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2023-12-19 Regular MeetingEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL MEETING APPROVED MINUTES December 19, 2023 ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT Vivian Olson, Mayor Pro Tem Susan Paine, Councilmember Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember Chris Eck, Councilmember Jenna Nand, Councilmember ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT Mike Nelson, Mayor Neil Tibbott, Council President Will Chen, Councilmember 1. CALL TO ORDER/FLAG SALUTE STAFF PRESENT Michelle Bennett, Police Chief Rod Sniffen, Assistant Police Chief Aaron Greenmun, Police Corporal Todd Tatum, Comm., Culture & Econ. Dev. Dir. Mike Clugston, Senior Planner Rose Haas, Planner Jeff Taraday, City Attorney Scott Passey, City Clerk Jerrie Bevington, Camera Operator The Edmonds City Council meeting was called to order at 7 pm by Mayor Pro Tem Olson in the Council Chambers, 250 5t' Avenue North, Edmonds, and virtually. The meeting was opened with the flag salute. 2. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Councilmember Buckshnis 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 Councilmember Chen, Council President Tibbott, and Mayor Nelson. 4. ADMINISTRATION OF OATH OF OFFICE FOR NEWLY ELECTED COUNCILMEMBERS Mayor Pro Tem Olson advised Representative and Snohomish County Councilmember Strom Peterson will administer the Oath of Office to Councilmembers Eck, Paine and Nand. City Clerk Scott Passey will administer her Oath of Office. Councilmember-Elect Michelle Dotsch had an unfortunate travel delay. Representative and Snohomish County Councilmember Strom Peterson administered the Oath of Office to Councilmembers Chris Eck, Susan Paine, and Jenna Nand. City Clerk Scott Passey administered the Oath of Office to Councilmember Vivian Olson. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 1 5. APPROVAL OF AGENDA COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND, TO APPROVE THE AGENDA IN CONTENT AND ORDER. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6. AUDIENCE COMMENTS Jay Grant, Edmonds, Port of Edmonds Commissioner, reported he has been attending the comprehensive plan community engagement meetings and expressed disappointment with the one regarding the waterfront. He recalled in April 2002 there was a 47-page executive summary outlying challenges on the waterfront, but none of that was addressed in the comprehensive plan. He relayed a rumor that some of the money allocated for the comprehensive plan has been spent on the Landmark project. The comprehensive plan is important and there is only a year left to complete the update. He did not understand the delay but hoped it would speed up. Tonight's agenda includes a contract for Taser 10 and he was hopeful there was no controversy with that contract. He worked in law enforcement for a long time and didn't see anything wrong with the contract for tasers, pointing out the importance of less lethal equipment like tasers for police officers. He thanked Councilmember Buckshnis for her good work over many years, expressed appreciation for her time and effort, and said she will be missed. Darrol Haug, Edmonds, commented tonight is a special occasion. As it was hard to put all his thoughts into three minutes, he offered the following words for everyone to put together their own picture: 2010- 2023, flower club, all American tree city, tree board, dog park, salmon, marsh, dog park, strategic action plan, budgeting by priorities, beginning fund balance, ending fund balance, Lithuania, Portland, Lambeau Field, Go Packers, emails answered starting with good morning and sorry for any misspellings I'm dictating, and many coffee sessions and budget sessions with the public. By now everyone knows he is talking about Councilmember Buckshnis; her 13 years on council have made a real difference to Edmonds. He is standing giving this ovation so it must be a standing ovation and he anticipated later tonight when the resolution is read, many more people will come to their feet to thank her for her service. He wanted to be the first, although ended up being second as Jay Grant had been the first, to thank Councilmember Buckshnis for making a real difference for Edmonds. If he could sing, it would be "Thanks for the Memories." Nancy Rosen, Edmonds, spoke in response to the graffiti incident that occurred on Saturday. She asked when a piece of string was not just piece of string or a tiny piece of yellow paper not just a piece of yellow paper? When a piece of string is tied into a tiny noose and left on the windshield of a Black person's car, it is no longer just a piece of string. When a tiny piece of yellow paper is cut into the shape of a Jewish star and left in a person's driveway, as happened to her, it is no longer just a piece of yellow paper. This weekend between Friday night and Saturday night, the Jewish Sabbith, 199 Jewish institutions across the United States received bomb threats; three of the synagogues that received bomb threats were in Seattle. There were 772 incidents in October and 634 in November according to the secure community network that tracks such incidents. To corroborate these statistics, one can contact the FBI who also tracks them. The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI take these incidents seriously and the buildings that received bomb threats all had to be evacuated, disrupting preschool classes, religious services and the normal life that goes on in any religious institution, mosque, temple or church. Just yesterday, the Oklahoma City Police investigated a bomb threat at Temple B'nai Israel in Oklahoma City. The police responded and the building was evacuated. Due to the Oklahoma City bombing, bomb threats make people nervous in Oklahoma City. These swatting incidents as they are called are part of a nationwide campaign to frighten the Jewish community. While painting graffiti on businesses in downtown Edmonds is bad and the perpetrators should be found and prosecuted for vandalism, sometimes vandalism is not just vandalism. Everyone should be able to live their lives in this beautiful town without fear. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 2 Barry Klarman, Edmonds, member of the local Jewish community with family in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and [inaudible], one working for the U.S. government to get hostages freed of whom many are American citizens, explained his family, like many Jewish families in America, though not all, have a history of genocide. They understand what that word means intellectually and viscerally, a word written on windows in Edmonds. Acts of a failed genocide happened on October 7; much more happened that wasn't reported in the news. He expressed gratitude to all who cleaned up the hate -filled graffiti so promptly and thoroughly on Saturday; they are why he calls Edmonds his home. He thanked Mayor Nelson for signing onto the Jewish Federal of Greater Seattle's pledge against antisemitism and the Mayors United Against Antisemitism Statement endorsed by U.S. Conference of Mayors and the American Jewish Committee. To the vandals, he urged them not to bring this war to this community; he rejected attacks on social cohesion, on the beauty of the city and its residents. The vandals' slogans only amplify divisiveness and hate. To his fellow Edmonds residents, councilmembers, and Mayor Nelson, the slogans used in the wanton vandalism are an attempt to intimidate and spread hate toward Jews. Free Palestine and ceasefire now slogans may be well-intentioned, but they are also coded words for a call for violence, even genocide whether intended or not. Mr. Klarman expressed appreciation for his and Councilmember Nand's online discourse; her proposed panel discussion on the war should include mainstream represented voices of the Jewish community, not fringe voices, local rabbis and the Jewish Federation's JCRC who are all willing to engage. He asked Councilmember Nand if she planned to have panel discussions on other global conflicts in the future or just this one. He urged city government to stay away from engaging in controversy around what is a major geostrategic war for many countries and entities where the lives of half the world's Jewish population hang in the balance. The war is divisive along national, political, ideological, religious and ethnic lines. Aim to foster a peaceful environment for everyone in Edmonds; don't make this political. Strengthening our bonds and supporting one another is essential to ensuring each person has an Edmonds Kind of Day. Matt Richardson, Edmonds, said he cleaned up about a dozen businesses in the middle of the night. His take is the city should probably stay out of this, especially in council chambers because that is what they are looking for. By and large, Edmonds loves war; although many fancy themselves as peace -loving community, go along, get along, but the city believed every lie there was to believe about Ukraine and got involved, cheer leaded the Ghost of Kyiv, flew the flags on city buildings which in retrospect is kind of cringy. For the most part up until today, he thanked the city council for staying out of the Israel Palestine conflict; it is not the city's table. He recognized people may want to do that but are not qualified. Lucky for Edmonds, there is someone who is articulate, understands geopolitical situations, is a world traveler, and good looking — Rick Steves. He is uniquely qualified to lead on this issue but is completely absent because he knows if he comes out and says something about Israel or Palestine, instead of downtown businesses, they will vandalize his business. To the vandals watching now, he said why punch down, punch up. He doesn't have access to Maria Cantwell or Hilary Clinton, but Rick Steves does; he should be here. He has done specials and makes a lot of money about travel vlogs to that area, but he has said nothing. Maybe that is what the city council should be doing, allow private citizens to handle issues related Israel and Palestine. Janelle Cass, Edmonds, congratulated the councilmembers who took their oath tonight and thanked them for their service. She thanked Councilmember Buckshnis for her years of dedication to the city and expressed appreciation for her service. She is the chair of the Edmonds Tree Board and noticed tonight's Consent Agenda included minor code amendment changes, #17 changes the definition of tree of significance from 8 inches to 6 inches. That probably shouldn't qualify as a minor code amendment and was never presented to the tree board. She preferred the tree board consider it before the council considered it as a minor code amendment. Theresa Hollis, Edmonds, expressed appreciation for Councilmember