Cmd081120 spec mtgEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL
VIRTUAL ONLINE SPECIAL MEETING
APPROVED MINUTES
August 11, 2020
ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT
Mike Nelson, Mayor
Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, Council President
(joined meeting at 10:29 p.m.)
Kristiana Johnson, Councilmember
Luke Distelhorst, Councilmember
Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember
Vivian Olson, Councilmember
Susan Paine, Councilmember
Laura Johnson, Councilmember
1. CALL TO ORDER
STAFF PRESENT
Jessica Neill Hoyson, HR Director
Jeff Taraday, City Attorney
Scott Passey, City Clerk
The Edmonds City Council virtual online meeting was called to order at 10:25 p.m. by Mayor Nelson.
2. ACTION ITEM
1. COUNCIL LEGISLATIVE/EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
HR Director Neill Hoyson explained this is the new contract for Council legislative/executive assistant. It
will become effective as of the date of Council approval and will extend through January 31, 2021. All
items in the contract remain the same except for the wage; there is a proposed wage adjustment 2.75%,
the same amount the non -represented (NR) employees received in 2020. It would be effective as of the
date the Council approves the contract; retroactive payment is not permitted for this type of employee.
Councilmember Buckshnis asked if the contract had been sent out to Councilmembers today. Ms. Neill
Hoyson answered it was sent out yesterday by the City Clerk. Councilmember Buckshnis observed the
contract still has 3 weeks of vacation; she asked what the 2.75% increase equated to. Ms. Neill Hoyson
answered the 2.75% increase would increase the wage to $33.91/hour. Councilmember Buckshnis asked
why this took so long to get approved; it is now August and the contact should have been approved earlier
this year. Ms. Neill Hoyson answered per code the legislative/executive is assistant hired by Council on
an annual basis. She has assisted Council with amendments to the contract throughout this year to allow
the Council President time to complete the evaluation; three amendments were made to the contact that
addressed giving the Council President time to complete the evaluation. Ultimately it is the Council's
responsibility to hire this employee annually.
Councilmember Buckshnis commented there have never been problems in past renewing contracts. The
contract has been renewed twice, it expired on June 30"', the evaluation was done in February. She
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August 11, 2020
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commented something needed to be with regard to the oversight of contracts as it was a disservice to
employees who were being paid out of contract.
(Council President Fraley-Monillas joined the meeting at 10:29 p.m.)
Councilmember Buckshnis restated her question, why has it taken so long to present this contract to the
Council; she has been out of contract since the end of June which was disservice to the employee. Council
President Fraley-Monillas said mostly it was her fault because she wasn't aware she was keeping track of
the contract. The contract expired at the end of June and she did not remember it had expired until
recently. That is why there is a hurry now because technically she is working without a contract.
Councilmember Buckshnis commented this seems like a consistent problem and suggested a tickler
system to avoid it happening in the future. Council President Fraley-Monillas agreed she should have
been paying closer attention. The contract could not be renewed initially due to COVID-related OPMA
restrictions, then there was a delay until the evaluation was completed and then was evaluation done. She
acknowledged there was no one to blame but her for not having it done by the end of June. Ms. Neill
Hoyson advised Council President Fraley-Monillas that she had reviewed the proposed 2.75% wage
increase with Council , but had not addressed any other issues.
Council President Fraley-Monillas relayed the issue is although other NR employees received the small
increase from January until now, the City cannot provide this position with retroactive pay; some of the
delay was due to COVID. She suggested determining a way to compensate her for the portion of the year
that she was not paid the additional 2.75% which equates to approximately $1000. There has been
discussion about doubling the percentage of the wage increase between now and the end of the year to
make up a portion of the time she was not paid the additional 2.75% or perhaps she could be provided
more leave. Council President Fraley-Monillas supported compensating the employee in some way
because tl,.s occurred through no fault of her own.
Councilmember Paine relayed her understanding the pay increase of $0.91 per hour was the 2.75% that
other NR employees received. Ms. Neill Hoyson agreed. To Council President Fraley-Monillas' point, the
employee would have received it if her contract had been approved in a timely manner. The right thing to
do is to find a good mathematically equation to adjust the hourly rate to address the loss of back pay.
Councilmember Olson said her concern with that approach is future salaries are based on the current
salary. Ms. Neill Hoyson said any doubling of the wage adjustment to accommodate the issue of the delay
in contract approval would need to be noted in the contract and any future pay adjustment would be based
on the 2.75% increase and not any additional percentage.
Councilmember Buckshnis commented Ms. Judge should have reminded Council President that her
contract had expired. This is tragic and an embarrassment. She did not know all the details, but the City
needs to get something in place so this does not keep happening.
Councilmember K. Johnson said Councilmember L. Johnson and -she reviewed this with Ms. Neill.
Hoyson during the Public Safety, Personnel and Planning (PSPP) Committee meeting and it was then
extended twice through June. At the time of the PSPP's review the performance review had not been
done, which she believed was done in June. She agreed this should never happen, commenting
contracting is a problem throughout the City as has been seen with other valued employees. She
recommend key people look at this issue and determine a way to ensure it doesn't happen again.
