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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWS 2024-11-18 - Handout Distributed at Meeting - 2025-2026 Biennial Budget: Council Question Follow-Up and Parking Lot2025-2026 Proposed Budget Council Question Follow -Up & Parking Lot Date Councilmembe r Comment/Question/Item Dept. Response 1. 9/23/24 Martinez How much ending fund balance in Funds 302, 305? FIN Projected ending fund balance for Fund 302 is $1.9M and for Fund 305 is $1.1M. 2. 10/7/24 Papyan Page 10 in presentation - what are the main reasons for the percentage change (from 2024-2025) increases to Court and PW? Court/ PW Court: The court's budget modifications are summarized in the council budget book and can be found under Tab 9, page 3. The narrative does not include wage, and benefit increases which makes up the majority of the court's expenditures. PW: Public Works is proposing filling two positions previously held vacant the last two biennia, a custodian and a facilities technician. Further, Public Works' budget pays for the city's entire property insurance bill as well a significant portion of the City's utility bills. Finally, the return to the Fleet replacement model resulted in increased fleet funding requirements by PW divisions. 3. 10/7/24 Papyan/McCon nell What are revenue opportunities other cities use that Tukwila could explore? - Short term response not needed but explore over next year, including timing/feasibility. FIN Will explore this in 2025. 4. 10/7/24 McConnell Why do we think the B&O revenue was lower than predicted and how are we in comparison with neighboring cities? How does our other revenue compare to neighboring cities (e.g. gambling tax)? FIN B&O comparative sheet from AWC emailed to Laurel. B&O Q2 report scheduled for 10/14 and will address revenue collections and status. Other comparative tax information is in progress. 5. 10/7/24 Martinez What was A/V last year, will A/V go down next year with fire station transfer? FIN 2023 AV for 2024 collections = $9,496,535,922. 2024 A.V. for 2025 (est) collections = $9,561,329,345. These A.V. amounts are taxable A.V. so when the city sells land to a private individual/entity, it increases taxable A.V. as well as revenue due to tax collections on that property. Updated 11/15/24 6. 10/7/24 Martinez Where will proceeds of the Longacres property sale go in the budget? MO The sale of this property is not planned until after 2026. Generally, the proceeds from property sale will be received in the General Fund. 7. 10/7 and 10/21/24 Martinez Is it possible to bring in Puget Sound RFA to present on fire service and what Tukwila residents will see with annexation? It does not have to be part of the budget process. MO Yes - Chief Carson invited for November 18 - Presentations. 8. 10/7/24 Martinez What is the average life of the golf cart battery? PR CM Martinez's question seemed to be under the assumption the golf course cart fleet is electrified. This is not the case with our cart fleet being standard gas -powered carts utilizing batteries similar to that found in a standard passenger vehicle. Expected lifetime of said batteries is usually 4-6 years, but we are confirming demonstrated actuals with our fleet technician. 9. 10/7/24 Martinez What is current balance on contingency fund? FIN $7,064,508 10. 10/7/24 Martinez Fleet Fund - How many vehicles are we leasing? PW 83 11. 10/7/24 Martinez Median age of City employees? HR Median age: 45 years (Source: Alliant, self -insured health care plan benefits broker) 12. 10/7/24 Sharp How much does a modular unit cost? MO The project team is working on getting a revised cost estimate that includes modular structures and the associated site improvements. 13. 10/7/24 Papyan M&O building, why generally is square footage cost so high? Hard cost/soft costs. MO The cost per square foot includes all costs, not just construction costs. The all -costs amount includes design, permitting, impact fees, and a proportional allocation of the site improvement costs. Additionally, the costs that were provided to the City Council assigned site improvement cost as an estimate and would need to be trued up once we make a decision about what elements of the project will move forward. 14. 10/7/24 Martinez Cost breakdown of items removed from Shops design MO Approximately $2 million for the removal of the car wash and other improvements on the property. However, this assumes the total build of Updated 11/15/24 $80 million. We are now looking at rescoped project of between $25 and $30 million. 15. 10/7/24 Sharp What would it take to get Minkler up to code and able to MO This information is not available; the site is too small to accomodate our accommodate business needs? functional needs. 16. 10/7/24 Martinez Approximate cost to shelve the PW project until the next biennium MO We are using a cost inflator of 4% per year if the project is delayed. 17. 10/7/24 18. 