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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-11-05 Finance and Safety Minutes City of Tukwila Finance and Safety Committee FINANCE AND SAFETY COMMITTEE MeetingMinutes November 5, 2013–5:30p.m.;Conference Room #3 PRESENT Councilmembers: Dennis Robertson, Chair;De’Sean Quinnand Verna Seal Staff:David Cline, Peggy McCarthy, VickyCarlsen, Shelley Kerslake, Chris Flores, Marty Grisham, Jack Pace, Trish Kinlow, Bob Giberson, Gail Labanara, Laurel Humphrey Guest:Chuck Parrish CALL TO ORDER: CommitteeChair Robertsoncalled the meeting to order at 5:30p.m. I.PRESENTATIONS No presentations. II.BUSINESS AGENDA A. Grant Acceptance: Emergency Management Performance Staff is seeking Council approval to accept a $58,102.00 Emergency ManagementPerformance grant from the Washington State Military Department and US Department of Homeland Security. This is thethird year that the City has been awarded this grant, which will be used to fund 50% of the CERT Coordinator/Public Educator position as well as equipment and supplies foremergency management MAJORITY programs. The grant requires a 50% City match which has been met and exceeded. APPROVAL. FORWARD TO NOVEMBER 18REGULAR CONSENT AGENDA. B. InterlocalAgreement: Regional Fire Training Consortium Staff is seeking Council approval to enter into an Interlocal Agreement with the Kent Regional Fire Authority (KRFA) that would renew the City’s participation in the South King County Training Consortium. The Tukwila Fire Department has belonged to this consortium since January 2012 and it has been of great benefit to the City.After reviewing the last two years of participation, the KRFAis proposing anewfee of $13,800.00 to be applied to overhead and administrative costs. In addition, the two .75 FTE Training Division Captains assigned to the training facility will be increased to .85 FTE. The Fire Department’s training budget will absorb these costs, which represent a compromise from the original MAJORITYAPPROVAL. FORWARD TO NOVEMBER 12COMMITTEE proposal by the KRFA. OF THE WHOLE. C. Ordinance: Amending Tukwila Municipal Code Section 2.68.026, Municipal Judge Salary Staff is seeking Council approval of an ordinance that would fix the salary for the Municipal Judge as required by the Revised Code of Washington. This proposal increases the Judge’s position from .75 to .85 FTE and calculates the salary at .85 of the salary set for District Court Judges in the Salary Schedule annually adopted by the Washington Citizen’s Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials. Benefits will also be prorated at 85%. It is the Mayor’s intention to reappoint Kimberly Walden as Municipal Judge, which will be subject to confirmation by the City Council by a separate action later this month. MAJORITY APPROVAL. FORWARD TO NOVEMBER 12 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. D. Ordinance: Amending Revenue Generating Regulatory License (RGRL) Fee Staff is seeking Council approval of an ordinance that would amend Tukwila Municipal Code 5.04.02 to exempt residential rental properties with 4 or fewer units from the Revenue Generating Regulatory License (RGRL) fee and eliminate the existing RGRL exemption applicable to residential rental properties with gross annual receipts of less than $12,000. This simplified process will have the benefit of reducing Code Enforcement staff time associated with explaining the fee as well as with identifying criteriaunder the Finance & Safety Committee MinutesNovember 5, 2013 –Page 2 current system.While exempting properties with 1-4 units from the RGRL fee will reduce annual revenue by approximately $11,495, the savings in staff time makes this a cost-effective proposal. Additionally, Code Enforcement staff will have more time to focus on health, safety and maintenance components of MAJORITY APPROVAL. FORWARD TO NOVEMBER 18 REGULAR MEETING rental housing. FOR DISCUSSION UNDER NEW BUSINESS. E. Ordinances:2014 Property Tax Levy Staff is seeking Council approval of two ordinances: one that would increase the City’s Regular Property Tax Levy from 2013, and one that would levy General Taxes. These ordinances are presented to the Council on an annual basis. According to the King County Assessor, the projected assessed value for Tukwila is $4,707,092,379. The allowable levy projected by King County is $14,043,979, representing the maximum 1% increase allowed by law. This is subject to change until the final rate is determined by the County. A levy amount of $14,100,000 is proposed in the draft ordinance and may be adjusted based on that determination. Because the County is now aware that the City has a firemen’s pension fund, the City’s maximum statutory levy rate is $3.325, pursuant to RCW 27.12.390. This is an increase that gives the City additional capacity for future growth or levy lid lifts. Staff distributed a table indicating actual property tax collectionfor 2011-2013 and projections for 2014-2017. Committee members asked that this table be attached to the information memo for Committee of the Whole discussion. A public hearing is UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. FORWARD TO NOVEMBER 12 scheduled for November 12, 2013. