. An evaluation of all the professional services was done this morning and with the exception of
the SCF and the city attorney contracts, $2.6 million were directly related to staff functions.
Councilmember Paine commented the first part of tonight's meeting included discussion about the problem
to be resolved and doing it collaboratively and with informed decision making. The council also has the
role of oversight and can work with the administration to ensure they are not going beyond what the council
is comfortable with particularly in light of the 2024 budget. That role can be particularly important in
ensuring directors are not spending wildly or in ways that do not align with the council's intent and goals.
She was not in favor of taking $4 million out of the budget untracked. She preferred to know where cuts
could be made rather than just telling the administration to cut $4 million which she felt was a dangerous
way to budget. She did not support the motion.
Council President Pro Tem Olson thanked Mr. Taraday for that background as she did not have a deep
understanding between fund level and line item. She has had conversations with residents who have been
staff in government agencies that used line item who thought the council had more authority and control to
fund and defund specific things. Mr. Taraday emphasized Edmonds has historically done fund level
budgeting and that is what has historically been done in most other cities Edmonds' size. That is not to say
that is the only way to adopt a budget. The council could adopt a departmental budget for example. The
MSRC website has a template for a departmental budget; it looks similar to Edmonds' budget but instead
of General Fund being one line, it would have lines for each department. That is a way to budget; it reduces
administrative flexibility somewhat. Before doing that, he wanted the council to understand the
ramifications on the administration. He did not know a city that did line item budgeting; it would be highly
unusual and extremely burdensome on the administration to track and he did not know how it could be done
realistically.
Council President Pro Tem Olson said this conversation has been significant enough that she needs more
time to process it and would not be prepared to vote on the motion tonight. If she did vote tonight, she
should have to vote no because she needed more time to think about it. She wondered if there was as much
authority, control and value to not taking that approach because it requires giving up control and authority
that the council otherwise has by preparation and receipt of the budget book. The council had a budget book
last year that said certain things were funded by council, and funds were spent by the administration that
were never discussed with council and did not have council approval, hopefully within the spending
authority, and funding was pulled from other things. One example is the Yost Park RFP for design and
planning, a high priority of council. She recalled during the pandemic, the code rewrite was defunded in
order to use those funds for the emergency response to the pandemic, again without any conversation with
council. She asked what authority was actually being protected. It's included in the budget book, but the
administration doesn't follow it and there is no consequence.
Mr. Taraday answered that is a fair question and why Councilmember Chen's motion is strictly speaking
legal and not improper. He just wanted council to understand the ramifications of the motion. To Council
President Pro Tem Olson's point of whether there are ramifications, his sense has always been when the
council has specifically voted against a decision package, the administration has respected that decision and
not spent money in pursuit of a decision package that was expressly rejected by the city council even if
theoretically they had the legal authority to do so. It is not the city attorney's role to oversee the
administration in that way and determine whether every single dollar is being spent the way it is stated in
the budget so he was unable to represent that that has or has not happened. His sense has been that generally
speaking when the council expressly disapproves a decision package, the administration respects those
votes and the council is not wasting its time when it provides that direction.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
Page 19
Councilmember Chen responded to some of the points being raised and describe his reasoning for this
approach. This is a special year in terms of the budgeting process and one of the things that led to this point
is the imbalance in spending that outpaces revenue. If the council takes the traditional approach of reviewing
and making changes to budget decision packages, the budget will end up in the same place because that
approach does not look at overall control of spending which is what led to the dip into reserves and
potentially dipping into the contingency reserve in the future. This approach to overall expenditure control
was his attempt to prevent that from happening. He felt it would be dangerous for the council to identify
what to cut, because as Mr. Taraday said, there are professional services that cannot be cut. The council
simply does not have the knowledge that the administration has; the City has brilliant department heads
who know their jobs and know exactly where there are opportunities to cut. In terms of timing, he
appreciated Mr. Taraday's comment that the council may not know what was cut until the end of the year,
that was not his intent. His intent was to identify the cuts before the adopted budget book is printed which
could be January 15 or January 31. When the council receives the adopted budget book, all the cuts would
be identified and the $59 million expenditure would be cut and become $55 million. He summarized that
is the way to control the budget.
