CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE
CITY COUNCIL
Monday, November 1, 2004
Shoreline Conference Center
PRESENT: Mayor Hansen, Deputy Mayor Jepsen, Councilmembers Chang,
Fimia, Grace, Gustafson, and Ransom
ABSENT: none
1.
CALL TO ORDER
The
meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Mayor Hansen, who presided.
2. FLAG SALUTE/ROLL CALL
Mayor
Hansen led the flag salute. Upon roll
call by the City Clerk, all Councilmembers were present.
3. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT AND FUTURE
AGENDAS
Steve Burkett, City Manager, reported on past and future Parks,
Recreation and Cultural Services events, including Hamlin Halloween Haunt and
an open house at the Richmond Highlands Recreation Center on Saturday, November
6.
4. COUNCIL REPORTS
Councilmember Ransom reported on topics discussed at the
Seashore Transportation Forum, including the need to build additional capacity
to meet future growth. He noted he
would receive the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) silver award for
national municipal leadership at the December AWC conference.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen said the City should be proud of its
recent investments in Paramount Park because of the frequent use of the
facilities there. He reported that the
City received a “clean audit” from the State Auditor’s office and thanked staff
for their efforts.
Councilmember Fimia noted that the school program called
“The Works” (sponsored by Shoreline PTA) is taking donations for gently used or
new coats at City Hall until November 10.
5. PUBLIC COMMENT: none
Mayor Hansen asked for a motion on approval of
the agenda to take item 9(a) before the budget presentation. Councilmember Gustafson moved approval of
the agenda as amended. Deputy Mayor
Jepsen seconded the motion, which carried 6-1, with Councilmember Fimia
dissenting.
9. ACTION ITEMS:
OTHER ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS OR MOTIONS
(a)
Motion
to adopt the Economic Development Strategic Plan and Ordinance No. 364,
amending Ordinance No. 342 by amending the 2004 Exempt
Salary Table to establish an
Economic Development Program Manager position and eliminate the position of
Economic Development Coordinator
Deputy Mayor Jepsen moved to adopt the Economic Development Strategic
Plan and Ordinance No. 364. Councilmember Gustafson seconded the motion.
Mayor Hansen called for public comment.
(a) LaNita Wacker, Shoreline, said it is critical for the City to hire an economic development program manager to guide the City’s strategic plan. She also recommended an 11-member economic development council whose members would serve staggered terms. She recommended that the economic development manager should establish a Council-approved economic development council.
(b) Harley O’Neil, Shoreline, expressed support for hiring an economic development program manager because he/she could provide added assistance to businesses in the various planning and permitting processes in the City. He felt that the City is currently understaffed, so an economic development manager could help relieve some of the workload.
Councilmember Ransom moved
to include in the motion a commitment to create an Economic Development
Advisory Board. Councilmember Fimia
seconded the motion. Councilmember Ransom
commented that such a board could be patterned after the City of Burien’s,
which has fourteen members representing six categories: 1) business owners; 2)
commercial property owners; 3) Chamber of Commerce; 4) merchants; 5) city
residents; 6) employment/job training programs; and 7) other. He felt the City has not made much progress
in the past eight years without such a board.
Councilmember Fimia moved to
postpone further action on this item. Councilmember Chang seconded the motion,
which failed 2-5, with Councilmembers Fimia and Chang voting in the
affirmative.
Responding
to Councilmember Fimia, Mr. Burkett explained that Forward Shoreline deals
mainly with external, private-sector potential investors, whereas an economic
development manager handles those responsibilities related to internal
processes and existing businesses. He
said potential investors are usually more comfortable dealing with private
sector counterparts. An economic
development manager is better suited to improving internal processes, working
with developers, and tracking local projects.
He emphasized that both the internal and external responsibilities are
important.
Councilmember
Ransom wondered if part of the problem with past coordinators is that they did
not have strong backgrounds in economic development. He felt the Council should consider putting a greater emphasis on
professional economic background and qualifications.