Buckshnis' 13 years on the council. The body of work she was involved in defies categorization; the breadth of topics she worked on is very Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 3 significant. She is a hard worker, generous with her time for Edmonds, and smart. She encouraged Councilmember Buckshnis to take a break, have a great vacation trip next year, but looked forward to her making public comment from the citizen side of the dais. She wished her good luck and stay healthy. Madison [no last name given], Edmonds, voiced her concern about the city's plan to cut a program that is essential to Edmonds and the community. Meadowdale Preschool has been a longstanding establishment in the community for over 30 years. During those 30 years the preschool's dedicated staff and teachers have poured their time and experience into preparing their students for the next 13 years of their educational career. Students who attend Meadowdale Preschool are emersed in a curriculum that genuinely prepares them for their future as students and members of society. As a member of this community, she personally knew many past students of this program and could personally attest to the support they received from their teachers, setting them up to success in their early development, not just as a student but as a human being. They are taught to respect those around them and treat others how they want to be treated, something we can all agree is essential for children to learn at a young age. Along with being part of Edmonds' history, this preschool also offers its services to a larger demographic. This program focuses on serving those often underserved in the Edmonds community and the surrounding area. Parents from all around compete for spot in the outstanding program which was also voted the Best of Edmonds this past year. The fact that families are willing to travel to a small building on the outskirts of Edmonds is an accomplishment in itself that reflects the impact of this program on the community. As the only educational program the city offers, she was baffled why there was such adamancy to do away with it. Madison did not believe the public had been properly informed as to how improperly this process has occurred; accusations being thrown at blindsided employees are only small parts of the story being told. The reality is that protocols were broken and boundaries were crossed. A story published in My Edmonds News stated that Parks & Recreation Director Angie Feser stated the revenue shortfall was about $60,000 and unless alternative funding was found, covering this gap would require an increase in the monthly enrollment cost per child, up to $1000. In previous years where enrollment has quickly filled with an opening date in January and a waitlist created, enrollment was opened two months later than normal in March and no advertising was done. Instead of placing the blame on the revenue deficit of the program, she urged the council to think about everyone involved in this operation including all acting supervisors in parks and recreation. She urged the council to keep in mind that cutting this program will not only be detrimental to employees, but the children of Edmonds and surrounding communities. Finis Tupper, Edmonds, referred to one word that Darrol Haug left out, cheers, which is how Councilmember Buckshnis typically ended her emails. He wished Councilmember Buckshnis cheers and thanked her for her service to the city and her dedication to the issues facing the city. It is a shame the council will be passing a budget ordinance tonight that doesn't include any figures. He wondered if the city would be in this predicament if Councilmember Buckshnis had been on the finance committee this year. He again thanked Councilmember Buckshnis for her service and said she will be missed. He wished all Happy Holidays. 7. RECEIVED FOR FILING 1. WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS 2. SUMMARY OF NOV 16, 2023 MEETING WITH GOVERNOR STAFF REGARDING EDMONDS MARSH 3. ORDINANCE ADOPTING THE 2024 CITY BUDGET 8. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER ECK, TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 4 COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND, TO MOVE ITEM 8.10, 2023 DECEMBER BUDGET AMENDMENT ORDINANCE, TO 9.4 AND RENUMBER THE REMAINING ITEMS. Councilmember Buckshnis explained Item 9.4 is a resolution related to General Fund Operating Reserves and she assumed with the budget amendment, the council will need to authorize use of the contingency reserve so that resolution may need to be revised. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO MOVE ITEM 8.11, ADOPTION OF MINOR CODE AMENDMENTS — PACKAGE #3 (AMD2023-0009), TO 9.3 AND RENUMBER THE REMAINING ITEMS. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Mayor Pro Tem Olson advised Item 8.8, Confirm Appointment of B&C Candidate, was withdrawn. MAIN MOTION AS AMENDED CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The agenda items approved are as follows: 1. APPROVAL OF SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 30, 2023 2. APPROVAL OF SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 4, 2023 3. APPROVAL OF REGULAR MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 5, 2023 4. APPROVAL OF SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 11, 2023 5. APPROVAL OF PAYROLL AND BENEFIT CHECKS, DIRECT DEPOSIT AND WIRE PAYMENTS. 6. APPROVAL OF CLAIM CHECKS AND WIRE PAYMENTS. 7. CONFIRM APPOINTMENT OF B&C CANDIDATE 9. CONFIRMATION OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION & ACCESSIBILITY (DEIA) COMMISSION APPOINTEES UMRAH SALEH THOMAS & KIM GUNNING 9. COUNCIL BUSINESS RESOLUTION THANKING DIANE BUCKSHNIS FOR SERVICE ON THE CITY COUNCIL Mayor Pro Tem Olson read a resolution of the Edmonds City Council thanking Councilmember Diane Buckshnis for her dedication to council work and other service to the City of Edmond. Councilmember Buckshnis thanked everyone for keeping everyone for keeping her on her toes. She also thanked God. She said it has been a wild 13 years. She remembered meeting with Darrol Haug in Betty Larman's home to discuss the financials because the city utilized a working capital approach to define the General Fund which was totally bizarre. She thanked Mike Bailey who helped her convince Edmonds councilmembers to pattern its financial statements after Redmond's. She thanked former Finance Director Shawn Hunstock for helping her save the City $5 million; that was impressive and took a long time and included rewriting the audit reports. The auditors think she is the sliced bread queen of audits due to that issue. She thanked former Finance Director Scott James, a policy wonk like her, former Councilmember Teitzel and the late Councilmember Kristiana Johnson who developed the fund balance policy. The City never had a better rating of AAA or better reserves than it had in 2019/2020. She thanked her scientist friend, Joe Scordino, for his help, and Val Stewart. She said we all must continue to move in forward in straightening out the City's financials. The City's finances were in bad shape when she started and now are in worse shape, but sometimes people don't listen. She tries to stay positive and grateful and urged everyone to work harder and better. She planned to enjoy her retirement and said go Pack go. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 5 COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND, TO APPROVE A RESOLUTION OF THE EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL THANKING COUNCILMEMBER DIANE BUCKSHNIS FOR DEDICATION TO COUNCIL WORK AND OTHER SERVICE TO THE CITY OF EDMONDS Councilmember Nand echoed the comments made during Audience Comments in thanking Councilmember Buckshnis for her long service to the City and her advocacy for the community and environment and especially the marsh. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 2. 2024 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA Community, Culture & Economic Development Director Todd Tatum introduced Debra Munguia, Capitol Consulting, the City's lobbyist. Ms. Munguia reviewed: • 2024 Legislative Session Background o Short 60-day session (January 8 - March 7) ■ Prefiling of bills began this month ■ All bills that were not passed last session will be reintroduced o Supplemental budgets ■ Passed biennial budget in 2023, will make tweaks to operating capital and transportation budgets ■ Governor's supplemental budgets released last week ■ House and Senate will release their proposed budget after February revenue forecast o Revenue forecast ■ Slight increase in operating revenue, but expenses have also increased ■ Legislature spent most of capital budget dollars in 2023 session. ■ Climate Commitment Act revenue has raised $2 billion, however, there may be an initiative on ballot ■ Transportation projects over budget and may require adjustments in project timing o Election year ■ All the House, half the Senate, and all statewide officers are up for election in 2024 2024 potential legislative issues o Housing/Homelessness ■ Legislature identified 2023 as year of housing, and are calling 2024 Housing 2.0 - Addition to middle housing bill - Transit oriented development • Draft bill by Rep. Reed, Rep. Fey and Sen. Trudeau that includes incentives for community center development, mixed income walkable neighborhoods with higher density affordable and market rate housing and variety of retail and commercial - Lot splitting - Micro -housing - Lower REET for homes $1M and below and increased REET for $3M and above - Rent stabilization o Behavioral Health ■ Governor included approximately $400M in his supplemental budget for behavioral health needs. Goal is to create greater access to behavior health services including substance use disorder treatment o Public Safety Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 6 ■ Pre -filed bills related to permit to purchase firearms and mandatory reporting if a gun is lost or stolen, and expanding restricted areas knowingly possess a firearm including public buildings ■ Coalition for Police Accountability plan to reintroduce bills not passed in 2023 ■ Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs priorities include creating more revenue for recruiting and retaining law enforcement officers. ■ AWC working on bill to allow councilmanic increase in public safety sales tax to provide revenues for recruiting/retaining officers and Basic Law Enforcement Academy classes. o City Fiscal Health ■ One of AWC's top priorities is lifting the 1% property tax ■ Continued discussion about city infrastructure needs, Public Works Assistance Account, etc. o Climate Policies ■ HB 1900 has been pre -filed, Producer Recycling Responsibility bill, to increase the use of post -consumer recycled content in products, create a strong market for recycled products and establish a single statewide list of recyclable materials ■ Expect a bill related to bottle and can recycling ■ Transitioning buildings away from natural gas to electricity ■ Bills that did not pass last session related to mercury in lights, community solar ■ Bill to help people navigate incentives ■ Department of Ecology plans to introduce a bill that allow them to link with California and Quebec's cap -and -invest system Initiatives o Repeal Climate Commitment Act o Repeal Capital Gains Tax o Allow reasonable police pursuits o Options for initiatives with enough valid signatures: legislature can adopt as written and becomes law, legislature can take no action or reject and initiative goes on November ballot, legislature can pass an alternative proposal and both go on the November ballot. If legislature takes action on bill that substantially affects policy such as the one Ecology may introduce, it would also go on the November ballot Councilmember Nand thanked Ms. Munguia and Mr. Tatum for keeping the council apprised of what is happening in Olympia. With regard to transit oriented development and community center development, she asked the dollar amount of incentives that would be available. Ms. Munguia said she do not know. hi an email Representative Reed sent her tonight she mentioned that Senator Trudeau will be working on an amendment so there would be a capital program in the capital budget for infrastructure costs for cities to provide the density. She has not had an opportunity to review that amendment, but she recalled there was assistance for planning grants. Councilmember Nand observed the funds would be housing oriented versus community center/public use investments. Ms. Munguia said she has not reviewed the draft language in detail, but it appears to be related to housing density and affordability. Councilmember Nand referred to lot splitting, and asked how having more tax parcels would affect property tax assessments. Ms. Munguia said she was unable to answer that but knew there were questions being asked about how cities would determine their density targets. Developers have said this is not about density, it is about allowing land owners to sell pieces of property. There are already laws regarding ADUs, but this would give a property owner the opportunity to sell a piece of their property. There are a lot of questions related to that and protecting someone who purchases property to ensure they have access, parking, sewer and water, separation from first residence, etc. Councilmember Nand agreed there are a lot of logistical challenges with ADUs in other parts of the country. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 7 Councilmember Nand referred to the public safety bills and the parent -child theory of liability with mass shootings that prosecutors have had success with in at least two jurisdictions. She asked if the Washington State Legislature was contemplating that. Ms. Munguia responded she has not heard about that yet. Councilmember Nand said she would follow up with Ms. Munguia via email regarding questions about community oriented development and homeownership opportunities for the middle and working class and density. Councilmember Buckshnis asked about the money being collected from marijuana sales, recalling cities were supposes to get a small amount. Ms. Munguia said the agreement that a certain amount would be shared has been met but revenues have been much higher. She was unsure how the additional amount was being distributed. Councilmember Buckshnis said she reads about the money from marijuana sales and asked if some of the funds were dedicated to education. Ms. Munguia recalled some may have been allocated to the education legacy trust account. Councilmember Paine expressed concern with getting all this done in 60 days. With regard to rent stabilization, she asked whether landlords and landlord associations would be part of discussion. Ms. Munguia answered they will definitely be part of the discussion, but whether there is any agreement remains to be seen. There were bills introduced last session and Representative Alvarado will be introducing a bill; the advocates want a lot of things addressed like administrative fees that have nothing to do with first and last month rent. Councilmember Paine commented neighboring jurisdictions are adopting rent stabilization. She asked if, as currently proposed, it will be up to each city or a statewide blanket stabilization. Ms. Munguia said her understanding was the intention was to do it statewide. Councilmember Nand relayed the congressional democrats are contemplating restrictions on large private hedge fund, Wall State based landlords who are buying a lot of affordable housing and turning it into permanently rented units versus starter homes with an equity opportunity for middle and working class. She asked whether that social equity is being considered with opportunities to condominiumize and possibly amend the liability that prevents developers from building condominiums that provide more modest homeowners the home equity opportunity to build generational wealth they can pass onto their families. Ms. Munguia said she could not answer that question. She had hoped Chair of the Housing Committee Representative Strom Peterson had stayed as he would be a better person to answer that. She knew displacement issues was a big concern. Mr. Tatum reviewed: City of Edmonds 2024 legislation agenda o SR 99 Revitalization ■ Phase the $22.5 million allocated under the Move Ahead Washington Transportation package in the 27-29 Biennium for the SR 99 Revitalization Project Stage 3. Currently in governor's budget in the future category which is beyond the 2039-2041 biennium. o Property Tax Cap ■ One of AWC's priorities ■ Revise the property tax cap to tie it to inflation, up to 3% ■ 1% property tax cap put in place in 2011, before that the cap was 6% o Edmonds Marsh ■ The Legislature in the 2023 Session approved a proviso for the duration of the 2023-2025 biennium that provided Edmonds first right of purchase of the former UNOCAL site when it transfers to WSDOT. These provisions are in effect until 6/30/25. ■ The City will provide updates to legislators on the importance of this property to watershed and salmon health in the region o Environmental and Climate -Related Issues Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 8 ■ Funding may be available from Climate Commitment Act and if so, work with legislators for funding on the following projects: - Financial assistance programs such as low -interest loans or grants for installation of solar energy projects and energy efficient equipment for affordable housing projects. - Financial assistance to develop a greenhouse gas tracking tool with a user-friendly dashboard to show our progress against GHG reduction targets ($30,000) o Other Significant Issues 1. Public Safety ■ Support legislation which modifies RCW 10.116.060 enacting a balance test where the risks of pursuit cannot exceed the risks of the reason(s) for the pursuit. ■ Support additional funding tools and resources for officer recruitment, retention, and expand access to mandated training especially the Basic Law Enforcement Academy, including more regional academies to get new officers on the street faster. 2. Housing Affordability and Availability and Accessibility ■ Support a proactive approach to create new tools/incentives/revenues for cities to use to support increasing housing supply and addressing affordability. Cities need resources to encourage development of housing at all income levels and particularly state funding to support housing for the lowest income levels. ■ Support efforts to provide municipalities with tools to aid in community -oriented development and account for the infrastructure costs of supporting such large changes in housing policy. ■ Support increased funding for the Housing Trust Fund. 3. Salmon Recovery and Puget Sound Watershed Health ■ Support key WRIA 8 salmon recovery Capital Budget funding programs ■ Direct funding from State Climate Commitment Act - Natural Climate Solutions Account (RCW 70A.65.270) to support: - Salmon Habitat protection and restoration - Regional stormwater management goals ■ Support state agency budget requests for monitoring salmon populations, and for studies and management of issues affecting salmon survival ■ Support Growth Management Act reforms that integrate salmon recovery and climate change into comprehensive planning ■ Support Growth Management Act reforms that integrate salmon recovery and climate change into comprehensive planning 4. Transportation Funding ■ Support efforts to give Counties and Municipalities funding and options to improve public transportation options, particularly in areas impacted by light rail. It is critical to make investments in last mile transit options to maximize the benefits of light rail in the region. ■ Support efforts to expand funding options that support state and local transportation needs with emphasis on preservation and maintenance to prevent expensive replacement and repairs. Improve access to Climate Commitment Act funding, including direct distributions, for city priorities that support carbon reduction and climate resiliency. 5. Funding for Arts and the Creative Economy ■ Support measures to provide infrastructure funding to support arts organizations and the creative economy. ■ Engage in advocacy for the arts community during Arts, Heritage, and Science week 6. Behavior Health ■ Support creating greater access to behavioral health services including substance abuse treatment and dual diagnosis treatment facilities. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 9 ■ Support continued state funding to help communities establish alternative response programs like co -responder programs, diversion programs, and others that provide options beyond law -enforcement for responding to situations with individuals suffering from behavioral health issues. Economic Development ■ Support efforts to address immediate workforce needs and develop future pipeline through various programs, including apprenticeships in areas such as clean energy transition, childcare, and healthcare and nursing. Councilmember Nand asked a question based on a conversation with a community member, how much of the $243 million allocated to Highway 99 could possibly be integrated into public uses on the potential Landmark acquisition. Mr. Tatum answered there is $22.5 million allocated under Move Ahead Washington. That is in the transportation budget so there will likely be challenges with shifting the project scope to items that are not transportation related. Ms. Munguia asked if Councilmember Nand was referring to the state funds allocated for the Highway 99 revitalization project in Move Ahead Washington. Councilmember Nand answered she hoped she was talking about the same dollar amount, the $243 million. Mr. Tatum emphasized the total cost of all the Highway 99 revitalization projects is $243 million Councilmember Nand asked if there were any state transportation priorities that would be supported by co - investment in the Landmark property that could justify allocation from the $243 million. Mr. Tatum emphasized the funds allocated from Move Ahead Washington is $22.5 million, not $243 million. Ms. Munguia answered if there were state priorities that could fit within that property, there may be opportunities for state funding, not from the transportation budget but possibly from the capital budget or the operating budget. Councilmember Nand observed those funds are quite constrained at this point. Ms. Munguia answered the transportation budget is extremely strained. She was told by several legislators that there will be no new transportation projects in 2024 and they will be pushing some projects out. Some of the state's mega projects are hundreds of millions of dollars overspent due to workforce shortage, concrete strike, supply chain shortage, etc.; costs have increased 58%. There are priorities related to behavior health and affordable housing so there are funds in the capital budget and the operating budget for those things. Councilmember Nand commented Edmonds has a history with the Edmonds Waterfront Center of providing direct services along the lines of behavioral health. She asked if that could be funded with this new pot of money. Ms. Munguia answered possibly. Councilmember Paine commented it is really interesting to hear what Olympia will be doing. She asked if there may be funds available for the Landmark project through community renewal grants from the state. Mr. Tatum answered a number of the state legislature's priorities line up with Landmark. It is an opportunity to engage the legislature in discussion about incentives and what would make community oriented or transit oriented projects possible for cities. Councilmember Paine observed there were incentives not necessarily funding opportunity. Mr. Tatum answered it could be a different things to include funding from the capital budget for example. Councilmember Eck said she was intrigued and extremely interested in a few of the issues. With regard to behavioral health funding, she asked what the City's interest would be in acquiring any of that funding and how the City would use it. Mr. Tatum answered the governor's budget includes priorities related to behavioral health. The City will be plugged into how much will be invested in facilities and capital infrastructure for behavioral health as well as anything related to increasing funding or grant programs related to social work in the police department. The City would be particularly interested in that and advocated for that if it materializes. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 10 Mayor Pro Tem Olson expressed appreciation for the legislative agenda in the packet. It contains a lot of really good content and she was particularly happy to see the section on behavioral health because it is such a need in this community as well as elsewhere. She summarized behavioral health was high on her list of priorities. Councilmember Nand recalled when Ms. Munguia gave a presentation to the council last year, there was discussion about special funding for libraries, either historic buildings or new facilities. She has had high level discussions with some Sno-Isle people and they are very excited about the possibly of having a library on Highway 99, specifically the area of Landmark. However, the model seems to be that the City would build a building or partner with a developer to build a building and Sno-Isle would fill and staff it similar to what Sno-Isle does in other jurisdictions. She asked if there was any state funds for that or was it just for historic libraries like the old, converted Carnegie libraries. Ms. Munguia said she would need to research that and advise if there were funds specific for libraries and if they were for historic or new libraries. COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND, TO INCLUDE THE STATEMENT IN SECTION 4 UNDER TRANSPORTATION FUNDING, "BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND POLICIES. USING THE COMPLETE STREETS MODEL, ACCELERATE DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL AND LOCAL BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN CORRIDORS, ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE, POLICY AND DATA COLLECTION IN ORDER TO PROVIDE SAFE AND EFFICIENT FACILITIES." Councilmember Paine commented this amendment comes from the SeaShore Transportation Forum's legislative agenda which is comprised of Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace and UP and Edmonds. It is specifically related to funding planning for a bike/pedestrian bridge over SR 104 from Shoreline into Edmonds to connect with the Interurban Trail as well as provide a connection to the Mountlake Terrace transit center. She has had conversations with several state legislators as well as councilmembers in Snohomish County and King County. Councilmember Nand found this an interesting ask, commenting she especially liked the multijurisdictional aspect of it. The local bike group is advocating in several jurisdictions to ease pain points on the Interurban Trail that endanger bicyclists. If adults do not feel safe to bike certain parts of the Interurban Trail, she anticipated people certainly will not allow their children to bike the trail. Due to the contiguous nature of Lynwood, Edmonds, Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace and the regional transit strategy, it would be good to begin having this conversation. Everyone wants wider sidewalks everywhere so kids feel safe riding their bikes. She expressed support for the amendment. Councilmember Buckshnis pointed out the SeaShore Transportation Forum is King County only and at least when she was a liaison, Edmonds was not a member of SeaShore, just an interested party. She asked if there was any buyoff from Snohomish County on this or was it just King County and SeaShore. Councilmember Paine responded that is correct, SeaShore is strictly King County due to Puget Sound Regional Council's (PSRC) rules, but Edmonds is a participating member and they are very excited about this prospect. This has been sponsored by the Edmonds Bicycle Advocacy Group (EBAG) who has been very active in coordinating elements for Snohomish County, King County, and Snohomish PUD to look at the use of the right-of-way for a bike trail. This would provide a connection between King County and Snohomish County and a connection to the Interurban Trail. There are some obvious wins for the bicycle and pedestrian communities as well as improving the connection to the Mountlake Terrace transit center. EBAG also plans to contact Sound Transit. She was impressed by EBAG's advocacy levels. Councilmember Buckshnis said she was not arguing this was a bad idea, but wanted to know if Snohomish County had been approached and if they would provide any funding. Councilmember Paine answered she has talked with the State Transportation Committee Representative Donaghy and Senator Liias and there has been verbal commitment of $50,000-$75,000k. EBAG has also been talking with Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 11 Representative/Snohomish County Councilmember Strom Peterson and she has been working with Shoreline Councilmember Chris Roberts who plans to petition King County for similar support. Councilmember Nand commented Edmonds' as well as other cities' budgets are very strained so combining forces for planning and funding makes sense for small cities like Edmonds. Mayor Pro Tem Olson relayed there have been meetings with EBAG who do a good job of advocating. Through blogs and audience comments, local residents have also advocated for pedestrian infrastructure. She did not see how the City could go wrong asking for support on those issues. Councilmember Paine commented there are elements of this item that currently exist in the transportation element of the comprehensive plan in the 2014 transportation plan. The transportation committee, which she is a part of, is reviewing the transportation element. They will be looking to synchronize elements for the upcoming comprehensive plan. She was pleased the broad wording was not specific to the SR 104 bike/pedestrian path. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Mayor Pro Tem Olson advised this will be placed on a future Consent Agenda. 3. ADOPTION OF MINOR CODE AMENDMENTS - PACKAGE #3 (AMD2023-0009) (Previously Consent Agenda Item 8.11) Senior Planner Mike Clugston advised this item, the third package of minor code amendments, was on the Consent Agenda for approval in accordance with council -adopted procedures for adopting minor code amendment packages. He offered to address councilmembers' questions. Mayor Pro Tem Olson referred to amendment #4 related to ECDC 17.40.020.1) where the language was changed as follows: "Such improvements shall be required to obtain ar-er� administrative design review." This appeared to change the review from the Architectural Design Board (ADB) to staff. The Notes/Context provided states, "Changed to match original intended language in Ordinance 3696, enacted in 2008." She preferred to have this discussed by the ADB and possibly the planning board before it was presented to council as a minor code amendment. She suggested having a memo stating the ADB was consulted and copy of the minutes from that meeting. She expressed support for pulling that item from the amendment package. Mr. Clugston answered staff could be supportive of that. He explained the issue is not who is doing the design review, the revision was to change architectural to administrative. In 2007 the process in the design review chapter were updated to provide more opportunity for staff review than ADB review. There are a number of places in the code where there is still reference to the old process. Since 2007, the only projects the ADB reviews are ones that require a SEPA threshold determination; everything below that threshold is reviewed by staff. The intention was to correct that one word, but the item can be pulled as Mayor Pro Tem Olson requested. Mayor Pro Tem Olson opined changing that one word changes whether there is review by staff or the ADB. Mr. Clugston answered this is in the nonconforming chapter, Ordinance 3696, adopted by council in 2008, included the word administrative design review as shown in the proposed code change column. At that time administrative design review was meant to indicate reviews were below the SEPA threshold and would be done by staff. The following year another ordinance was adopted by council that changed the wording from administrative design review to architectural design review, not necessarily by the ADB. The change from architectural design review to administrative design review does not have any practical significance when one looks at the processes for design review that exist outside this chapter. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 12 Mayor Pro Tem Olson asked City Attorney Jeff Taraday to weigh in, explaining she wanted to ensure this minor code amendment did not change who conducted the review. Mr. Taraday said he was not up to speed on this amendment and would need to research it. He suggested if his input was desired, that it be pulled from this package of amendments. MAYOR PRO TEM OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS, TO WITHDRAW AMENDMENT #4 FROM THE PACKAGE. Councilmember Paine observed this would not functionally change the procedures currently in place. Mr. Clugston agreed. Councilmember Paine observed it was just a word that was not caught. Mr. Clugston said architectural design review is in the current code as adopted in 2009. Councilmember Paine asked for clarification if it was architectural or administrative design review. Mr. Clugston answered architectural, but it does not affect the process. Councilmember Nand asked if this item is pulled, would there be any recourse other than bringing it back in the next amendment package. She did not think this needed to go to the planning board as a policy change. Planner Rose Haas answered there are no policy changes in the minor code amendments. It is currently an administrative review even though it states architectural and that will continue regardless of whether the word is changed. Mayor Pro Tem Olson urged the council to support pulling this amendment just to bring it to the ADB for discussion and for staff to provide a memo for the next minor code amendment package stating the ADB does not object and it does not change anything. MOTION CARRIED (3-2), MAYOR PRO TEM OLSON AND COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS AND ECK VOTING YES; COUNCILMEMBER PAINE AND COUNCILMEMBER NAND VOTING NO. Mr. Taraday recalled the code related to minor code amendments allows any councilmember to pull an amendments without a vote. To ensure the council was comfortable with minor code amendments coming in an omnibus manner, the tradeoff was any single councilmember could pull an amendment and have it come back later. He was trying to confirm that with the code but was currently unable to access it. Mr. Clugston agreed that was the intent although he was unsure it was explicitly stated in the code. Councilmember Nand explained changing oversight of the tree board from planning to parks has interrupted their regular meetings. Tree board members reached out to her regarding amendment #17 requesting an opportunity to discuss it from a policy perspective before it is presented as a minor code amendment. She asked if planning would object to that. Mr. Clugston answered minor code amendments are non -policy issues. The intention of amendment #17 is to make the code internally consistent. Currently the tree code identifies significant trees as a diameter of 6 inches; 8 inches has been in the subdivision code for the past 30 years and should have been updated when the tree code was adopted in 2019/2020. The intent is to change 8 inches in the subdivision code to 6 inches to make it internally consistent with 6 inches in the tree code. Councilmember Nand relayed the tree board members' interest was an opportunity for a public discussion so they could verify it was not a policy change. She was comfortable with not pulling amendment #17 to bring it to the tree board in January, relaying although she is the tree board liaison, she does not have input on their agenda. Councilmember Paine said she researched this, the size of a significant tree was discussed at length a few years ago and changed in ECDC 23.10.020 and this language was left behind in the subdivision code. The Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 13 standard in ECDC 23.10 of 6-inch DBA is more protective than 8-inch DBH in the subdivision code. She preferred not to pull this amendment from the package of amendments. Councilmember Buckshnis relayed a couple tree board members also called her. This is not a minor amendment and should be reviewed by the tree board. She recalled approval of the tree code was not very efficient or effective and it behooves the council to listen to tree board members who think the board should review this. She requested amendment #17 be pulled and remanded to the tree board. Mayor Pro Tem Olson concurred, commenting it was appropriate for the group most involved to review it to ensure there was no policy change. Councilmember Eck asked if the council could highly recommend the proposed amendment be on the tree board's next agenda to ensure there is resolution to the inconsistency as soon as possible. Mayor Pro Tem Olson agreed everyone is eager to get the codes updated. The council can definitely offer that recommendation. Ms. Haas advised she is also not able to access the code but recalled the proposed amendment is to ECDC 23.10.020.R, definition of a significant tree, which was established as 6-inches DBH in 2019. She was unsure what further discussion would be necessary as it just resolves an internal consistency issue. Mr. Clugston agreed the intention was to make the code internally consistent with what council adopted, a 6 inch tree. If the council wanted to pull this, it would not go to the tree board because it is not a policy decision. What could go to the tree board eventually as part of the tree code update is whether significant trees should be 6 inches or 8 inches as that would be a policy level discussion. For tonight's purposes, the City regulates significant trees as 6 inches and that number needs to be changed in the subdivision code to make it consistent. Mayor Pro Tem Olson recalled when she was on the tree board that the measurement was 6-inches DBH which is not mentioned in this proposed minor code amendment. She concluded the amendment needs more work and suggested it come back to council as a regular code amendment with more narrative. Councilmember Nand relayed the tree board's agenda is set by a meeting of the chair and assigned staff and they can decide if they want to add this to their agenda. If this is brought back to council as a regular amendment, tree board members would have the opportunity to offer audience comments if they feel this is a policy discussion. There has been a significant difference of opinion between tree board members and the administration regarding what is considered a minor code amendment as it relates to tree policy which is why this is a thorny issue. Tree board members want to ensure they are apprised of policy issues related to trees. Councilmember Buckshnis clarified the tree code was passed in 2020 over 4 meetings at 9 pm via Zoom. It behooves the council to send it back to the tree board especially since two tree board members, including the chair, called her. Councilmember Eck relayed this is a communication issue. She was comfortable with approving this as a minor code amendment with robust communication to the tree board explaining there was no germane change being made; it was just neatening up what should have already been done. Mayor Pro Tem Olson advised as it only required one councilmember to pull an amendment, amendment #17 has been pulled. COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER ECK, TO APPROVE THE REMAINDER OF THE MINOR CODE AMENDMENT PACKAGE. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 14 4. TASER 10 CONTRACT AND OUOTE Mayor Pro Tem Olson relayed the police department made a presentation at the PSPHSP committee and it wasn't a controversial topic other than budget implications. That was the reason the committee did not recommend approval on the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Paine asked if this agenda item is just approval of the contract and not the budget implication. Police Chief Bennett answered yes, the contract needs to be signed today to be accepted by the vendor or the contract will cost the City more. Councilmember Paine confirmed the agenda item was to sign the contract which she did not object to; funding for Taser 10 will be considered in the first quarter. Mayor Pro Tem Olson relayed if council approved the contract, there will be a budget amendment. Councilmember Paine answered not necessarily. Mayor Pro Tem Olson commented if no other miracle comes through related to the funding, a budget amendment will be required. Councilmember Nand explained after extensive discussion with Directors Turley and Tatum and Chief Bennett regarding the $250,000 in ARPA funds set aside for the small business distress fund intended to be administered by Director Tatum, they reached an amicable solution to fund the contract in 2024 for $73,000 from ARPA funds and hopefully allocate the remainder to the small business distress fund. In their discussion, it was agreed if small businesses could vote, they would support non -lethal public safety enhancements because of the epidemic rise in crime. Funding the subsequent four years of the contract will impact the General Fund, but funding has been identified for the first year that does not impact the General Fund. Councilmember Buckshnis observed the contract is for $360,000 and councilmembers have said there is no General Fund implication this year and it will be handled as a budget amendment in 2024. The council will need to find that $360,000 somewhere. If the proposal is to use $250,000 in ARPA funds, she asked how the other $110,000 will be funded. Mr. Taraday reminded the council there is no budget approval request associated with this agenda item. The council can debate the budget, but no action will be taken on the budget with respect to this item and there is nothing in the packet related to the budget. Mayor Pro Tem Olson agreed, pointing out even if the intention is to use ARPA funds, a budget amendment would be required to allocate those funds. Chief Bennett explained the $360,000 is spread over 5 years; $72,000 is for the first year. The vendor is not billing the City until 2024. Councilmember Nand explained this will be proposed as a 1 st quarter budget amendment in 2024. The City has an obligation to spend the ARPA funds in a timely manner. The City's remaining $250,000 ARPA funds will be allocated toward the first installment of the contract to ensure it is funded as she did not view tasers as a discretionary device and it has to be funded somehow. She was proposing $72,000 as a 1 st quarter budget amendment, and she hoped the council would agree to allocate the remaining ARPA funds into the distressed small business fund that Directors Tatum and Turley will partner with community partners to disburse. ARPA funds are historically significant in that they allow the City to directly benefit distressed businesses via grants; there will be no opportunity in the future to take $250,000 out of the General Fund and distribute it to businesses to fix leaky roofs, etc. Councilmember Paine raised a point of order, advising funding is not part of this agenda item. Councilmember Eck expressed support for the City signing the Taser 10 contract instead of staying with the status quo of Taser 7 as in the long run Taser 10 is going to save the City money. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 15 COUNCILMEMBER ECK MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO SIGN THE TASER 10 CONTRACT. Councilmember Buckshnis thanked Chief Bennett for clarifying the expenditure next year is only $72,000. She pointed out by signing the contract, the council will need to have $72,000 in the budget for that budget amendment. Saying it will be a budget amendment next year, the funds still need to be in the budget. It will impact the 2024 budget any way you look at it, either when the budget is approved or as a budget amendment. She supported converting to Taser 10, but wanted to ensure everyone understood the numbers. Councilmember Nand advised the Taser 7 contract was funded, so this would have been a General Fund obligation anyway. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5. 2023 DECEMBER BUDGET AMENDMENT ORDINANCE (Previously Consent Agenda Item 8.10 Councilmember Buckshnis said she was surprised Director Turley was not here to answer questions nor did he answer her questions although he answered citizens' questions. If the council approves this ordinance, the 2023 ending fund balance is $477,888.Obviously the City is having serious financial problems and she wished the council would be provided correct numbers. The council has yet to receive the October or November monthly financial reports when the majority revenue from property taxes is received. The council also has not received an updated budget sheet. She anticipated the ordinance needed to be changed as she anticipated the City would be tapping into the contingency reserve fund. Councilmember Buckshnis continued, although Director Turley continually says he has answered this question, he hasn't answered why the ending fund balance in the 2023 budget is $16.7 million and every amendment up until this one, it was $17 million and now suddenly it's $11 million. She said that is an off - balance sheet item because she has read both audit reports that reflect changes and misstatements and has yet to understand where that $4 million went. She reiterated this amendment will result in an ending fund balance of $11.9 million. She will vote no tonight because she does not have correct numbers and has not had her questions answered related to how the numbers changed. She concluded the numbers are suspect because there aren't numbers to say what is correct. COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS MOVED NOT TO APPROVE THE BUDGET AMENDMENT. MOTION DIED FOR LACK OF A SECOND. Councilmember Buckshnis said she wanted to be on record that she was not in favor of the budget amendment. She hoped the council would get correct numbers sooner rather than later and anticipated the council will have a contingency fund issue that needs to be included in the ordinance. COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY MAYOR PRO TEM OLSON, TO ACCEPT THE DECEMBER BUDGET AMENDMENT AS PROPOSED. Councilmember Paine referred to packet page 142, Budget Amendment Summary, advising the numbers correspond with the December 2023 budget amendment. MOTION CARRIED (4-1), COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS VOTING NO. 6. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING USE OF GENERAL FUND OPERATING RESERVES FOR 2024 GENERAL FUND EXPENSES Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 16 City Attorney Jeff Taraday advised this was drafted in anticipation of the budget that the council will hopefully adopt on December 27 which calls for use of the General Fund operating reserve as there are more expenditures than revenues. He reviewed the resolution the council adopted for the previous use of operating reserves and found it specified the 2023 fiscal year so it is appropriate to adopt another resolution for 2024 if the council intends to comply with the reserve policy which states the use of operating reserve needs to be done by a majority vote. This resolution is intended to allow the council to comply with the fiscal reserve policy. Councilmember Buckshnis referred to item #3 under Received for Filing, Ordinance Adopting 2024 City Budget, which is obviously an inaccurate title. That ordinance refers to an emergency ordinance and the title of that ordinance is, An Ordinance Adopting the Budget for the City of Edmonds, Washington, for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2024. She felt the ordinance was a repeat of the emergency ordinance the council passed in October or November. Mr. Taraday responded there has been some confusion about Agenda Item 7.3. He explained in recognition of the fact that the budget is coming down to the wire and the council will be asked to adopt it on December 27, staff wanted to give as much advance lead time as possible with regard to what they will be voting on December 27. Item 7.3 is a preview of the ordinance the council will be asked to vote on December 27. At the time staff was strategizing how to put the packet together, it was unknown whether the tables that are attached to the ordinance would be ready; it was hoped they would be so the council would have an opportunity to digest the ordinance and table together. Unfortunately the tables were not ready so item 7.3 contains the ordinance without the tables. He could understand how a budget ordinance with no numbers created confusion. Councilmember Buckshnis observed the attachment to 7.3 is the Fiscal Emergency Ordinance, not the budget ordinance. The narrative in the agenda memo states, Although the 2024 budget ordinance does not yet include the budget summary, the council president requested the ordinance be provided in advance of the December 27 meeting, but the attachment is the Fiscal Emergency Ordinance for 2024. Mr. Taraday advised packet page 20 of the updated packet contains the ordinance that he described, a preview of the ordinance the council will vote on December 27. Both ordinances reference an emergency but for different reasons. The emergency referenced in the budget ordinance is because with a budget adoption on December 27, the only way the City can have an operating government on January 1 is for the ordinance to take immediate effect which requires the declaration of an emergency so the ordinance can take immediate effect. With regard to the accuracy of what was provided to the public, Councilmember Buckshnis asked if the attachment would be changed to what is included on packet page 20. Mayor Pro Tern Olson advised the budget ordinance is included on packet page 20. Councilmember Paine referred to page 248, the proposed resolution authorizing the use of General Fund operating reserves for 2024 General Fund expenses, and asked if the blanks in the resolution would be filled in before the council approves it tonight. Mr. Taraday said he was not sure the council needed to approve the resolution tonight. The intention was to get as much information in front of the council as possible so the December 27 meeting runs as smoothly as possible. At the time this resolution was prepared, he was unsure if the tables would be complete. The tables are not complete so the blanks cannot be filled in. Mayor Pro Tern Olson agreed there needed to be a number to fill in the blank. However, but for the blank, she would have been ready and willing to approve the resolution so it should be an easy agenda item for the December 27 meeting. Mr. Taraday suggested the resolution be forwarded to the Consent Agenda with the blank filled in. MAYOR PRO TEM OLSON MOVED TO PUT THE RESOLUTION ON THE CONSENT AGENDA WITH BLANK FILLED IN. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 17 Councilmember Nand said she would have a level of comfort if Director Turley were here to answer questions so it would be preferable to have the resolution on the agenda for full council. 7. ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING AUTHORIZED EMPLOYEE POSITIONS AND PAY RANGES Mayor Pro Tem Olson referred to the email she sent this afternoon to ensure the council was aware action was not expected on this item tonight. The intention was to begin the discussion and understanding of this big topic. City Attorney Jeff Taraday explained every year when the council adopts the budget, it establishes the FTE employee positions the mayor is authorized to fill. The council creates the positions, departments, number of FTEs, etc. and having created those positions, the mayor has hire/fire authority related to those positions. The mayor and/or department directors cannot create positions; that is a council purview. What is unwieldy is the budget book has the positions scattered throughout. In the past, he has seen other cities and possibly even Edmonds in the past have an ordinance that identifies all the positions in one nice, clean, easy to access place where all the positions can be seen in one place. Given the City's current fiscal situation, he suggested this be organized to group positions by fund so the council can hone in on which positions are funded by the General Fund and which are not so when the council rolls up its sleeves next year and tackles the budget in more detail, this would be a tool to identify General Fund positions, how many employees are in each classification, etc. This ordinance provides that and also sets maximum hiring levels. That does not mean the mayor has to fill all the positions; they can decided to leave some vacant. If at some point in the future the council decides to reduce those maximum hiring levels, it would most cleanly be done via an amendment to this ordinance. In the course of producing the table, finance identified one discrepancy that Police Chief Bennett wants to speak to. Chief Bennett explained in reviewing the budget, there are some discrepancies in personnel, specifically the org chart in the budget shows only one assistant chief instead of two; the City has had two assistant chiefs for 30 years. It was also discovered that