10/7/24 McConnell Why didn't the city buy and renovate the Boeing Building that was for MO The City did consider this site and it was determined not to meet the sale? City's functional requirements. The building is an office building and was much larger than what the City needs for just office space. The City needed buildings that provided light industrial and storage space. The projected fair market value for the property was much larger than what the City wanted to pay. It was not until later that the City learned that Boeing conducted an essential fire sale of the property and was willing to take a significant loss to quickly unload the property. There are also shoreline issues with the property, specifically the risk of future flooding that does not exist with the properties the City ultimately selected. Martinez How many participants are covered in Fund 503, Retiree Self -Insured MO There are currently 24 participants in the retiree self -insured healthcare Healthcare Plan? Is this number decreasing? plan, and this number has decreased from an average of 32 in 2020. (This is different from the LEOFF 1 Pension Fund 611, which has 7 participants.) 19. 10/14/24 Martinez Provide additional information on City emergency management MO See attached memo dated 11/1/24. functions - current program and what PSRFA provides. 20. 10/14/24 Sharp Provide additional detail on philosophy regarding Mayor/City MO See attached memo dated 11/1/24. Administrator/.5 FTE for Deputy City Administrator. Updated 11/15/24 21. 10/14/24 Sharp Parking Lot - Golf Course Enterprise Fund PR Will be scheduled for more discussion prior to budget adoption. 22. 10/14/24 Multiple Provide more information about the coverage/hours/duties of park ranger, and what other jurisdictions employ a park ranger? PR The Parks Ranger would be a limited commission officer assigned to parks for the purposes of: 1) Providing enforcement of TMC Title 12 (Parks and Recreation) at all City of Tukwila parks, trails, and open spaces, 2) Assisting volunteers and P&R staff with community engagement/stewardship activities within parks and trails, and 3) Opening/Closing parks facilities/gates. Per the RCW, this position would be required to complete basic law enforcement training during the first 12 months of employment (RCW 43.101.200) and violence de-escalation training within 15 months of being hired (RCW 43.101.450). This position would not carry a firearm, but would be able to issue citations. Parks administration plans to utilize this role M-F with additional coverage for opening/closing parks facilities/gates being provided by seasonal labor. This position is comparable to that of a Community Service Officer (CSO), which is utilized by several Washington jurisdictions such as the cities of Seattle, Marysville, Bellingham, and Lake Stevens. 23. 10/14/24 Martinez Cost of adding additional park maintenance staff? PR Please see Tab 6, Page 7 for estimated staffing costs by position. Additionally, extra labor (seasonal) Parks Maintenance workers cost about $29/hour (This rate includes applicable benefits and payroll taxes). 24. 10/21/24 Martinez What was the cost of fire service per square foot when it was provided by City of Tukwila? (What is the equivalent amount of property tax/fee that a resident would have paid for fire services when it was provided by the city, versus what will they pay PSF for fire services - is it more, less or the same?) MO October 28 presentation and November 1 memo gave examples of Fire comparison costs. City did not charge residents or cost Fire services on a per -square -foot basis. Below is a simplified breakdown of how much a Tukwila property taxpayer paid for fire services in 2022, using Councilmember Martinez's property as an example. 1. Property Value: In 2022, the property was valued at $535,000. 2. Total Property Tax: The total property tax bill was $535,000 times the tax rate of $12.08991 per $1,000, totaling $6,468. Updated 11/15/24 3. City's Share of Tax: Of the property tax bill, 22.5% (or $1,455) went to the City of Tukwila. 4. City's Fire Department Cost: The fire department made up 19.6% of the city's budget. So, 19.6% of the city share of the property tax bill ($1,455) went toward fire services, which equals about $285. In other words, of the $6,468 total property tax paid, roughly $285 went to fund city fire services, assuming that all Fire costs were paid for with property taxes. (Although that is only one General Fund source that funded Fire.) 25. 10/21/24 McConnell, Martinez Provide updated info on traffic calming and overlay program. PW In the 2024 Annual Overlay project, 6,300 linear feet of grinding and overlay placement was performed. In the Riverton Neighborhood we did work on 35th Ave S, 37th Ave S, 40th Ave S, S 132nd PI, S 128th St. In the Allentown Neighborhood we did work on 50th PI S and on S 114th St. The City currently has an on -call contract with KPG Psomas, Inc. (KPG) to provide support for traffic calming measures. In 2024, KPG has been working on the S 115th St and E Marginal Way pedestrian crossing, a speed and safety study of Macadam Rd, a City-wide Residential speed limit review, 42nd Ave S roadside barrier analysis, and a Ryan Way safety memo and CIP development. 26. 10/21/24 Sharp How many new (unfilled) staff are proposed in the '25/26 budget? FIN The '25/26 Proposed Budget has a net increase of 7.25 FTE across City Departments and Funds. Some are proposed from reclassifying and reallocating funding. Staff prepared the FTE table for the proposed budget (Appendix) which is provided as part of Tab 2, p. 34. Of the net new FTE proposed, all but two are unfilled (Preschool Teacher and Golf Maintenance Worker). 