Mr. Taraday explained the mayor delivered his proposed budget and it is now the council's budget to amend
and adopt. To his knowledge, there was no statutory process that would require the mayor to produce
essentially a second budget within the next 30-60 days that would be $4 million lighter. There would
obviously need to be some internal evaluation of spending to ensure the General Fund is not exceeded by
the end of 2024 so at some point, internally at least, there would need to be work done to figure out how to
not overspend. Councilmember Chen expressed appreciation for that feedback, pointing out the need to
work together as a team to identify opportunities. If that was not done, he feared the City would go bankrupt.
With the SCF's $12 million contract increasing to $13 million in 2026 and the way wages and benefits are
increasing, that is not sustainable.
Councilmember Nand asked if the council directed staff to cut professional services in the planning
department would that put the City in breach of contract for example with the VIA contract. Mr. Taraday
said it was difficult to speak generally with regard to all the contracts the City has already executed. He
would like to believe that in most contracts, there was contract language that provides for the City's right
of termination and that there would be a way the City would not be obligated for the full amount of the
contract, but that may depend on the nature of the services being provided. Some contracts, like the SCF
contract, has a 2 year out, some may have a 30 day out. There probably would not be an issue with breach
of contract, but certain contracts may need to be terminated. Councilmember Nand observed that would be
quite an extraordinary step for council to direct department heads to do that. Mr. Taraday reminded that the
council has contracting authority so particularly for contracts over $100,000, those are the council's
contracts and the council can terminate them. The contracts would need to be considered on a case by case
basis to determine the cost to the City of terminating, what services the City will not receive if the contract
is terminated, for example what is the consequence of not adopting the comprehensive plan on time.
Councilmember Nand commented the council finds itself in quite an unpleasant place, certain political
commentators have said in the media that this council is the tax and spent council. She understood the
impetus of Councilmember Chen's motion to communicate to the public that the majority of this council
would not support a tax and spend model. Since she joined the council, the council has tried to be fiscally
conservative. In response to a reaction from the audience to her comment, Councilmember Nand said she
hears laughter from the peanut gallery. She continued, it has been a very difficult year with midseason
budget proposals and amendments. She would be more comfortable if Councilmember Chen would identify
specific decision packages proposed by the administration that he would reduce via the amendment process
to effectuate $4 million in cuts.
Councilmember Teitzel commented there could be unintended consequences if the council asks for a broad
$4 million reduction. For example, staff may discontinue work on the Perrinville Creek restoration, an
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
Page 20
action that would not be acceptable to council. He feared the council would waste time working through
those types of disputes. He recommended the council be more specific with their requests.
COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER CHEN, TO
AMEND THE MOTION TO STATE COUNCIL REQUESTS THE ADMINISTRATION TO, BY
DECEMBER 5, 2023, DEVELOP A DETAILED PROPOSAL TO BE PRESENTED TO COUNCIL
FOR APPROVAL TO REDUCE 2024 PROJECTED EXPENDITURES BY $4 MILLION. THE
DETAILED PROPOSAL SHOULD BE AT THE LINE ITEM LEVEL OF DETAIL TO IDENTIFY
SPECIFIC EXPENSE ITEMS TO BE REDUCED.
Councilmember Teitzel commented the amendment would solve the problem the council is struggling with;
it would provide staff the latitude to identify items that could be reduced to fit within the budget without
council being prescriptive. The council does not have the level of detailed knowledge that staff has of their
operations and they are in a better position to do this than council. Asking for a detailed report gets around
the problem of being too broad gauged.
Council President Pro Tern Olson raised a point of order, asking whether this was an alternative motion
rather than an amendment. Mr. Taraday answered from a procedural standpoint, it's easier to treat it as an
amendment. This is a Robert's Rules question, the council will get to the same substantive result either
way. The council doesn't use the substitute process often enough to not be confusing so he felt it was better
to treat the motion as an amendment.