there was one extra sergeant. It looks like possibly one of the sergeant positions should have been converted to a commander position and a commander position converted to an assistant chief position which would be the easiest way to solve this. It definitely needs to be rectified because there are two assistant chiefs. Assistant Chief Sniffen said the two assistant chiefs will have been in place 24 months in March and no one has said anything to this point. He appreciated the efforts of finance and everyone working on this table as it provides a solid mechanism with regard to FTEs. In reconciling the information for the police department, there is one assistant chief, the six police officer positions that council authorized last year are not included in the count, and there is one extra sergeant. Department staff want to ensure the numbers are correct before council takes action. Mayor Pro Tem Olson asked if the positions are funded in the General Fund for 2024 and beyond. Chief Bennett answered it was her understanding they were; the council approved those additional six positions in the previous budget year. There is one extra sergeant and the org chart in the budget book does not show one assistant chief. She wanted to ensure that was rectified before any action was taken related to the General Fund budget. Mayor Pro Tem Olson restated her question, she understood the org chart needed to be changed, and asked whether the numbers assigned to the police department needed to be changed. Chief Bennett answered the six officers were added to the budget when they were approved by the council, there is one extra sergeant, and one assistant chief position is missing. Mr. Taraday said he has been working with the police department and administrative services; he knew about the assistant chief and sergeant discrepancy but did not know about the six officers until now. Staff is not requesting council action tonight; it is just an introduction so if action is taken on December 27, it Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 18 would not be the first time the council saw it. The City needs to be tidier with regard to how FTEs are managed; this ordinance will help with that. With regard to those other positions, additional work perhaps need to occur between police and administrative services and maybe even FIR to get to a final version. Clearly the next time the council sees this, it will show assistant police chief 2.0, not 1.0, and sergeant 7.0, not 8.0 and perhaps other changes as well. Councilmember Paine said she liked the order of operations: vacancy notification provided to council and council confirmation followed by mayoral approval of recruitment to allow publication. As the table only has a 1 FTE for assistant police chief and there are currently 2 FTEs, she suggested this be circulated to all the directors to double check the numbers. She recalled two years ago when the two assistant police chiefs were hired, structural changes were also made to add more depth at the top. With the discrepancies in the police department, there may be discrepancies in other departments so it would be useful for the directors to review it. Councilmember Nand commented something more restrictive was contemplated when this was first introduced to the PSPHSP committee which could have been considered a power shifting mechanism between the council and the administration, specifically the mayor. She referred to a whereas clause on the top of packet page 251, "WHEREAS, should it become necessary to defend or deauthorize the filling of a particular position, it is intended that the FTE levels in this ordinance be adjusted in concert with an associated budget amendment." It was her understanding the council already has the authority to defund FTEs and asked if that language would require the ordinance be amended first and how do the budget book and the ordinance interact. Mr. Taraday answered one of the reasons this was created was because getting into budget book amendments mid -year is not workable. He has seen other cities use a tool like this as a clearing house for all the positions in the budget book. The idea going forward would be that this is the council's control mechanism for establishing maximum staffing levels; the mayor has their own independent discretionary authority to fill or not fill positions. Conceptually this is no different than what the council has done every year when adopting the budget, but in the past the FTEs are all laid out in the budget book. To the extent mid -year changes needed to be made, it would be very messy. This will be a lot cleaner and the way it is organized will help the council analytically determine what if any changes to make. Councilmember Nand referred to section 4 on packet page 251 that states, "This ordinance shall control in the event of any conflict between this ordinance and the final budget book..." The final budget book is a product of the administration, this ordinance is a framework established by the council. She asked if the council approved an FTE that put the category for that position over the amount, that FTE would not be legally authorized unless this ordinance was amended first. Mr. Taraday answered that was correct. As can been seen by the discussion with the police department, he is recommending the City needs more structure and formality related to position control; this ordinance will provide that. Councilmember Nand said the crux of her concern is the police department, public works, and parks who interface with vulnerable populations via direct services. She questioned whether this would take away some of their nimbleness in the event mid -year budget amendments become politicized on the dais because council does not have the boots on the ground knowledge that directors and the chief have. Mr. Taraday asked if her concern was nimbleness related to hiring and firing. Councilmember Nand answered yes, she was concerned about the power sharing shift. Mr. Taraday explained the mayor has never had the authority to hire positions that the council hasn't authorized. This is just making it tidy and easily amendable. Councilmember Nand provided the example of a major flooding of the seawall and public works needs funding immediately, would this ordinance take away some of the nimbleness. Her concern was things can get very drawn out on the dais. Mr. Taraday clarified this ordinance is just about establishing maximum Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 19 staffing levels. Any time the council wanted to add an employee, there would need to be an ordinance process anyway, whether it was a budget amendment ordinance or this type of ordinance. He did not think it would bog things down and in fact anticipated the council would find it helped crystalize what changes they want to make or not make. Councilmember Nand said these were some of her lingering questions from the discussion at the PSPHSP committee meeting. Mr. Taraday explained the ordinance presented at the PSPHSP committee was a completely different ordinance than this one. That ordinance included a process for notifying council of vacancies; the ordinance in this agenda item is not that ordinance. Councilmember Nand recalled with that ordinance, there were concerns about bottlenecks, for example it would bog down the ability for the police chief to make conditional offers in a timely fashion. She suggested getting feedback from the directors. She found it odd to do this in a lame duck session before the new mayor is seated. Councilmember Buckshnis agreed with Councilmember Nand that this is power grab for council. She envisioned it would be very ineffective and inefficient if something needs to be done quickly. She recognized attorneys like to do ordinances to wrap everything up in a bow and made things nice and tidy, but from a common sense standpoint if the mayor needs a position filled now, it will have to come through the ordinance amendment process at council. The issue this year has been vacancy rates which this does not even address; it sets in stone a total FTE count for 2024 of 279.4 which is already inaccurate. Mr. Taraday explained this is the easiest ordinance to amend that anyone could ever possibly conceive of. All that would need to be done is to change the number on the table; it doesn't get any easier or faster. If the mayor needed a new position, he could prepare an ordinance for council in 15 minutes. This will streamline and make decision -making easier, not harder. Councilmember Eck relayed her understanding the intention is not to damage anyone's ability to move swiftly should there be an emergency; that recourse would the same as it is today. The ordinance just puts visibility on the number of FTES and creates a helpful level set of where staff is right now. What the council has heard tonight lends credence to the need for that. Once this is done, it would be easier to keep things accurate and transparent so council is truly more aware of staffing statuses. Mr. Taraday answered that was exactly the intention. Mayor Pro Tem Olson commented the council can have an emergency meeting on Zoom with very little notice, make a quick decision, and have it effective immediately via an emergency ordinance. She did not see this ordinance clogging up the ability to respond if there was an emergency that required immediately hiring a bunch of FTEs. Councilmember Nand said while Mr. Taraday can draft an ordinance quickly, building a majority consensus on the dais could be a protracted process. She appreciated the org chart aspect, particularly when the PSPHSP committee is considering mid -year budget amendment that include enhancing or somehow altering funding for a job description, benefits, etc. She was concerned this ordinance puts the council more deeply into the political process. Mr. Taraday emphasized the ordinance in the packet, not the ordinance discussed at the PSPHSP committee, does not change anyone's power, it just makes it cleaner and condenses the information into a few tidy pages. No mayor has ever had authority to add positions without council approval and that does not change. Councilmember Nand anticipated a tandem discussion related to the mayor's authority to contract with consultants. She envisioned that would be the next thing to address so she wanted council to understand the political implications. Mr. Taraday said if the council decides at some point to reduce the mayor's contracting authority, that would change the power dynamic a little bit. By state law, contract power is the council's power and the council chooses how much of that power to delegate to the mayor. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 20 Councilmember Buckshnis referred to the pay ranges on the list of authorized FTEs, commenting the council has no idea what those ranges are. She asked if the list would have to be amended any time an employee got promoted and whether that would have to come to council for approval. Mr. Taraday answered that is not the intent, but that is a good question. He will confer with finance whether the grade column is the council approved range or if that is where the current employee is. The intention is there is a council -approved range for each position and within that range, the administration and collective bargaining agreements do what they do. It was not his intention that each promotion would require an amendment. He advised there have already been changes made to the list in the attachment. Councilmember Buckshnis said it is great that the list encapsulates everything, but she does not like the power shift and the restrictions it places on the mayor or directors. It doesn't allow the administration to do their own internal review before coming to council. She noted the salary ranges for the police chief and the non -represented employees in the police department had not been reviewed. She did not object to the position list and number of FTEs, but she was concerned the grade column would be difficult to keep updated especially with collective bargaining agreements. Mr. Taraday answered if the list is prepared correctly, the range will be set forward in the table; the range is not stated in dollars but references a chart tied to COLA adjustments in collective bargaining agreements. The intention is the only time the ordinance would need to be amended is when there is an increase or decrease in staffing. Councilmember Buckshnis asked if parks had to come to council for seasonal employees. Mr. Taraday answered seasonal employees were specifically exempted because they may not be impactful enough to include. Councilmember Paine asked how the council would track the fiscal impacts of decisions. The numbers can be changed, but there needed to be a fiscal impact summary to describe the impacts to the budget of adding or decreasing employees. She requested that be included so the council can understand the impacts which would address Councilmember Buckshnis' question about dollars. Mr. Taraday clarified Councilmember Paine's suggestion was if/when there was an amendment made, there would also be a fiscal impact disclosure. Councilmember Paine agreed, suggesting the requirement for a fiscal impact summary when a change occurs be included in the whereas clauses. Councilmember Nand recognized it has been a very painful budget year and the council has come under heavy criticism as the tax and spend council and this may be a reaction to address that. With the long term budget strategy of shifting to a biennial budget and budgeting by priorities and seeing internal controls and reporting mechanisms from policy within the administration, it may be better to have an overarching strategy to ensure council is apprised of spending as conditions change rather than doing it in a piecemeal fashion. Mayor Pro Tern Olson advised no action was required on this item. 10. MAYOR'S COMMENTS 11. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Buckshnis apologized there was an updated agenda packet that included the correct ordinance. She thanked everyone for being her friends. She has always tried to base her decisions on what she heard from citizens. There will be a get together in 2024; she requested nothing be done this year because the budget process has been extremely tedious and there have been a lot of comments from citizens. She noted she didn't even get to do a budget town hall this year because there was so much controversy over the numbers. She wished everyone God Bless. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 21 Councilmember Eck expressed appreciation to Councilmember Buckshnis for her service to the community, commenting they had not been able to work together except for tonight. She had the pleasure of attending a couple of commission meetings recently, specifically the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Commission and the Historic Preservation Commission. She was reminded of the commitment and passion of the volunteers and her own experience serving on boards and commissions and how that was a fantastic way for people engaged in the community to contribute. She high recommended residents check out the boards and commissions as a way to share and have a significant impact. Councilmember Paine thanked Councilmember Buckshnis for 13 years of service to the community and on council and expressed appreciation for all Councilmember Buckshnis has done. She expressed appreciation for the community members who spoke tonight regarding the vandalism that occurred downtown. The vandalism is troubling for the community, damaging to the businesses, and hurts people's hearts. The vandalism creates tension and fear•, it is not just the words, but also the intention. This big international issue will not be solved in Edmonds, but people in Edmonds will be harmed by the vandalism and the intention of the vandalism. She was sorry it happened here; hate has no home in Edmonds. She supported embracing our friends and neighbors to ensure they feel safe and secure, recognizing it can be frightening. She was sad the vandalism happen in Edmonds, noting it is also an opportunity to grown and become stronger. She wished everyone a good holiday season, advising the council will meet again on December 27. Councilmember Nand said she has received a lot of feedback from the Edmonds community and regionally about the way antisemitism and Islamophobia have been impacting the lives of community members since the October 7 attacks. It would be easy for her to say this is not my job and that she should not be commenting on it, but she thought hard about her job as an elected official and concluded her job is to elevate the voices of community members most impacted by trauma when very troubling world events like terrorist attacks happen. She read the following statement: I am speaking for myself as one of seven council members, a liberal, a pacifist, a Hindu, a student of Mahatma Gandhi, and a follower of satyagraha, his philosophy of nonviolent resistance to injustice that influenced the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. I originally began drafting this statement before the vandalism occurred in Edmonds because so many community members were reaching out to the council and feeling their plight was not being seen within the local community. That should never be the impression of any community members from city hall or city council, that we don't care about what is happening to them. Just this weekend, a Shoreline resident contacted me and told me that a neighbor told her off for putting a Menorah in her window and accused her of using "Jew tape" to put up flyers about local Hanukkah events. She thanked me that someone in city hall actually cared enough to hear her story. I am not trying to share my personal opinion about the conflicts, about deep seated issues that are very difficult to compress into a council statement. I would like to state affirmatively that no one should experience fear in our community due to their religious or ethnic identity. I come from an Indian -American Hindu family and I remember my mother's sheer terror after 9/11 when she did not want my sister or me to leave the house all weekend because she was terrified that we would be attacked because we looked Arabic. In my opinion, antisemitism and Islamophobia in response to the war in Gaza is reprehensible. A number of people have contacted me saying I should not make any statement about this because it is not a "local" issue. I would like to highlight the lives of two local people; I would like to thank Dr. Jason Mayerfeld, community activist Mario Brown, and Mukilteo City Councilmember Riaz Khan for providing me with feedback and frank discussion on the contents of this letter. Councilmember Riaz Khan lost a family friend Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 22 who had recently relocated from Washington State to Texas and was apparently stabbed to death on a lunch break due to her Muslim religious identity. Dr. Talat Jehan Khan, a pediatrician and a wife and mother, was murdered on October 28, 2023. Many people in our Puget Sound Muslim American community knew Dr. Khan and were deeply affected by her killing. Dr. Mayerfeld and the entire University of Washington political science department lost a young PH.D graduate, Dr. Hayim Katzman, one of the 22 Americans killed in the October 7th attacks in Israel. Dr. Mayerfeld, who personally knew Hayim, said that he had dedicated his life to studying the Arab-Israeli conflict and attempting to find a peaceful solution to the hostilities. Hayim was in Israel volunteering with groups that help Palestinians displaced by Israeli settlers when he was killed by Hamas combatants. In the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in my opinion Hayim was a warrior for peace. To anyone in our local community who experienced sorrow or terror after the killings of Dr. Talat Khan and Dr. Hayim Katzman, I am mourning with you. I would like to emphasize that this is a local issue because people in our local communities are hurting and they are mourning. Councilmember Nand advised she had a fuller statement on her social media if anyone would like to read it. Mayor Pro Tem Olson explained the Received for Filing section of the agenda is basically a sharing of information. Some people were concerned the council was passing the budget ordinance via an item under Received for Filing tonight. That was not the case, it was just an advanced preview for council which could have been provided via email but was included in Received for Filing so the community could also see it. The numbers in the budget ordinance will be in the December 27 packet. She reiterated no action is taken related to items on the agenda under Received for Filing, they are just for information. Mayor Pro Tern Olson requested councilmembers submit to council's executive assistant as soon as possible the boards and commissions they would like to be the liaison for. The council meeting on December 27 is intended to be held via Zoom and not in person in council chambers. Mayor Pro Tern Olson gave a big thank you and appreciation to her friend, colleague and mentor Councilmember Buckshnis. She has done so much for the City as well as for her personally and she has a heart full of gratitude for her and thanked her for everything she has done. 12. ADJOURN With no further business, the council meeting was adjourned at 9:55 pm. SCOTT PASSEY, t CLERK Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes December 19, 2023 Page 23