Councilmember K. Johnson said as she stated earlier, the idea that the Council President gives consent
over the activities of the legislative assistant is something that was added to the contract after Ms. Judge
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was hired and was totally inappropriate and in her personal experience, it has not been a fair or equitable
process. With regard to a Councilmember giving the legislative/executive assistant project work and there
is conflict in direction in that work and the Council President having control over that, that was added in
the 2016 contract for Mr. Pierce.
Council President Fraley-Monillas said that was added when Councilmember K. Johnson was Council
President. Ms. Judge's performance evaluation was done well before June. Councilmember Buckshnis
confirmed it was done in February. Council President Fraley-Monillas said COVID restrictions then
occurred in March and it has gone on and on. There needs to be a way to compensate Ms. Judge. She
asked whether the contract approval and a way to compensate her for the time she did not received the
additional 2.75% needed to be resolved tonight. Mr. Taraday said it was problematic that Ms. Judge has
been working without a contract and without any express acquiescence from the City Council. He
assuming the Council knew she was still working so there is perhaps some implied acquiescence. This is
not the way City business should function, to have people working without contracts, and he could not
recommend she continue working without a contract. If there was something complicated about this that
needed further thought, he suggested the Council approve the contract in the packet and/or make
amendments to it and if a further amendments were needed to compensate her for the delayed pay raise,
that could be address in a couple weeks to give Council and staff time to address it in a careful and
thoughtful way.
Councilmember Paine offered a suggestion, the difference is $0.91/hour. It has been seven months and
adding another $0.91 to her base pay would essentially be the additional 2.75% that was missing for the
first half of the year. She did not want Ms. Judge to suffer financially due to this oversight. She agreed
with everyone's comments that there needed to be a system to track contracts. Ms. Neill Hoyson said
using Councilmember Paine's suggestion, the hourly rate would be $34.82/hour; the contract language
could be clarified that any subsequent raises would be based on the $33.91/hour rate.
Councilmember Olson asked whether the Council would see the contract on the Consent Agenda with
that language. Ms. Neill Hoyson said if the Council approved the contract with that amendment tonight, it
would be approved with the amendment. Mr. Taraday advised the Council is in a special session so the
Council has the ability to take action on the contract with or without amendments.
Councilmember L. Johnson appreciated Mr. Taraday suggestion that the Council could pass the contract
as is tonight and, especially considering the late hour, give careful consideration into the best way to
compensate her for the lost pay.
COUNCILMEMBER L. JOHNSON MOVED TO APPROVE THE CONTRACT AS IS.
Councilmember K. Johnson raised a point of order, that the Council had not concluded questions. Mayor
Nelson ruled point taken.
Councilmember K. Johnson pointed out the contract was not in the packet. Staff said it was sent by email
but she did not see the email. She felt it was inappropriate to take action at 10:48 p.m. when the Council
did not have all the information.
Council President Fraley-Monillas said staff should not be punished due to a Councilmember not looking
at their packet. Councilmember K. Johnson reiterated it was not in the packet. Council President Fraley-
Monillas advised it was sent this afternoon. She did not want staff to be punished and not able to work
due to this oversight. She supported approving the contract and figuring out the further compensation
with Ms. Neill Hoyson by the end of the week as Mr. Taraday made it clear to her that this has to be dealt
with tonight.
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August 11, 2020
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Councilmember Distelhorst advised packet was emailed to Council by City Clerk Scott Passey at 4:00
p.m. Monday.
Councilmember L. Johnson said the legislative assistant falls under the Council's purview and the
Council needs to approve her contract tonight. Contract amendments have been considered by Council
numerous times. She did not find an issue with approving the contract as is tonight and then carefully
considering the additional compensation moving forward.
Councilmember K. Johnson pointed out the Council typically get packets Friday afternoon. Sending
something out at 4 p.m. Monday or 3 p.m. on Tuesday with the expectation that Councilmembers have
read it is unrealistic. The Council President, Mayor and staff have a duty to provide a complete packet and
she found this an inappropriate way to conduct business.
Councilmember Olson said she did not wholly disagree with Councilmember K. Johnson. It may have
been enough time but a heads up phone call would have been helpful so that it was sure to be on
Council's radar. She was in favor of proceeding with the basic contract because the only change from last
year's contract is the 2.75% COLA. Ms. Neill Hoyson agreed. Councilmember Olson was comfortable
going forward with approving the contract tonight. She found it interesting that Councilmembers were
saying an employee shouldn't pay the price for things that were not done right by the City in this case, but
when came to Chief Lawless, the Council didn't want to make up for what the City didn't do right.
Council President Fraley-Monillas raised a point of order; the discussion was veering into other subjects
including what happened last week as a comparison to this. Mayor Nelson ruled point taken, members
will keep remarks strictly to the topics of discussion, the contract for the council legislative/executive
assistant.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT FRALEY-MONILLAS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER
L. JOHNSON, THAT WE APPROVE MS. JUDGE'S CONTRACT AND MS. NEILL HOYSON
WILL GET BACK TO COUNCIL IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS WITH THE COMPENSATION
FOR THE COLA THAT HAS BEEN MISSING FROM JANUARY TO AUGUST.