Responding
to Councilmember Chang, Mr. Burkett said it is unrealistic to expect immediate
increases in sales tax revenue, jobs, and property values because economic
development is a long-term issue. He
said the City can lay the groundwork and hopefully, at some point in the future
development will occur. He said three
months from now there would probably be few changes as a result of hiring an
economic development manager or forming a committee. He emphasized the importance of focusing on what the City can
control, i.e. providing good services and facilities, and supporting investors
in Shoreline. He said for economic
development to occur, the private sector must view Shoreline as a good place to
invest its money.
A vote was taken on the
motion to adopt the Economic Development Strategic Plan as amended and pass
Ordinance No. 364 establishing the Economic Development Manager position, which
carried 6-1, with Councilmember Fimia dissenting.
6. WORKSHOP ITEMS
(a)
Department
Presentations on the Proposed 2005 Budget
Mr. Burkett reviewed the
schedule for budget adoption and the budget format.
Debbie Tarry, Finance Director, explained that departmental presentations will focus on any significant changes between the department’s 2004 budget and the 2005 proposed budget in order to expedite the budget review process for the Council. She noted that some departments discussed tonight have few budget changes, so staff will simply answer Council questions on those budgets. She explained the budget format, pointing out that the City is trying to move toward a program-based budget as opposed to an object-based budget. Most budget increases are related to market adjustments for personnel, health care, and increases in the City contribution to the Washington Employees Retirement System. Department budgets (with the exceptions of Police and Human Services) reflect a 1% base budget reduction as requested by the City Manager
Councilmember Grace noted that year-to-date information for 2004 would assist him in determining the amount of resources needed for any given program. Ms. Tarry noted that the budget appendix contains some information on actual year-to-date costs up to mid-October.
Mayor
Hansen complimented Councilmember Grace for submitting a list of 40 questions/comments
on the budget. He encouraged
Councilmembers to submit any questions or amendments in a timely manner so that
the budget could be adopted on November 22.
Responding
to Councilmember Grace, Mr. Burkett said staff would provide a breakdown of
professional services for each fund.
Councilmember
Fimia requested that the public hearing be kept open to allow for further
comments as the budget is discussed.
Mayor Hansen responded that the public would be able to ask questions
throughout the budget process.
Councilmember
Fimia requested a detail of Citywide professional services, travel, dues and
subscriptions, and advertising.
Ms. Tarry reviewed the City Council budget for 2005, which totals $163,000. This represents a 2% increase due to benefits, but reduces travel by $2,700 as part of the 1% Citywide reduction proposal.
7. ACTION ITEM: PUBLIC HEARING
(a)
Public
hearing to consider citizens comments on the Proposed 2005 Budget
(a) LaNita Wacker, Shoreline, encouraged the Council to consider providing additional funding to HopeLink for counseling/suicide prevention services. She felt such a program is worthwhile even if it saves just one life. On another topic, she pointed out that neighborhood boundaries were artificially created, as opposed to natural boundaries created by geography. She pointed out that information gathered by the police is not shared with neighborhoods as a part of the Block Watch program. Therefore, neighborhoods must assume responsibility for organizing and sharing information. She noted that neighbors in her previous neighborhood created a telephone directory as a way of getting to know each other.
Councilmember Fimia felt
tonight’s public hearing should be kept open to allow for additional comments
as the budget is discussed. She felt
people would assume they can not comment again if the public hearing is
closed. It was noted there is another
hearing next week on the proposed property tax and revenue sources. Mayor Hansen said people would be allowed to
comment every week until the budget is adopted.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen moved to close the public hearing. Councilmember Grace seconded the motion,
which carried 6-1, with Councilmember Fimia dissenting.
The Council continued it
discussion of the budget.
Ms. Tarry explained the Human
Services budget for 2005, which totals $151,000 and represents a 3.9%
reduction. This is due to carryovers in
the 2004 budget related to monies awarded in 2003.
Mr. Burkett noted that staff
provided additional information on potential options for increasing Human
Services funding as requested by Council.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen felt these options should be included on a list of
items to be considered by the Council.
Councilmember Ransom
concurred, adding that he would like a discussion of his proposal to increase
human services funding by an additional $100,000. Mayor Hansen said if Councilmember Ransom wishes to make that
proposal, he should make a motion at the November 15 meeting.
