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19721201 City Council Minutes375 BUDGET HEARING December 1, 1972 1 In accordance with State Statutues, hearing was held on the Final Budget for the City of Edmonds for the year 1973. Meeting was called to order by Mayor Harve Harrison, with all council members present except Nelson, who had stated at the last regular meeting that he would be out of town during the month of December. Mayor Harrison noted that it was nice to see so many interested people in the audience, and following a show of hands, it was found that several were not associated with city employment. The Mayor stated that there was stress for the coming year toward achieving greater efficiency, service, and communication. In line with this aim, he reported that to date over 600 answeres had been received to the questionnaire mailed to the citizens of Edmonds with his Budget Message. On Question (1) How do you feel about the level of city services and taxes which go hand -in -hand? 25 felt they should be increased; 338 said they were about right; 214 wished them decreased. (2) on areas of city services which should receive more emphasis: 228 said street maintenance; 223 animal control; . 136 sidewalks; 130 police protection; 96 parks; 90.fire;.74 storm water control;. 33 library expansion. (3) On whether or not a roof should be constructed over the swimming pool in Yost Park: 317 said no; 268 said yes. Of the yes votes, 206 felt it should be financed with Revenue Bonds from admission fees; 61 felt Councilmanic Bonds from city revenues; 16 answered G.O. Bonds. (4). Question on whether they are treated in a courteous manner by city employees? There were 551 yes and 30.no. • Mayor Harrison then stated that the Federal Revenue Sharing monies must be estab- lished in a separate fund, and therefore Fund 623 had.been created. The proposed budget for 1973 was in balance, with $124,000 in a contingency fund to be used in any manner.which council chooses. It was noted that suggestions had been made for an increase in the number of proposed police and firemen; for additional fire hydrants; public transportation; and sidewalks and walkways for school children. The Mayor had proposed retaining eleven E.E.A. personnel who would be funded from the 1973 cut-off dates through the end of the year. Hearing was then opened. Councilman Tuson asked-CAO Ron Whaley if he had attented the public transit - meeting November 30. Mr. Whaley answered that he had and a representative of the System would be atlthe December 4 council meeting'to present their report for council consideration. A gentleman in the audience asked about all the other E.E.A. employees besides the eleven suggested.by the Mayor for funding beyond the cut-off dates in 1973. Mayor Harrison explained the reasons for the government enacting.the Emergency Employment Act, the hiring of these people with government funding, and the initial intent of absorbing up to one half of these employees when funding ceased. He therefore had advocated retainage by the City of Edmonds of eleven of the people whom he felt were especially needed in certain departments, and these were: 1 in Street Dept. for maintenance; 1 in Parks for.maintenance; 1 in Building . maintenance; 1 in Building Inspection; 4 in the Fire Dept.; 1 patrol officer in the Police Dept; and the Deputy City Clerk. Chester Bennett addressed council in behalf of the Fire Dept. Union and the re- maining 4 E.E.A. employees who were not on the Mayor's proposed r.etainage list. Mr. Bennett presented a petition.signed by 700 citizens in the community, .asking • that consideration be given to retain the 4 additional firemen under the E.E.A. program in order to keep a full Fire.Dept. staff and maintain.the high level of protection now in force. Mr. Bennett then called upon Tom Johnston for Local, 1828, Firemen's Union, who quoted the first Prior Report on percentage levels necessary for adequate fire protection in Edmonds. He also noted that the Fire Chief put in a request for additional men every year, and that these E.E.A. employees in the Fire Service were top men from the Civil Service examinations who had the experience and training and were needed for manpower in the Department. Harold Bucklin, former Chairman of the City of Edmonds Civil Service Commission, spoke about the excellent job the Fire Department has done over the years in responding to all emergencies, and he felt maintaining a'full staff in this area should be at the top of the city's priority list. Another gentleman in the audience stated that he understood that people seemed satisfied with the city services as indicated on the recent questionnaire, but'no one ever said that there might be a cut in the present number of either firemen or policemen.. Councilman Tuson asked Fire Chief Cooper if he were allowed to keep only four E.E.A. firemen instead of the present eight, would the Five Corners station be manned or not? Chief Cooper answered that with a reduction in manpower, he would have to pull the 10 hour per day manning of that station. Councilman Nordquist inquired if there would be Aid Car personnel even if the fire rigs are out - would there be men left behind to run the Aid Car in case of a call during another fire emergency? Chief Cooper answered that the type of call determined which piece or pieces of equipment would respond, and in most cases, during a particular call, either the Fire Inspector or the