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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-10-08 Finance and Safety Minutes City of Tukwila Finance and Safety Committee FINANCE AND SAFETY COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes October 8, 2013 5:30 p.m.; Conference Room #3 PRESENT Councilmembers: Dennis Robertson, Chair; and Verna Seal Staff: Stephanie Brown, Kim Gilman, Peggy McCarthy, Vicky Carlsen, Jennifer Ferrer-Santa Ines, Shelly Kerslake, Kimberly Matej, Laurel Humphrey CALL TO ORDER: Committee Chair Robertson called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. I. PRESENTATIONS No presentations. II. BUSINESS AGENDA Consensus existed to take up items D and E as the first and second order of business, respectively. A. Resolution Cancellation and Reporting of 2013 Unclaimed Property Staff is seeking Council approval of the annual resolution that would declare the cancellation of abandoned or unclaimed property that is owed to individuals or business owners in time for reporting to the Washington State Department of Revenue Unclaimed Property Section b report includes the cancellation of outstanding General Fund claims and payroll checks in the total amount of $1,933.16. The City has performed due diligence in notifying the property owners, and checks were UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. issued to those who were successfully contacted through that effort. FORWARD TO OCTOBER 21 REGULAR CONSENT AGENDA. B. OrdinanceAmending Ordinance No. 2408 relating to the Final Assessment Roll for LID No. 33 Staff is seeking Council approval of an ordinance that would amend Ordinance No. 2408 by replacing its Exhibit B, the final assessment roll for Klickitat Local Improvement District No. 33. After the passage of Ordinance No. 2408, it was discovered that eight parcels on the assessment roll contained outdated ownership data, and a corrected Final Assessment Roll must be adopted via a new ordinance. The corrected Final Assessment Roll also contains an annotation relating to an exemption for the King County Housing Authority on two parcels. The exemption was discovered after the assessment process had begun UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. and it was determined that it would not be cost effective to start over. FORWARD TO OCTOBER 21 REGULAR CONSENT AGENDA. C. Two Ordinances Ethics Code for Elected Officials and for Employees and Appointed Officials Committee Chair Robertson provided an overview of a proposal to revise the Code of Ethics by adding a new chapter covering elected officials to include both the Council and the Mayor. A companion ordinance would amend the existing Code to remove the reference to elected officials, making it applicable only to City employees and appointed officials. This review and proposed revision to the Code was requested by the Council at its 2013 retreat, based upon a review of ethics policies for officials in other local municipal, county and state governments. The proposal removes language prohibiting appearance of impropriety as well as activity that might be seen as adverse to the interests of the City, on the grounds that those are concepts difficult to define and enforce and are not widely used in the comparison jurisdictions. Another impetus for the proposal is that all of the jurisdictions reviewed have a process under which investigations and decisions of complaints against elected officials are either performed by an ombudsman, appointed citizen board or the Council, and none have a process under which the Mayor performs the review or makes the final determination. Finance & Safety Committee Minutes October 8, 2013 Page 2 The investigation process outlined by the proposed ordinance begins with initial complaints first going to the Council President, who would review the validity of the complaint along with two other Councilmembers of his or her choosing. (If the complaint is against the Council President, it would then go to the next most senior Councilmember.) If the initial review determines that the complaint is valid, it will next go to an investigator retained by the Council, who will investigate and provide results to the Council President for action. The Council President and two Councilmembers will prepare a written recommendation that is then discussed and decided by the entire Council with the exclusion of the complained about official. Committee members, staff, and the City Attorney discussed this proposal at length. Committee Chair Robertson proposed a further suggestion to add the City Attorney to the group of Council President and two Councilmembers undertaking the preliminary review of the complaint validity. The City Attorney separation of powers structure. Councilmember Quinn proposed that the Committee consider an appointed Ethics Board model, citing the Council, Mayor and employees have the same review process, and the Council would not be involved in the preliminary determination of complaint or in an investigatory role. Councilmembers and staff discussed -world examples when those principles were legally applicable. Ultimately, Councilmembers Quinn and Seal stated they would like to retain that language applying to elected officials, employees, and appointed officials. Councilmember Robertson remained opposed. Committee members agreed in concept on a process of a preliminary review of validity by an appointed ethics board, an investigation of facts by an independent attorney, and a determination made by the Council. The Committee requested this issue return to the October 22 meeting, and requested the City Attorney prepare a proposal for a code that would apply to the Council and employees and incorporate an ethics board component. In addition, they requested to see options regarding the position of Mayor in the process. DISCUSSION ONLY. RETURN TO COMMITTEE ON OCTOBER 22, 2013. D. ResolutionCouncil Benefits Staff is seeking Council approval of a resolution that would update health insurance benefits for Councilmembers. Since 2001, Councilmembers have received a benefit in which they can receive reimbursement for eligible medical expenses up to $3,400 per year. However, due to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2007, this expense reimbursement option is considered a stand-alone health plan and therefore prohibited after January 1, 2014. The Council previously had the -Insured Medical/Dental plan, but with the changes due to the PPACA, continuing this enrollment option is now the only medical benefit available to Councilmembers. Enrollment in the plan would be available this December for coverage beginning January 1. The City plan would be secondary for Councilmembers receiving insurance through their workplace, and primary for those on a Medicare plan. The premium of $509.94 for an individual Councilmember per month would be paid by the City as it is for employees. In response to Committee member questions, the resolution will be presented at the October 22 Committee meeting with information regarding a Group Health option and clarification on the tier of coverage for those who already have primary and secondary insurance. In addition, staff is planning to add a recital to the resolution that explains the impetus for the change. Education on the change to Council benefits will be DISCUSSION ONLY. provided to Councilmembers on an individual or group basis as appropriate. RETURN TO COMMITTEE ON OCTOBER 22, 2013. Finance & Safety Committee Minutes October 8, 2013 Page 3 E. OrdinanceCouncil Compensation Committee Chair Robertson presented an updated draft of an ordinance relating to an increase to Council compensation. This version incorporates direction given by the Committee at its September 17, 2013 meeting to relate the proposed increase to the rate of inflation. Committee members agreed that the time commitment involved in performing the duties of Councilmember has dramatically increased since a pay increase was last approved. The last increase to compensation for Councilmembers took effect in 2005 (pursuant to an ordinance adopted in 2001), when it changed to the current level of $1,050 per month. Since then, the cost of living as measured by the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton Consumer Price Index (CPI- U) has risen by 19.2%. The draft ordinance proposes a monthly stipend of $1,250, representing a 19.04% increase to the current rate. Because state law prohibits Councilmembers from voting on a compensation increase for themselves during their current term, this ordinance staggers the effective date of the proposed increase so that Positions 1, 3, 5, and 7 would increase in January 2014 and Positions 2, 4, and 6 would receive it when the next term begins in January 2016. The ordinance does not build in set periodic increases to Council compensation, but instead allows Council to review the stipend if it again falls significantly below the measurable cost of living. The ordinance presented to the Committee of the Whole will include reference UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. - percentage increase was based. FORWARD TO OCTOBER 14 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. III. MISCELLANEOUS Meeting adjourned at 7:08 p.m. Next meeting: Tuesday, October 22, 2013 5:30 p.m. Conference Room #3 Committee Chair Approval Minutes by LH, reviewed by KAM.