Responding to Councilmember
Fimia, Rob Beem, Human Services Manager, explained that HopeLink operates a
food bank at a temporary location two days a week, but there is no medical
clinic within Shoreline.
Councilmember Fimia
suggested that the City conduct a feasibility study on community medical
clinics, noting that a city the size of Shoreline should really have a medical
clinic. She requested information on
the amount that cities typically contribute to community health clinics.
Mr. Beem said Puget Sound
Neighborhood Health Centers expressed interest in relocating its Seattle clinic
further north, but as of yet they have taken no action. He added that the Center for Human Services
(CHS) provides mental health services on a sliding fee scale.
Councilmember Fimia said
there is a whole segment of the working poor who cannot even afford the sliding
fee scale. She said she would like the
budget to include whatever funding is needed to explore the potential for
creating a community health clinic. She
also requested additional information on what it would take to find HopeLink a
permanent location for its food bank services.
Responding to Councilmember
Grace, Mr. Beem reported that the food bank is running slightly under 50% of
last year’s usage through the second quarter of 2004.
Councilmember Fimia thanked
staff for providing a Needs Assessment of Human Services in the October 26
memorandum. She indicated she would
like to work with staff to come up with a proposal to increase opportunities
for affordable housing.
Continuing with her
presentation, Ms. Tarry explained the City Attorney budget, which totals
$488,000, a 1.8% increase over 2004.
This budget includes no significant changes to its three main programs:
legal services, prosecuting attorney, domestic violence/victim advocacy.
Commenting on its sizeable
legal settlements, Councilmember Ransom wondered if the City could do anything
to improve the quality of its legal representation.
Ian Sievers, City Attorney,
expressed satisfaction with the quality of legal services that four different
firms provide to the City. He pointed
out that the City has been the prevailing party in several cases. Attorneys from the City’s insurance risk
pool handle cases involving damages against the City, but the City does not
select those attorneys.
Mr. Burkett said there has
only been one large settlement, which was handled by the insurance risk
pool.
Ms. Tarry went on to explain
the Finance Department budget, which totals $3.5 million and represents an 8%
reduction. She explained the
distribution of FTEs among various department programs and budget changes for
2005. The major difference between 2004
and 2005 budgets is that the 2004 budget included $258,000 in carry-over
expenditures related to the Information Technology strategic plan. This, combined with the elimination of a
limited-term project manager, is the primary reason why the 2005 budget shows a
$309,000 reduction in this program, as well as a reduction in FTEs and
salaries.
Budgeted 2005 contingency
expenditures include: $250,000 for emergency operational contingencies;
$255,000 for insurance deductible contingencies; and $128,506 for potential
changes in salaries and wages as a result of market comparisons and anticipated
future increases in the State of Washington Public Employees Retirement System
(PERS) contribution.
She explained that the main
objectives for the Technology Plan for 2005-2006 include enhancement of online
permitting, records management infrastructure, system security, e-government,
and the CLASS (recreation registration) system. She said one of the primary efforts will be continuing to
integrate existing systems for business intelligence.
Responding to Councilmember
Grace, Ms. Tarry explained that the 58% reduction in supplies and is due to a
shift from software procurement to systems integration. The 48% reduction in intergovernmental
services reflects the fact that Shoreline will not be billed for election
services in fiscal year 2005.
Mr. Burkett noted the
relatively small number of FTEs in the Finance Department as compared with
other cities.
Mayor Hansen pointed out
that the City is now reaping the benefits of the initial investment in
technology without having to increase staffing levels.
Councilmember Ransom noted
that many businesses still list their address as Seattle instead of
Shoreline. He wondered what additional
action the City could take to ensure that Shoreline businesses are
appropriately identified so that it receives all available tax revenue.
Ms. Tarry said the City
contracts with a firm for sales tax and utility tax auditing services. It works with the Department of Revenue to
identify businesses/people that should be paying sales taxes to Shoreline. She noted that additional revenues have been
identified each month as a result of the contract. She added that a business registration program would be proposed
for implementation in 2006.
Ms. Tarry outlined the
proposed budget for Human Resources, which totals nearly $365,000 for
2005. This represents a 1.28% increase,
primarily related to personnel costs and reductions in services and charges.