Councilmember Buckshnis commented the council was spending a long time discussing something that
councilmembers need more time to think about. She has been very thoughtful with her recommendations
for professional services amendments. Last year the development services department's professional
services had decision package for $600,000 and yet the council gave them $900,000. Now their budget is
$1.6 million, $650,000 of which was the VIA contract which could technically be pulled back and parts of
it removed such as the work related to the housing bills which does not need to be done now. If the council
doesn't like what staff proposes on December 5, the council can look at the large professional services
contracts and attempt to break them up. In her opinion, the EIS needs to be done now before land use. She
expressed support for the amendment.
Councilmember Paine relayed her understanding the motion was to ask staff to provide a list and not
approving a $4 million cut. Councilmember Teitzel said that was correct. Mayor Pro Tern Tibbott advised
the list would total $4 million.
Councilmember Nand said she had several concerns with this amendment. During the course of the year
the administration attempted to identify ways to reduce spending department by department. The proposal
to defund the Meadowdale preschool received huge backlash. If the council wants to reduce spending,
councilmembers need to bring forward budget amendments. She was frustrated by this becoming a political
football in that no one wants to take responsibility for the deep and unpopular cuts that need to be made to
have a balanced budget. There has already been a process where directors tried to identify spending curbs
and in response to a large public outcry regarding the proposal to cut the Meadowdale Preschool, Mayor
Nelson committed to finding money in the budget to continue funding the preschool. The council also gave
$200,000 in ARPA funds to the Edmonds School District to fund the student intervention coordinators
when the district made that request. Defending any program is unpleasant and deeply politically unpopular,
but the council needs to take responsibility for that through the budget amendment process. She was not
necessarily opposed to the motion, but felt it would be iterative to force directors to do what they have been
doing throughout the year in looking at the budget forecast.
Council President Pro Tern Olson observed everyone is making good points. She agreed it will need to be
a collaborative process because the council does not have the knowledge to know what a good cut would
be and staff doesn't want to spin their wheels proposing cuts the council would not find acceptable. There
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
Page 21
was a previous plan for council to work with staff and the mayor. Perhaps returning to that original proposal
would make more sense to have the council, staff and mayor work together to figure out how to make those
cuts.
Mayor Pro Tern Tibbott relayed his concern with the amendment is that December 5 is just a couple weeks
away and it would be a tremendous amount of work for staff to identify potential cuts that make sense to
their work as well as to the line item. This is probably more appropriately handled in the first quarter of
2024. A balanced budget where revenues match expenses is not required by law, what is required by law is
that the City remain in the black. He would support asking staff to reduce the $2.6 million in professional
services by a certain amount such as 25% or 50%. The council is reaching the point with this budget where
no one will be completely happy, but there are decision package in the proposed budget that are completely
at the council's discretion to act on. In the first quarter of 2024, there will be a completely different
atmosphere of collaboration, not only budget cuts and also postponing projects into future years. He was
optimistic about that process and did not support amendment.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT PRO TEM OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER
NAND, TO TABLE. UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION CARRIED (5-2), MAYOR PRO TEM
TIBBOTT, COUNCIL PRESIDENT PRO TEM OLSON, AND COUNCILMEMBERS BUCKSHNIS,
PAINE AND NAND VOTING YES; COUNCILMEMBERS TEITZEL AND CHEN VOTING NO.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT PRO TEM OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER
TEITZEL, TO EXTEND TO 10:15. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Councilmember Buckshnis commented one of her amendments is awaiting a public hearing. She referred
to DP89, the fire contract in the 2023 budget was approximately $11,571,000 and the estimated actual is
$10,071,000 so there is $1.5 million carryforward. She asked if that was correct. Mr. Turley said that was
correct, explaining an amendment was made in 2023 to bring it to the level needed but it wasn't entered as
ongoing so that needs to be carried forward into 2024 which is what that decision package represents. If
that decision package was not approved, it would have to be requested next year.