27. 10/28/24 Martinez Page 57 of 10/28 packet, "Defer GF transfers to capital for 2025- 2026." Approximately how much would the City be deferring? MO In the 25-26 Biennium, staff identified $4.7 million in potential general fund transfers for capital. This included various facility improvements and funding for the Annual Overlay Program and Traffic Calming Program. In order to reduce the General Fund's burden, staff identified alternative funding mechanisms for some capital expenses, such as the Overlay Program and Traffic Calming, and deferred others, such as a HVAC replacement for the 6300 Building. Updated 11/15/24 28. 10/28/24 Sharp Approximately how much will the city save by returning to the Fleet replacement cost model? FIN Over the course of the life of a police vehicle, using a replacement model saves the City roughly 20% vs. Leasing. See Question #42 for more. 29. 10/28/24 Sharp Page 58 of 10/28 packet - provide specific costs of services listed such as street maintenance and neighborhood traffic calming. FIN In the Street Maintenance division, the current budget allocations are as follows: roughly $80,000 for roadway and structural repairs, $21,000 for sidewalk repairs, $44,000 for street lighting and signals (excluding electric bills), $120,000 for traffic control, $10,000 for snow and ice, $105,000 for street cleaning and roadside sweeping, and $30,000 for video and fiber. These budget allocations provide for the current level of service, which prioritizes essential services and reducing City liability sometimes at the expense of roadway and roadside aesthetics. The proposed budget allows for a modest increased investment in the signal division and traffic control division. The Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program is Capital program designed to make capital improvements to the residential roadway to calm traffic. Since 2022, it has been funded by ARPA at $400,000 annually. The proposed budget continues that investment using the Residential Streets Capital Budget (103 Fund). 30. 10/28/24 Sharp How many non -represented employees are 10% above market? HR Correction from 11/4/24. Resolution 1951, the city's compensation policy, provides for (among many provisions) processes for market surveys for non -represented employees every other year when economic conditions allow; and include market adjustments for salaries that are 5% below/10% above market. In 2023, Tukwila contracted for a market & compression salary study for non -represented employees which found that 88% of 32 employees were at or above average market rate (Figure 3, 2023 McGrath Report). In addition to the market study findings, an updated salary schedule that addressed compression and changed from the prior decision band method was also implemented. The 2023 study is being provided to Council by separate memo (See Q44). An updated study is planned for 2025. 31. 10/28/24 Sharp Page 62 of COW packet - Expense Assumptions. What do these percentages mean in the context of the overall budget? FIN This page is titled "Out Years Assumptions" and the table "Expense Assumptions" refers to the 6-year Plan and Forecast, and the percentages refer to the amount we expect that annual costs will increase in the future. Updated 11/15/24 32. 10/28/24 Quinn Provide information on revenue sources that used to exist that no longer exist. FIN ARPA Funding, Sales Tax Mitigation, Declining franchise fees, telephone tax 33. 10/28/24 Papyan Provide information on cost -benefit of moving the records storage out of Station 51, and how that impacts the budget. MO To clarify, Fire Station 51 is being used for police vehicular evidence storage and oversized -evidence that does not fit in our evidence storage at the Justice Center. These are cars and property that have been used in the commission of a crime and need to be processed for evidence and in some cases stored. Fire Station 51 was intended as stop -gap measure until a better location could be identified. There are no immediate budget impacts for'25-26 but we would need to find a storage solution if the station is sold. 34. 10/28/24 Papyan What funds were used to purchase George Long and Fire Station 51? Are there restrictions to consider? FIN From everything we are seeing, it appears that the General Fund purchased these properties many years ago. We are still doing some work but at this point there don't seem to be restrictions to consider. 35. 10/28/24 Sharp What percentage of residents pay taxes? FIN In Tukwila, 57% of residents are renters whereas 43% own their homes. While property owners pay their taxes directly, renters likely see property tax as cost embedded in their overall rent payment. In 2023, Tukwila collected 25% of its property tax revenue from the residential sector, 8% from apartments and mobile homes, and 67% from the commercial sector. 36. 10/28/24 Quinn Provide more detail about impacts to resident services due to reductions in every budget cycle. MO Refer to 11/4 Work Session memo for examples of service trade-offs, reductions and other effects on budget in the last two budget cycles. Department Directors will be in attendance at the 11/4 meetings to respond to questions. 37. 