Councilmember Ransom asked
about the Human Resource director’s involvement in training programs and
meetings on issues related to State PERS board, health insurance, worker’s
compensation, etc. He asked what kind
of training programs have been developed in the past year or two, and how many
positions are filled each year.
Mr. Burkett said the
director generally administers all employee benefit and health insurance
programs. He noted that the Human
Resources director and Finance director worked closely to develop changes to
the employee benefits policy that resulted in considerable cost savings for the
City.
Marci Wright, Human
Resources Director, outlined her involvement in the Association of Washington
Cities Trust, PERS meetings, and in the state professional human resources
association and a private sector human resources society. She described the two-part communications
training program she conducted this year, as well as the employee recognition
program. She said the City has
recruited for approximately 18 positions this year.
Mayor Hansen suggested that
the City follow up on King County’s health care cost reduction program. Mr. Burkett noted that King County gave a
presentation to the City Manager group, so the City is familiar with its key
elements.
Responding to Councilmember
Fimia, Mr. Burkett noted that City staff conducted the internal employee
survey. Councilmembers Fimia and Ransom
requested a detailed organizational chart for all City departments.
Mr. Tarry described the
Customer Response Team budget, which totals $413,000 for 2005. It represents a 1.45% increase and supports
three major programs: 1) 24-hour customer response team; 2) code enforcement
services (“strike one” enforcement); and 3)
traffic services and Neighborhood Traffic Safety Program (NTSP).
Responding to Councilmember
Fimia, Ms. Tarry explained that CRT reports to the Assistant City Manager, and
the NTSP is divided between CRT and the Public Works Department. She clarified for Councilmember Ransom that
the code enforcement officer is part of the Planning and Development Services
department. Councilmember Ransom
requested more detailed workload and performance indicators for CRT.
Mr. Burkett noted that CRT
is able to assist with the NTSP and code enforcement due to the reduced
workload in a variety of areas, including flooding. Councilmember Ransom commented that CRT continues to have a very
good reputation in the community. Mayor
Hansen concurred.
Ms. Tarry outlined the
Police budget, which totals $7.75 million for 2005, an increase of $5.3%. This increase relates directly to the
contract with King County relative to increased personnel costs, salaries/benefits,
and a larger percentage of activity for certain services in Shoreline. The budget includes a recommendation to add
an Administrative Sergeant and reduce a Patrol Officer. The Administrative Sergeant would provide
centralized coordination and administration of the special programs that are
currently distributed among many officers.
The cost for this change is approximately $14,000, which will be offset
by grant revenues for the next five years.
Responding to Mayor Hansen,
Mr. Burkett said he would provide information about the length of the contract
with King County. He noted that
participating cities recently exercised an option to extend the contract.
Responding to Councilmember
Grace, Mr. Burkett explained that the King County contract is negotiated by
multiple cities, and that most increases are driven by the increase in salaries
and benefits for County employees. He
noted that Cities also pay more if service use increases. He expressed his opinion that it is much
more cost-effective for Shoreline to contract for these services.
Councilmember Grace said that year-to-date statistics for the
police department would help the Council determine the appropriate level of
funding for the various programs. He
questioned the reduction of $70,000 in intergovernmental revenues. It was noted that part of the reduction is
related to grants received in 2004 for the emergency management program.
Councilmember Fimia
questioned the absence of FTEs in the
Police budget for the Neighborhood Traffic Safety Program. Ms. Tarry explained that the police
department budgets overtime funding ($50,000) to provide additional support to
the NTSP. This is in addition to the
traffic enforcement provided by regular traffic officers.
Councilmember Fimia noted
that reduced traffic speeds are one of the highest priorities for
neighborhoods. She felt traffic
enforcement in the neighborhoods could be greatly increased. She also requested a breakdown of the
increase in the police contract; specifically, how much is related to personnel
costs versus increases in service levels.
Tony Burtt, Police Chief,
noted that traffic safety is a major priority in Shoreline. He said the department hears about speeding
concerns daily, and the four dedicated traffic officers work in areas with the
highest accident rates to reduce accidents and increase safety. He noted that officers prioritize and
respond to 40-60 complaints received each week. He estimated that the overtime budget equates to approximately
1,162 enforcement hours.