Chief or Assistant:- Chief would probably be in the building if needed in that particular type of, circumstance. Councilwoman Shippen asked if the eight additional E.E.A. firemen had improved inspection of private homes Chief Cooper said that they must°°b.e invited into private homes, since the Fire Dept. has no right of entry except in an emergency, according to a Supreme Court ruling. A woman in the audience said 376, she would hate to have a fire call at her house and find that all the volunteer firemen in Edmonds were out of town and unable to respond. She felt the need for full-time paid firemen in the fire service. Mayor Harrison asked if the Fire Dept. felt the volunteer system was a waste. Tom Johnston answered that Edmonds has an excellent volunteer system, but that it was a gamble on how many would answer:>.each call. At this point, Councilman Nordquist suggested that council proceed department by department on the proposed 1973 budget. Norma Bruns, in the audience, asked if there would be money available for the interlocal agreement with the Law and Justice Dept. for participation in the Snohomish County.Communications Center, and could some of the $124,000 in the contingency fund be earmarked for this? Police Chief Marto Foster noted that he had written to the Mayor and CAO within the month recommending inclusion of this, and it was included in the capital funds of the Police Dept. Following some council discussion, Councilman Haines stated that he would like to see services in the city maintained at the highest possible level, and he then made a motion, seconded by Councilman Nordquist that the additional four E.E.A. men in the Fire Dept. be re -instated in the 1973 budget and the three additional E.E.A. employees in the Police Dept. be included in the funding for that depart- ment. Motion carried. Councilman Nordquist then stated that he would like to discuss retaining one person in the Finance Dept., and with all due respect to Mr. Tuttle, he felt it advantageous to have the services of an accountant, with the workload in that department requiring this, and he therefore moved, seconded by Councilwoman Shippen, to retain the E.E.A. Chief Accountant in the Finance Dept. at this time. When questioned if the Finance Director had need for a Chief Accountant, CAO Whaley answered that it was a smoother operation with the accountant and would save the -State Auditor much time during his regular auditing, and this in turn would save money. Following this discussion, the motion carried. Councilman Nordquist then stated that it was felt when the E.E.A. people were hired, that if those under that program could make a contribution, the city would retain them, and he commended the council for their action in retaining these valuable employees. Chester Bennett again spoke to council, repeating his suggestion that the Mayor's salary be raised by $3600 to $9600 per year,to justify his spending his time on city business. Council then proceeded to go through the proposed 1973 budget, by department. There were .no changes suggested under Mayor, CAO or City Clerk. Under Finance, there was addition of E.E.A. Chief Accountant, and three additional E.E.A. employees for the Police Dept. Councilman Gellert questioned Animal Control, and Chief Foster said this was a serious problem; that it was very expensive to think of an extra man plus an extra truck; and that the main problem as he saw it was leash law violations, and of course license violations. Four E.Z.A. firemen were added to that department, and Allen Tuttle suggested a pay as you go system on' equipment if funds are available, in order to save interest payments. Under the Enineering Dept., with the City Engineer stating that purchase of a transite would result in more in-house capabilities, it was moved by Councilman Gellert, seconded by Councilman Tuson to increase the Capital Outlay in this department from the $500 to $800 in order to budget for the transite item. Motion carried. Under Library, Councilwoman Shippen questioned the figures,' and Mayor Harrison noted that they were estimates, but that on Page 97 in the,1973 proposed budget there appeared a Special Library Fund which was available for their use, and which they might as well utilize, if needed. Under Building Maintenance, Herb Gilbo questioned the cut of $6000 in salaries, and following discussion on this item, Councilman Gellert asked if expenditures for the year could be placed in a column next to amounts proposed by the departments next year, so that it would be easy too see what'was-,actually spent. It was then moved by Councilman Gellert, seconded by Councilman Nordquist that the amount of $36,700 be shown under Salaries and Wages in .the Building Maintenance Fund. Motion carried. Parks & Recreation: Councilwoman Shippen said that she would prefer keeping a Recreation Supervisor rather than a person for park maintenance under the E.E.A. Rod Garretson, Director, made a plea for reconsideration of the E.E.A. personnel in his department, asking to retain two instead of one, and after some discussion, Councilwoman Shippen moved, seconded by Councilman Gellert that the E.E.A. employee for Recreation Supervisor be retained in addition to the Mayor's proposal under Parks & Recreation. This motion carried. There were no changes made under Civil Service nor Attorney, but under Violations Bureau, Finance Director Allen Tuttle stated that they were in the process of changing court procedure and therefore would have to change equipment and use a complete new set of forms, which he estimated at a cost of $3000. Under Civic Center, Councilman Gellert asked if money had been included here for a space needs consultant. The Mayor assured him that the contingency fund would cover this expense. In the Non -Departmental Fund, Councilwoman Shippen.noted that Item 41 on Page 55, Puget Sound Governmental Conference, had been deleted for 1973, and she felt that many of our problems are regional, such as the airport study, for 1 1 u 1 u 1 1 0 377. 