11/4/24 Martinez Is the Lodging Tax fund enough to cover needs for the World Cup or will the Council be asked for additional funding sources, such as general fund? MO We do not anticipate using general funds for any of the work associated with the World Cup. 38. 11/4/24 Martinez Is there any part of Ryan Hill still on septic? PW Yes, there are significant gaps in sewer coverage, see Figure 4 in the Ryan Hill Neighborhood Study. https://www.tukwilawa.gov/wp- content/uploads/Ryan-Hill-Neighborhood-Study-03.06.18.pdf Updated 11/15/24 39. 11/4/24 Sharp Why are 30 new positions being proposed between 2022 and 2025? MO A detailed summary of non -Fire FTE added since 2019 is on Tab 2, Page 30 of the budget notebook which lists the sources of change, and an additional table is attached showing FTE changes by department 2019- 2024. Generally, the reasons for the staffing change included restoring staffing reductions from the pandemic (Police and Municipal Court); staffing additions due to receipt of additional revenues or grants, to mandates, or in enterprise or special funds (such as ARPA, B&0 Tax, Commute Trip Reduction - DCD, Minimum Wage Coordinator). 40. 11/4/24 Martinez What was the 2023 budget amendment for Fire Service? FIN $728,500 41. 11/4/24 Martinez Parking Lot - Feasibility of using Minkler and Station 51 (building and lot) to accommodate a portion of PW Shops needs. MO The City utilized a community Siting Advisory Committee to select sites for the new justice center, fire station, and combined PW facility. Fire Station 51 was not considered because it did not meet our siting criteria, specifically that the property in the urban center is protected by a levee. More information on the work of the Siting Advisory Committee can be found here: https://www.tukwilawa.gov/departments/mayors- office/key-city-plans-and-projects/public-safety-plan/public-safety- bond-siting-advisory-committee/. Regardless of the Siting Advisory Committee, the site is too small to accommodate Minkler and the activities from the Longacres properties. In fact, the Fire Station 51 property at 81,000 square feet is smaller than the usable area of Minkler shop's property, which is 103,352 square feet. The building is not salvageable and has significant issues, including the ceiling collapsing. 42. 11/4/24 Sharp What is the dollar amount of the 20% savings resulting from the fleet replacement model vs leasing? FIN Fleet is proposing to buy 24 vehicles in the 25-26 budget: 20 are replacement vehicles, 3 are new police patrol cars, and 1 vehicle is for the new park ranger position. The city will save $624,000 over a 10-year period by purchasing the vehicles instead of leasing them. Updated 11/15/24 43. 11/4/24 Sharp On question 29, does the cost of Street Maintenance total $430K? PW The expenditures listed total $410,000. 44. 11/4/24 Multiple Provide 2023 salary study (non -represented employees). MO/ HR HR will transmit the 2023 study report to Council by separate memo (11/12/2024) and will schedule further discussion of the study findings with the Council outside of the budget process. (See Q30) 45. 11/4/24 Hedrick, Papyan, Sharp Explore high level revenue impact of changing B&O structure to a 500K threshold, or to add a square footage tax. Provide information on process and timing. FIN Draft timeline under review and to be attached/handed out. 46. 11/4/24 Multiple Parking lot- Tukwila Promise Mayor McLeod will provide letter and overview of proposed program to Council. Letter emailed to City Council on 11/8/24. 47. 11/4/24 Papyan Is it a common practice for cities to sell property to cover operating costs? Are there examples from Tukwila or other cities? What are the long-term impacts? FIN Selling surplus property is a common practice. Selling property is a one - time source of revenue and should be used to pay for one-time expenses. Using any one-time resource to cover on -going operational expenses is not a sustainable budget practice. 48. 11/4/24 Sharp What is the share of the proposed levy relative to the total property tax capacity, and what is the share of the property tax as part of the total tax capacity? FIN State law limits the annual increase in property tax revenue to 1% or the Implicit Price Deflator (IPD). With the proposed budget reduction in property tax levy, the estimated levy rate per $1,000 AV, is $1.24. If we were to collect the maximum allowable under state law, the rate per $1,000 AV would be $1.89. In 2024, budgeted property tax was 32% of total budgeted tax revenue. In 2025, property tax is 23%of budgeted tax revenue. Budgeted property tax revenue for 2025 is $12.OM while the maximum allowable property tax collections for 2025 is $18.2M. 49. 11/12/24 McConnell (via email) The Police Department expenditures are $28M and revenue is $1M. Is this normal for police service? Is there a revenue plan? Why is there a $10M increase from 2022 to 2025? What can we do to control costs? What are some ways for PD to generate revenue? PD Revenue options for the PD are extremely limited. Most revenue is in the form of reimbursement of services (Officers filling OT shifts at the Mall), grants, false alarm billing, and a portion of the automated school zone cameras. Other potential revenue could be through installation of other speed or red-light automated enforcement cameras. Aside from having seven officer positions and the associated equipment and training costs restored to the budget during the time referenced, the cost for police related services and the resources needed to support those services have gone up drastically over the last several years; however, the Updated 11/15/24 greatest impact has been the cost of wages associated with multiple years of high CPI and high inflation impact on police resources and technology impacting operations. We believe that we have efficiently managed the costs that are within our power, but further reductions could be made if we are willing to sacrifice services provided through staffing reductions again. 