Councilmember Buckshnis observed only $500,000 in revenue is projected from school zone cameras. Mr.
Turley agreed that was the amount included in the 2024 budget. Councilmember Buckshnis observed the
$700,000 is the new TBD. Mr. Turley agreed.
Councilmember Buckshnis referred to the $3.2 million which in her opinion was a policy issue related to
the GFOA. On page 65, Non -departmental, the salary and benefit contra account shows a $3.2 million credit
or unanticipated surplus. That is a policy decision for council to determine how the surplus or vacancy rate
from the budget and budget estimate is handled. Under GFOA, the prudent thing to do is vacancies should
be reflected in the budget. Those funds are identified in the strategic outlook as anticipated under -
expenditures. The council should decide how to calculate the vacancy rate adjustment and what it should
represent, for example, should it include the police department, only General Fund funded positions, etc.
The budget includes $2 million in salary savings and $1 million in benefit savings with no explanation other
than they are following the GFOA prudent practice.
COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT PRO TEM
OLSON, TO REMOVE DP96, VACANCY RATE ADJUSTMENTS, BECAUSE IT IS A POLICY
ISSUE THAT COUNCIL SHOULD REVIEW NEXT YEAR.
Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott asked Mr. Turley to address why DP96 was in the budget and the impact of
removing it. He recalled from his discussion with Mr. Turley it was because over the course of the year,
there is about a 10% vacancy rate and Mr. Turley assigned an average salary and benefits, multiplied by 25
to determine the amount. He recalled that was Mr. Turley's method of expressing what happens in a typical
year. Mr. Turley said it is a way of more accurately quantifying salary and benefit expenses for the year.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
Page 22
He agreed with Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott's description. He agreed with Councilmember Buckshnis that was
a policy decision. Mayor Pro Tem Tibbott asked the impact to the budget. Mr. Turley answered $3.2 million.
Councilmember Buckshnis reiterated this is a policy issue, there have been budgets where the anticipated
under -expenditure is only $750,000. She preferred the council determine the policy and not just accept
staff s calculation.
Council President Pro Tem Olson recalled staff saying there hadn't been a budget since 1988 where
revenues and expenditures match. That is fine when there is a cushion like this built in, but as soon as the
GFOA accounting practice adjustment is made, it makes it more important that revenues and expenses line
up because this cushion no longer exists. She did not have a strong opinion whether to keep this in the
budget this year or not, but agreed it was a policy decision which council does not like to have slipped into
the budget without council first dealing with the policy. If there in fact would be a significant vacancy rate,
and there was a hiring freeze, the vacancy rate would be bigger instead of smaller, it was not lacking in
financial conservativism to do it this way and the council could still address the policy in the coming year.
Councilmember Nand recalled the PSPHSP committee has had significant discussions and has requested
this information from Directors Turley and Neill Hoyson to help them understand how much flexibility
there was in each department's budget due to vacant positions. The reason multiple councilmembers have
been trying get this information is to figure out how much wiggle room there is with regard to labor
shortages and how much breathing room that provided in the budget. For that reason, she did not support
removing DP96, but agreed the council needed to have a better understanding of the amount of surplus due
to vacancies so the council doesn't feel a level of comfort with adding new spending throughout the year
because positions haven't been filled and then find themselves in a very uncomfortable position. As Council
President Pro Tem Olson pointed out, this is a GFOA recommended best practice and reflective of several
long discussions at the PSPHSP committee.
Councilmember Chen commented this is a way to document the anticipated under -spending, but it is like
looking at a crystal ball. He referred to the quarterly budget, relaying when the 2024 budget was developed
this summer, the reserve was identified as $6.6 million and now it is $3 million which he felt had something
to do with this, anticipating a portion of it was the anticipated under -expenditure which was less than
originally anticipated. This is a way to document that under -expenditure but it needs to be looked at more
closely so there is a better estimate. He did not support removing DP96.
UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION FAILED (2-5), COUNCILMEMBERS TEITZEL AND BUCKSHNIS
VOTING YES; MAYOR PRO TEM TIBBOTT AND COUNCILMEMBERS CHEN, PAINE AND
NAND, AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT PRO TEM OLSON VOTING NO.
COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND, TO EXTEND
5 ADDITIONAL MINUTES TO 10:20. MOTION CARRIED (6-1), COUNCILMEMBER CHEN
VOTING NO.
9. MAYOR'S COMMENTS
10. COUNCIL COMMENTS
Councilmember Buckshnis recognized Councilmember Teitzel would be leaving the council and
recognizing that both the policy wonks who voted the correct way will be retiring. She hoped the council
would reengage the long range financial planning group. The addition of Councilmember Teitzel to the
council has taken the away some of the grief of the loss of Kristiana Johnson and he had filled her shoes
well. They have had many very productive conversations in the early morning hours. She wished everyone
a Happy Thanksgiving.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
Page 23
Councilmember Teitzel said approaching Thanksgiving he was feeling very thankful to live in Edmonds.
He moved to Edmonds in 1987 and raised his family here and has no intention of leaving because there is
no place in the world he would rather be. It is not just the City, but the citizens, councilmembers and staff.
He was feeling very thankful to live in such a great place, was thankful he got to serve on council again and
work with the council again and wished them the best.
Council President Pro Tem Olson wished everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. She reminded that
November 25 is Small Business Saturday and encouraged those who were in better financial shape than the
City to have a good time spending money in Edmonds. She referred to a November 17 article in My
Edmonds News regarding a new operating agreement between what was the Mountlake Terrace Senior
Center and now is the Lake Ballinger Center that will be under the same umbrella as the Edmonds
Waterfront Center and will do a better job with the Edmonds catchment area. That is an exciting
development and she encouraged everyone to read that article.
Councilmember Chen wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and wished those who are traveling safe
travels. He thanked Councilmember Teitzel for not only being a good councilmember, but also being a
good mentor and a good friend.
Councilmember Nand highlighted whereas clauses from the resolution honoring Councilmember Teitzel's
service: Councilmember Teitzel has taken incredible steps to mentor and advice newly elected officials.
When she was appointed last year and received a 1000 page packet and a gigantic budget book,
Councilmembers Teitzel and Chen sat down with her for three hours to explain everything. The reason the
council looks more diverse than when Councilmember Teitzel first joined the council in 2016 is due to his
direct mentorship and commitment to increasing the pipeline for diverse candidates in Edmonds. Diversity
does not happen in a vacuum; it happens due to allies who walk the walk and don't virtue signal. When it
comes to diversity, equity and inclusion, Councilmember Teitzel walks the walk. In the future as
councilmembers looks to making the council a more diverse body that reflects all members of the
community, they should look to Councilmember Teitzel's example.
Councilmember Paine thanked Councilmember Teitzel for his service and said it has been a pleasure
working with him. She appreciated him waiting to call her until 7:01 when the subcommittee was reviewing
the city attorney contract. Councilmember Teitzel's contributions have advanced discussions in Edmonds.
She wished him the best and wished everyone a very happy holiday weekend, enjoying good food and good
shopping.
Mayor Pro Tern Tibbott commented it had been an extreme privilege to work with Councilmember Teitzel;
they served their first term together and connected and collaborated every week regarding information in
the packet. He definitely benefited from having a colleague like Councilmember Teitzel. He recalled how
difficult it was to get Councilmember Teitzel to agree to apply for appointment to the council and was glad
he agreed. For the citizens watching, Mayor Pro Tern Tibbott said there is a lot of a lot of esprit de corps
among councilmembers and even though they have vigorous debate, it is a privilege to work together. There
will be some new people coming on board in a few weeks and that onboarding will be interesting. He
wished everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, noting many are planning to have out of town guests
or traveling out of town and he wished them safe travels.
11. ADJOURNMENT
With no further business, the Council meeting was adjourned at 10:18 pm.
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SCOTT PASSE , CLERK
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
November 21, 2023
Page 24