Councilmember K. Johnson found it inappropriate to have a blank check. if the Council is approving a
contract, they need to know the terms of the contract. She summarized this had not been done in a very
professional manner.
Councilmember Distelhorst said as Ms. Neill Hoyson said, the terms of the contract were the same as the
contract that had already been extended with one change, the COLA that increases the wage from
$33/hour to $33.91/hour. Ms. Neill Hoyson agreed that was the only change to the contract. Three
amendments were approved with the existing language; the only difference from the previous
amendments is the addition of the COLA.
COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER OLSON, TO
AMEND TO JUST APPROVE THE CONTRACT AS IS.
Councilmember Buckshnis said at this late hour, the Council should approve the contract and Ms. Neill
Hoyson and/or Council President Fraley-Monillas can bring back a new contract with a new dollar
amount and it can either be scheduled on the Consent Agenda or a future agenda. The public did not see
this contract because it was sent to COUnci l on Monday.
Councilmember Paine said she would support a motion to have the contract extended to end of January
2021 with her wage at $33.91.
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August 11, 2020
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Council President Fraley-Monillas raised a point of order; there is already have a motion and an
amendment on the floor and it is not appropriate to place another motion on the floor. Mayor Nelson ruled
point taken, there is a motion on the floor to approve the existing contract.
Councilmember Paine raised a point of clarification, whether Councilmember Buckshnis' motion
included $33/hour or $33.91/hour. Councilmember Buckshnis clarified her motion was to approve the
contract with the COLA and staff or Council President Fraley-Monillas come back with the backpay.
Council President Fraley-Monillas raised a point of order, stating that was her original motion, that Ms.
Neill Hoyson would return to Council with the missing value. She wanted it to be clear in the motion that
the Council would provide some level of compensation to address the 2.75% that had not been paid since
January. Mayor Nelson ruled point not taken.
Councilmember Buckshnis clarified her motion was to approve the contract with the COLA. The Council
can trust Ms. Neill Hoyson to come back with the additional amount; that did not need to be included in
the motion.
Council President Fraley-Monillas said the motion says nothing about paying the back compensation. She
encouraged Councilmembers to vote against the amendment and vote for the main motion that references
that compensation.
Councilmember L. Johnson appreciated wanting to clarify that Ms. Judge will be compensated and that
would be her intent. Understanding that some research needs to occur, she was unsure the Council could
definitively say that compensation would be provided and that there was a method to do it.
Council President Fraley-Monillas said there are multiple ways of compensating Ms. Judge including
doubling the COLA, providing additional leave, providing a flat amount, etc. Her problem with
Councilmember Buckshnis' amendment is it does not clearly state Ms. Judge will be compensated. She
suggested Councilmember Buckshnis change the motion to say Ms. Judge will be compensated.
Councilmember Buckshnis said it was implied that the Council will do something about it and are
directing Ms. Neill Hoyson to look into how to compensate Ms. Judge. To add it to the motion does not
make sense because it is unknown how she will be compensated, whether it will be with money, leave or
something else so a new contract will be required. She preferred to have that research done and a new
contract presented.
Council President Fraley-Monillas said Councilmember Buckshnis' statement made it clear Ms. Judge
will be compensated.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT FRALEY-MONILLAS WITHDREW THE MOTION.
Councilmember Olson asked if a motion is withdrawn, whether the amendment becomes the main
motion. Mr. Taraday answered said it was probably not proper to have Council President Fraley-
Monillas' motion withdrawn when there was an amendment pending. He suggested starting from scratch.
COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS WITHDREW THE AMENDMENT.
COUNCILMEMBER OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT FRALEY-
MONILLAS, TO APPROVE THE CONTRACT AS SUBMITTED TODAY IN THE PACKET
WITH A FUTURE REVISIT TO THE COMPENSATION FOR THE TIME THAT WAS NOT
DONE AT THAT HIGHER LEVEL.
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August 11, 2020
Page 5
UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION CARRIED (6-0-1), COUNCIL PRESIDENT FRALEY-MONILLAS
AND COUNCILMEMBERS DISTELHORST, BUCKSHNIS, OLSON, PAINE, AND L. JOHNSON
VOTING YES; AND COUNCILMEMBER K. JOHNSON ABSTAINING._
12. ADJOURN
With no further business, the Council meeting was adjourned at 11:05 p.m.
MICHAEL NELSON, MAYOR
SCOTT PASSEY, CITY CLERK
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August 11, 2020
Page 6
UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION CARRIED (6-0-1), COUNCIL PRESIDENT FRALEY-MONILLAS
AND COUNCILMEMBERS DISTELHORST, BUCKSHNIS, OLSON, PAINE, AND L. JOHNSON
VOTING YES; AND COUNCILMEMBER K. JOIINSON ABSTAINING.
12. ADJOURN
With no further business, the Council meeting was adjoLimed at .11:05 P.m.
MI A- L NELSON MAYOR
5 PASS6TY--'
1:;dmonds City Council Approved Minutes
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