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FOR PUBLIC HEARING AND DISCUSSION. F. Budget Legislation 1) Staff is seeking Council approval of a resolution to adopt the 2014-2019 Financial Planning Model and Capital Improvement Program(CIP). Drafts of these documents were presented to the Council at a workshop on August 28, and the Utilities and Transportation Committeesconducted further review in September. Staff reviewed an attachment to the informational memo that lists all of the changes made to the CIP since it was first proposed in August. Committee membersasked clarifying questions of itemsthey considered to be large policy questions, including: Fund 104:Bonding of total $5,965,000.00 for the Boeing Access Road over BNRR Bridge Rehabilitation and Interurban Avenue South projects. Committee members and staff agreed that further review of the City’s debt policies in general would be valuable, using this as an example. Fund 301/412Tukwila 205 Levee, Riverton Creek Flap, and Lower Gilliam projects moved from : Parks to Surface Water Fund. This will be reviewed further in Committee of the Whole. Additionally, theUtilities Committee has just forwarded to the Committee of the Whole an ordinance amending the definition of Surface Water Management Conveyance Systems to include dikes, levees, and revetments. 2) Staff is seeking Council approval of an ordinance to amend the 2013 Budget. Staff provided an overview of the proposed changes, including new proposals, items over budget, previous Council approvals, revenue backed expenditures, accounting changes, and carryover. A public hearing is UNANIMOUS APPROVAL. FORWARD TO NOVEMBER 12 scheduled for November 12, 2013. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FOR PUBLIC HEARING AND DISCUSSION. G. Ordinance: Ethics Code As follow up to the Committee’s requests duringthe October 22 meeting, City Attorney Shelley Kerslake returned with three options for aproposed Ethics Code applicable to elected and appointed officials and City staff. The first option establishes a 5 member Ethics Board comprised of existing Commission Chairs with adjudication of complaints by the City Council. The second option establishes a 5 member Ethics Board comprised of existing Commission Chairs with adjudication of complaints by the Board itself. The third option establishes an Ethics Boardcomprised of three new appointees by the Council and two by the Mayor with adjudication of complaints by the Board. The Committee discussed the options, and highlights from that discussion are: Finance & Safety Committee MinutesNovember 5, 2013 –Page 3 The Committee asked the City Attorney to insert the phrase “board attorney” throughout but define that to mean City Attorney in the case of complaints against employees and Outside Counsel for complaints against officials. She was also requested to add to the informational memo a summary of fiscal impact which includesa range of costs associated with hiring outside counsel. The City Attorney clarified that “recommended disposition” means the determination of a violation, not the penalty. Committee members remain dividedon the inclusion of the terms “appearance of impropriety” and “adverse to the interests of the City,” and will debate that further in Committee of the Whole. Training will be provided to members in either board makeupoption. This training could occur annually, with a refresher offered when a complaint is made. The Committee agreed to recommend an Ethics Board comprised of existing Commission Chairs with adjudication by the Board as long as there is a strong training component. This recommendation will be dependent on majority approval by members of the five Commissions, and to that end the Committee asked the City Administrator or his designee to present the proposal at forthcoming meetings of those Commissions. If majority approval is not obtained, than the option to create a unique Ethics Board will again be reviewed by the Finance and Safety Committee. III.MISCELLANEOUS Meeting adjourned at 7:16p.m. Next meeting:Tuesday, November 19,2013–5:30p.m. –Conference Room #3 CommitteeChair Approval Minutes by LH