Councilmember Fimia said she
would likely propose additional funding for neighborhood traffic enforcement.
Responding to Councilmember
Gustafson, Ms. Tarry explained that the School Resource Officer program is
funded jointly by the City and School District, as well as by grants.
Councilmember Ransom
expressed concern about the proposal to create an administrative sergeant by
reducing patrol officers. He noted that
in the past, there was an increase in drug crimes when an officer was removed
from the street crimes unit. He also
questioned whether patrol officers could adequately cover all shifts, and who
make up the 10 FTEs in Special Support Services.
Chief Burtt said the traffic
enforcement unit works in staggered shifts so they can cover all peak commuter
hours. He said Special Support Services
consists of the 911 call center, SWAT team, fraud investigator, hostage
negotiators, canine services, etc.
Councilmember Ransom
requested a breakdown of Police Department staffing. He felt the workload statistics should include more than just
2003, and year-to-date figures for 2004.
Mr. Burkett said detailed
statistics were provided as part of the police department annual report earlier
this year. He noted that the police
department has been at the forefront of providing performance measurement data
in the City.
Councilmember Ransom said he
might be inclined to propose an additional patrol officer rather than an
administrative sergeant after studying the organizational chart.
Chief Burtt explained the
rationale for an administrative sergeant.
He said centralizing the special programs under one administrative
officer would allow more time for officers to respond to calls for service and
general patrol. It would also provide
for better oversight of the special programs.
He felt what is lost with one patrol position would be more than offset
by what is gained by having more people in the field.
Mr. Burkett noted that this
proposal responds to the request to achieve improvements to existing programs
without large budget increases.
Given the increasing costs
of law enforcement, Councilmember Chang wondered at what point should the City
consider forming its own police department.
Mr. Burkett said the current costs would have to increase dramatically
in order to make the contract cost-prohibitive. He pointed out that Shoreline’s cost per capita is only $135,
which is much less than neighboring cities pay.
Considering the near
completion of the Interurban Trail, Councilmember Fimia wondered if there has
been any discussion of a bicycle patrol on the trail. Chief Burtt replied affirmatively, noting that the police
department has a state certified instructor, who is able to train fellow
officers for bicycle patrol.
Councilmember Fimia felt this could be accomplished without increased
costs in the police contract. She noted
that an increased presence of homeless people prevents maximum use of the
trail. She also asked about the
department’s philosophy on community policing.
Chief Burtt said crime
prevention is a key element of the police department’s efforts. He said the department puts a major emphasis
on helping people safeguard themselves and preventing repeat offenses.
Councilmember Fimia
emphasized the importance of following up with Block Watch groups and reenergizing
their efforts. Chief Burtt said the
storefront officers are very active in the Block Watch program and are frequent
guests at Block Watch meetings. Mayor
Hansen commented on the huge number of volunteers that work with the police
department in this effort.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen noted
that Shoreline police formed the “party patrol,” a joint initiative with
neighboring jurisdictions to reduce teen crime. He wondered if the police could establish a similar program to
enforce traffic laws at City borders to “send a clear message to people coming
from other jurisdictions that speeding isn’t allowed.” He also wondered if the radar trailers used
to monitor traffic speeds could be converted to
issue traffic
citations. He expressed interest in
utilizing technology or other creative methods to enforce traffic instead of
relying on increased staffing levels.
Chief Burtt said police
departments have traditionally collaborated with each other on various
initiatives, including DUI and the party patrol. He felt a traffic enforcement initiative would not be beyond the
realm of possibility. He was unsure if
radar trailers could be converted for traffic enforcement.
Mayor Hansen said some
people would not like this “big brother” approach, but they also don’t have
right to speed or disobey stop signs.
Councilmember Ransom
commented that the average speed on 15th Avenue NE between NE 175th
and NE 180th is 39 mile per hour, despite the posted speed limit of
25. He wondered if selective traffic
monitoring by traffic officers is the most reasonable way to slow people
down.
Chief Burtt said the
department spends a considerable amount of time monitoring traffic along 15th
Avenue NE and other high-traffic corridors.