1 1 • 1 • 1 example, and the Conference supplies us with needed information. Mayor Harrison said he thought regional planning should be financed regionally, and the county should stand the cost of this. Councilwoman Shippen then made a motion to re- instate money for the Puget Sound Governmental Conference, but the motion died for lack of a second. Councilwoman Shippen then moved, seconded by Councilman Nordquist that $240 be added under the Non -Departmental Fund for the City of.'' Edmonds' share to help maintain planning services of the Snohomish County Health Planning Council, as presented to council at their regular meeting on November 28. Motion carried. A motion was made by Councilwoman Shippen, seconded by Councilman Gellert that on page 56, Item 63 under Non -Departmental, the word "Park" be struck so as to have this item apply to any Beautification. This motion also carried. CAO Ron Whaley suggested that a token amount of $200 be budgeted to pick up any necessary expenses of the person assigned to Edmonds under the ACTION program, if it becomes a reality. It was therefore moved by Councilman Gellert, seconded by Councilwoman Shippen to add the amount of.$200 to this Fund for the ACTION program, and the motion carried. No changes were.suggested for.the LEFF Disability Board, nor for Public Works Administration._ Under General Services, CAO,Whaley noted"that this included Data Processing as well as the commonly.used items by all departments. He added that' conversion of the card,system to disk system.on the computer and.the rental fee are included in the total here. He then stated that in order to complete this conversion to disk, etc., he felt it necessary to keep the E.E.A. Programmer in Data Processing, and,following some discussion, it was moved by Councilman . Gellert to retain the E.E.A. Programmer only to November 1, 1973. This motion died for lack of a second. There was more discussion, and a motion was then made by Councilman Haines, seconded by Councilman Nordquist to accept the recom- mendation of the CAO and retain the Programmer to the end of the year 1973, with the amount of $4488 increased in the General Services Fund. Motion carried. Under Street Department, discussion resulted in a motion being made.by Councilman Gellert, seconded by Councilman Nordquist that $14,000 be re -instated under Construction Projects on page 94, Item 65, based on results of the recent survey via the questionnaire. Motion carried. Director of M & 0 Herb Gilbo asked for reconsideration -of the two E.E.A. positions cut from the Street Labor force, based on the increase in services, but the request was withdrawn when it was found to be included in the budget. Herb Gilbo recommended. that under the Water - Sewer council reconsider on landscaping at the Treatment Plant and also Construction projects. Going back to the previous motion, discussion was held and Councilman Haines moved, seconded by Councilman Gellert to reserve judgement on the $14000 until recapitulation is received on the additional expenditures made thus far tonight, so. -that council will know where it stands budgetwise. Motion carried. Councilwoman Shippen moved, seconded by Councilman Gellert that the $4775 under Landscaping in the Water -Sewer Dept. 411-029 be retained in the budget. Motion carried. Under the Treatment Plant, City Engineer Leif Larson reminded council that by July 1, 1977 there was a requirement.for this facility in regard to governmental regulations. Councilwoman Shippen said that in regard to underground wiring, she would like to see an amendment passed by the council to implement this instead of -,.depending upon money from the contingency fund. She felt this was a priority item. On the Sidewalk Construction Fund, a motion was made by Councilman Gellert, seconded by Councilwoman,.Shippen that on page 165 of the proposed budget.$20,000 be added to the -Sidewalk Construction Fund for bicycle trails, sidewalks, and walkways. Motion carried. At this point, it was moved by Councilman Nordquist, seconded by Councilman Haines to recess the budget hearing to Mond -ay evening, December 4 at 7:30 P.M. Motion carried, and the meeting was recessed at 10:15 P.M. Irene Varney Moran City Clerk BUDGET HEARING December 41 1972 Harve H. Harrison, Mayor Recessed hearing on the 1973 budget was called to order by Mayor Harve Harrison at 7:30 P.M. with all council members present except Nelson, who is out of town for the month of December. Council was advised that since Friday's budget hearing another item had come to the city's attention in that it was possible to get a potential grant amounting to 1% of the motor vehicle tax for a public transportation system if the city provides matching funds from either a city owned utility or from a household tax. Councilman Tuson asked CAO Whaley what 1% on the Water would amount to, and was answered about $5,000 per year. 0