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Home My WebLink About2017-08-22 Finance MinutesFINANCE COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes Citv Council Finance Committee August 22, 2017- 5:30 p.m. - Hazelnut Conference Room, City Hall Councilmembers: Verna Seal, Chair; Kathy Hougardy, Thomas McLeod Staff: David Cline, Peggy McCarthy, Vicky Carlsen, Richard Takechi, Cindy Wilkins, Mia Navarro, Gail Labanara, Brandon Miles, Laurel Humphrey CALL TO ORDER: Chair Seal called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. I. PRESENTATIONS II. BUSINESS AGENDA A. Draft Equity Policy Staff is seeking Council input on a draft Equity Policy to guide the work of City employees in achieving equity in the provision of government services. The draft policy was developed by an interdepartmental staff group, reviewed by department heads, and then by the Equity and Social Justice Commission. Staff intends to brief the Committee of the Whole and then conduct a series of brown bag meetings for City employees to provide comment on the draft. Once that feedback has been incorporated, the draft will return to the Equity and Social Justice Commission and then again to Council for possible adoption. Once the policy is adopted an implementation and evaluation team will convene. Councilmember Hougardy noted Equity and Social Justice Commission was very support of the policy and that their edits have been incorporated. Councilmember McLeod asked about enforcement and staff replied thatthatwill be evaluated during the implementation phase. FORWARD TO AUGUST 28, 2017 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. B. 2017 2nd Quarter Financial Report Staff presented the Committee with the City's 2017 2nd Quarter Financial Report which captures the general state of financial affairs and highlights significant items and trends. For the period ending March 31, 2017 revenues are below allocated budget by $737 thousand and expenditures are below budget by $2.81 million. FORWARD TO AUGUST 28, 2017 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. C. Fire and Park Impact Fees Staff updated the Committee on a project to update the Fire and Park Impact fees. Impact fees are authorized by state law as a revenue source to help fund new or expanded public facilities resulting from development. The City enacted the initial impact fee legislation in 2008 and staff has determined it is time for a refreshed evaluation of the program. An interdepartmental committee convened to discuss this project and determined that external technical assistance Finance Committee Minutes................................................................................................................................... August 22, 2017 would be necessary. Staff issued a Request for Qualifications and selected Berk Consulting, Inc. from the three responding firms. The contract with Berk will be for $24,720 and is available through unspent Finance Department budget. The contract does not require Council approval and the Finance Department aims to complete final adoption of any recommendation by the end of the year. The Committee members expressed support for this project. DISCUSSION ONLY. D. Ordinance: Amending Municipal Code Chapter 5.04 Staff is seeking Council approval of an ordinance that would amend Tukwila Municipal Code Chapter 5.04, "Licenses Generally," to replace "FTE" with "employee" and to eliminate reference to a "combined" business license fee. Recent Washington State legislation will require the City to use the State's online business license system within the next few years, and staff recommends changing the current fee schedule to be based upon flat rates per employee totals to streamline the process in preparation for moving to the State system. The proposed ordinance would assess a flat rate of $70 per full-time employee (defined as 30 hours or more each week) and $50 per part-time employee. This item was approved with amendments by the Finance Committee on July 18, 2017, but was referred back to Committee by Committee of the Whole on July 24, 2017. On August 8, 2017, staff briefed the Committee on new advice from the City Attorney recommending that the business license fee structure be amended from a "combined" fee to a single fee. The Committee discussed the proposal and unanimously approved the amendment regarding the elimination of a "combined" fee. Councilmember McLeod again expressed his opinion that the fee for a part-time employee should be $35, and therefore would not support the legislation as presented. MAJORITY APPROVAL, COUNCILMEMBER MCLEOD OPPOSED. FORWARD TO AUGUST 28, 2017 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. Resolution: Adopting a Revised Business License Fee Schedule Staff is seeking Council approval of a resolution that would adopt the revised business license fee schedule pursuant to the draft ordinance discussed above. MAJORITY APPROVAL, COUNCILMEMBER MCLEOD OPPOSED. FORWARD TO AUGUST 28, 2017 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. E. Business Responsibilities regarding Litter Control During the July 24, 2017 Committee of the Whole meeting, the City Council heard public comment on the business license legislation asking the City to add regulations regarding business responsibilities toward exterior maintenance and urging more enforcement. The City Attorney has advised against adding maintenance regulations in the business license code as it would be duplicative of existing codes. Owners or occupants of private property are prohibited from allowing the accumulation of litter pursuant to TMC Chapter 6.12, Refuse Disposal, as well as the International Property Maintenance Code which is also adopted by the City. The Code Enforcement division is currently working on an update to its enforcement chapter, and has also created some new educational materials which can be handed out to new and existing businesses regarding their obligations. City staff has also offered to add language to the business license application and will return to committee with a draft. Finance Committee Minutes................................................................................................................................... August 22, 2017 Ms. Mann addressed the Committee with her concerns about businesses operating without a license on TIB. Staff responded that the City encourages people to report this to the City for follow-up. In addition, it is anticipated that when Tukwila converts to the state licensing system these will easier to identify. With regard to enforcement of litter regulations, the Code Enforcement division is back up to full staffing and Waste Management has added three more containers on TIB. Code Enforcement is complaint based, and the City encourages reports. Duringthis discussion, a question arose aboutthe definition of"restaurant," and what licensing requirements are for vending machines. Staff will follow up. Chair Seal noted that there are several different approaches to this problem and is hopeful that streamlined enforcement processes and full staffing will help. Councilmember McLeod encourages the Cityto look at the culture of enforcement and thanked TIBAC for their volunteer efforts. Councilmember Hougardy noted that the draft flyer for new businesses encourages businesses to "do their part," but nowhere are penalties or consequences mentioned. She would like to see added language such as "failure to comply may result in revocation of your license." Chair Seal noted that equitable communication to a diverse population is important and sees a relationship between business education and the new Equity Policy once it's approved. DISCUSSION ONLY. III. MISCELLANEOUS Adjourned at 6:36 p.m. �,- 7 Committee Chair Approval \- Minutes by LH