He said the department tries to get “the best bang for our buck” with
traffic officers.
Mr. Burkett said there is no
data for the area posted for 25 mph. He
noted that traffic data for the 35 mph section of 15th Avenue NE
suggests that 15% of vehicles are going faster than 39 mph.
Due to the time, Deputy
Mayor Jepsen suggested that Council conclude its discussion of the budget in
order to address item 8(a).
Responding to Councilmember
Grace, Ms. Tarry explained that the majority of funding for the teen recreation
program is housed in Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services, but $43,000 is
housed in the police budget as overtime to allow officers to monitor evening
recreational programs.
Councilmember Fimia
commented that radar traffic enforcement would have limited application in
neighborhoods, since it is usually used on major thoroughfares. She felt that major traffic enforcement on
arterials might actually encourage drivers to avoid arterials and use
residential streets. She said the City
needs the reputation that it enforces traffic laws all over the City, which it
can achieve without asking for permission or coordinating with other
jurisdictions. She felt that 15th
Avenue NE is not a fair example of cut-through traffic because it is a major
north-south corridor used by many different people from several jurisdictions.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen
clarified that his proposal was not to put radar trailers on arterials, but on
neighborhood streets if that is where the complaints originate. He felt there could be many practical
applications for radar trailers on residential streets.
8. NEW BUSINESS
(a)
Selection
of Applicants to Interview for the Vacant Planning Commission Position and Confirmation
of the Process
Tim Stewart, Planning and
Development Services Director, reviewed the background on the application
process. He distributed an additional
application, that of Jack Malek.
Mayor Hansen suggested
following past practice, with the mayor appointing three Councilmembers to
comprise a subcommittee of three to interview candidates and make a recommendation
to the full Council. Councilmember
Gustafson supported this approach.
Councilmember Ransom noted
there were two sets of interviews last spring and suggested having the full
Council conduct the interviews. He felt
this could be accomplished very conveniently in one evening session.
Councilmembers Gustafson and
Fimia volunteered to be on the subcommittee.
Mayor Hansen stated that he
has thought about the composition of the committee. He announced the three people he planned to appoint with Council
concurrence: himself and Councilmembers
Gustafson and Grace.
Councilmember Fimia objected
to this process and felt the full Council should interview a short list of
candidates.
Councilmember Ransom
expressed a desire to be on the committee, noting that he had never served on a
selection committee for the Planning Commission.
In order to simplify and
accelerate the process, Councilmember Fimia moved to move forward four names to
be interviewed. There was no
second. Mayor Hansen said that he was not
ready to shorten the list tonight because he felt everyone who applied should
be considered.
At 10:00 p.m., Councilmember Ransom moved to extend the meeting to
10:15 p.m. Councilmember Grace seconded
the motion, which carried 6 – 1, with Deputy Mayor Jepsen dissenting.
Councilmember Fimia
reiterated that the subcommittee approach did not work last time and she felt
it would save time to have the full Council involved in the interviews.
Councilmember Chang objected
to the Mayor appointing himself to the subcommittee.
Mayor Hansen said he has the
same right to serve on the subcommittee as anyone else. He said if for some reason the subcommittee
cannot reach consensus, then the matter will be referred to the whole Council.
Councilmember Fimia
requested that the Mayor make the subcommittee appointments as a motion.
Mayor Hansen called for a
vote on the appointment of himself and Councilmembers Grace and Gustafson to
the Planning Commission interview subcommittee, which carried 4 – 3, with
Councilmembers Chang, Fimia and Ransom dissenting.
Councilmember Grace asked
that the North City project be put on the agenda for November 15. He said he is working on a matrix of options
for Council discussion.
7.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
(b) Discussion of Council Goal No. 8—Enhancing Public
Participation in Government
Mayor Hansen asked that this item be placed on next week’s agenda. Councilmember Chang moved to postpone this item to next week. Deputy Mayor Jepsen seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Councilmember Fimia said she had some amendments she would propose at that time.
11. ADJOURNMENT
At 10:08 p.m., Mayor Hansen
declared the meeting adjourned.
________________________
Sharon Mattioli, City Clerk