50. 11/12/24 McConnell (via email) What happens after June 2025 with the two mental health co- responders? PD We have identified non -General Fund funds to cover both co -responders through 2025. We have also put in for grants and continue to explore funding options to get us through 2026. 51. 11/12/24 McConnell (via email) Potential for traffic light study - Can we study the areas that we think potentially have the most folks running lights? From my perspective and what I see driving through Tukwila, 61st Ave So, Intersection at Grady Way and Interurban, Intersection and Fort Dent and Interurban and Intersection at 58th Ave So and Interurban. PW The City -Wide Signal Assessment and Preventative Maintenance Program (Contract #24-070) is to assess state of existing signal systems (hardware & software) and provide guidelines for performance of operations and maintenance. Documents presented in the final submittal, will be able to assist City personnel in detecting and correcting problems using a comprehensive, systematic approach and establish planning level costs for capital program budgeting purposes. 52. 11/12/24 McConnell (via email) Will the Presidential election outcome impact our budget projections especially with regard to grant revenue? FIN/P W? Depends. The Trump Administration has indicated a desire to make some investments in infrastructural improvements, so more funds could be available for that work. However, it's likely that funds for refugees and asylum seekers could be reduced. Most of the City funds are coming from the State. 53. 11/12/24 McConnell (via email) What are the top 3 departments with single points of failure that did not get to speak up at the last meeting? MO Top areas: 1. Human Resources (labor relations/negotiations, employee relations, recruitment, benefits administration, policy); 2. Enterprise -wide Asset Management (life cycle management, predictive maintenance, management plans, utilization, CIP management); 3. Enterprise -wide Risk Management (safety, accident prevention, ADA & Title VI compliance, claims). Our definition of "single point of failure" would be a vacancy in a staff role that would expose the City to significant risk(s), increased costs, create a major gap in critical and indispensable systems to operate, and in which replacing the specialized expertise would be difficult, and delayed; or there is no one dedicated currently to fully carrying out the function Updated 11/15/24 now. Tukwila is a small city, with multiple programs that are supported by the expertise of just one staff person. Some jobs have technical expertise and tenured experience with the City that would be a challenge and take time to replace. The TIS example is one employee who built and has knowledge of our IT system architecture over their 25 years of experience. Many of these situations can be addressed by cross -training and succession planning so the expertise is not one -deep. This takes time and capacity for other staff to learn and back up the role. We have made progress to alleviate these in areas such as traffic signals, fiscal management, fleet/equipment management, facilities management, and engineering support. 54. 11/12/24 McConnell (via email) Can we explore parking taxes? Are we receiving parking taxes anywhere, and what is the revenue? FIN We currently collect a Commercial Parking Tax that is imposed on commercial parking businesses that charge a fee for parking or allowing vehicles to be parked. Currently, we assess the tax at 15% of gross revenues. We collected roughly $675,00 in Parking Taxes in 2022, roughly $780,000 in 2023 and we estimate the City will receive roughly $750,000 in 2024. Commercial parking taxes must be used for transportation purposes as defined in RCW 82.80.070. 55. 11/18/24 Papyan (via email) How does the City plan to evaluate the effectiveness of the two additional police officers assigned to Southcenter Mall? Will the metrics of success include response times to calls, the resolution of investigations, or a measurable increase in safety through reduced levels of theft? PD 56. 11/18/24 Papyan (via email) The City plans to allocate $150,000 for the intergenerational Teen and Senior Centers. Could you clarify how these funds will be utilized? Will this involve a straightforward transfer of funds, or is there a specific plan for their use? Could you provide more details on what this initiative entails? MO The $150,000 is a placeholder with no specific expenditures planned. The funds would be spent by the city and not be transferred. They would be used if the city needs them for planning the teen and senior center, such as if we needed to do more community outreach, design or other consulting, etc. Updated 11/15/24