CITY
OF
SHORELINE
CITY COUNCIL
Monday,
November 28, 2005
7:30
p.m.
Mt. Rainier Room
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 7:30 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.
(a) Proclamation
of “Spirit of Giving Week”
Mayor
Hansen read the proclamation and thanked members of the Shoreline
Parent-Teacher Council and the Shoreline Fire Department for their efforts in
conducting toy and food drives in the City.
These organizations provided assistance for approximately 350 families,
over 1,440 children and teenagers, and anticipate providing services for an
additional 1,580 Shoreline residents this holiday season. Andy Denny and Sarah Duset accepted the
proclamation and thanked the City for their support and donations this holiday
season.
3. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
Steve Burkett, City Manager
announced that snow is expected for the City within 12 hours and the public
works crews are ready to hit the priority routes in the City. He reminded the Council of the
Council/Planning Commission Cottage Housing meeting on November 29th.
4. REPORTS OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: none
5. PUBLIC COMMENT
(a)
Robert Henderson, Seattle, stated he is a retired teacher and has known
John Chang for five years and said the campaign being run against him is
slanderous. He said Councilmember Chang
has an established business, works hard, and wants to do nothing but improve
the community. He pointed out that
Councilmember Chang is a decent and honorable man and the campaign literature
being printed about him is false.
(b)
Vicki Stiles, Director, Shoreline Historical Museum announced that this
is their 30th Anniversary Year.
She thanked the Council for their support over the years. She invited the Council and the public to
visit the museum on December 3rd from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 pm for the
“Toys Gone By” exhibit and an appearance from Santa, the Shoreline Fire
Department & Truck, and a hands-on booth for kids.
(c)
Patti Crawford, Shoreline, stated she is opposed to the Twin Pond
cellular tower project. She said there
needs to be community census on private enterprise in the parks and King County
is going to ban them in heron habitats.
She is pleased the City participates in WRIA-8; however, page 157 is
misleading because it is used to degrade Thorton Creek and the fish habitat in
Shoreline. She said if the sites in the
City are referred to as “historical” then the City should be maintaining them
as such.
(d)
Elaine Phelps, Shoreline, invited the public to attend the 32nd
Legislative District Democrats Potluck and Auction on Friday, December 9, 2005
at the Shoreline Senior Center.
6. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Councilmember Grace moved to
approve the agenda. Councilmember
Gustafson seconded the motion, which carried 7-0.
7. CONSENT CALENDAR
Deputy Mayor Jepsen moved approval of the
consent calendar, except for the Special Meeting Minutes of November 7, 2005
which was pulled by Councilmember Ransom.
Councilmember Gustafson seconded the motion, which carried 7-0 and the
following consent items were approved:
Minutes of Workshop of
Minutes of Regular Meeting of
Minutes of Dinner Meeting of
Approval of
expenses and payroll as of November 10, 2005 in the amount of $1,498,573.26
Motion to
approve Mini-Grant Project for the Ballinger Neighborhood Association
Motion to approve Mini-Grant Project for
the Briarcrest Neighborhood Association
Motion to authorize extension of Water
Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) 8 Interlocal Agreement
Motion to authorize the City Manager to (1)
Execute a Gas Tax Agreement (GTA) to obligate $10 Million of New Gas Tax
funding, and (2) Execute Local Agency Agreements, Supplements and Prospectus to
obligate approximately $2.3 Million of funding for the Aurora Corridor Project
(N 165th Street to N 205th Street) with the Washington
State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)
Motion to enter a contract for Public
Defense Services with the Schlotzhauer Law Group
Motion to authorize extension of the
Prosecution Services Contract
Resolution No. 237, establishing a City
Employee Wellness Program
Resolution No. 238, approving the Final
Plat for the Urban Trails Townhomes (Whitman Town Homes) Subdivision on N 145th
Lane at Whitman Avenue N
Ordinance No. 402, amending the 2005 Budget
for Operating Funds and Capital projects
8. ACTION
ITEMS: OTHER ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND MOTIONS
(a) Ordinance No.403 levying the general taxes for the City of Shoreline in King County for the fiscal year commencing January 1, 2006, on all property both real and personal, in said City which is subject to taxation for the purpose of paying sufficient revenue to conduct City business for the ensuing year as required by law
Mr. Burkett outlined that this is for the actual adoption of the 2006 property tax levy for the City. He discussed the steps that had been taken to get to this point and passed the floor to Finance Director Debbie Tarry.
Ms. Tarry highlighted that the estimated levy for 2006 was $7,000,000 and the estimated property tax rate is $1.18 which represents a $.06 decrease from 2005 rate.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen moved for approval of
Ordinance No. 403 establishing the 2006 Property Tax Levy for the City of
Shoreline of $1.18 per $1,000.
Councilmember Gustafson seconded the motion.
Councilmember Ransom asked how much revenue would be generated for the City if the levy rate was raised to the maximum LID of $1.60.
Ms. Tarry responded that it would generate $2.25 million in additional property tax revenue for the City.
A vote was taken on the motion to approve
Ordinance No. 403 establishing the 2006 Property Tax Levy for the City of
Shoreline of $1.18 per $1,000, which carried 7-0.
(b) Ordinance No. 404, adopting the Annual Budget of the City of Shoreline for the year 2006 and Resolution No. 239, revising Benefit and Compensation Plan for Employees
Mr. Burkett stated this is the actual adoption of the 2006 Budget for the City of Shoreline. He pointed out the Council revisions and the budget amendments that have been incorporated for Council adoption of the budget. He stated the total funds are $79,439,713, which represents a reduction of approximately 13 percent from the 2005 budget.
Councilmember Gustafson moved to approve
Ordinance No. 404 adopting the Annual Budget of the City of Shoreline for the
year 2006 and Resolution No. 239, revising Benefit and Compensation Plan for
Employees. Councilmember Grace seconded
the motion.
In addition to the amendments outlined by Mr. Burkett, Councilmember Ransom stated that the $200,000 in the Public Works Department for neighborhood traffic calming was always proposed and the Council suggested an additional $50,000. He asked why the additional $50,000 was not added to the final budget amount.
Mr. Burkett stated that he felt that putting $200,000 towards this effort recognizes it as being a high priority for the City.
Paul Haines, Public Works Director agreed that the amount may be higher than $200,000 but the intent is for a quick action investment. The need may be higher than the initial $200,000 but that will be determined as the NTSB program continues. However, in 2006 40 - 50 devices will be placed in the City, a significant change. There are 13 neighborhoods with public streets so there will be 3 - 4 units in each neighborhood. Additionally, there is a pool of $80,000 - $90,000 the department will carry over to 2006 which will be spent on specific areas when the traffic action plans are complete. The plans call for installing temporary and permanent solutions to include some portable ones which would be able to be moved from neighborhood to neighborhood depending on the need.
Councilmember Ransom stated that other cities allocate as much as 2% of their budget for human services and suggested the Council consider allocating more than $20,000 for human services in Shoreline.
Councilmember Gustafson is pleased with City Manager Burkett’s human services proposal. He pointed out that the new King County levy may address some of the City’s human services needs and the City should wait until those funds get allocated. He agreed that the City does needs to use the $20,000 to start working on a human services master plan. When the plan gets developed the City can move forward with allocating more funds.
Councilmember Chang opposed spending money on plans and wants to address needs immediately.
Mayor Hansen said things change, but there needs to be a plan. He said the $300,000 of funds from the Veteran’s levy should put some human services funding in the City and the Council should wait to see what the effect is.
Councilmember Gustafson said the Council needs to be proactive with King County with a plan which identifies the needs of the City by having a human services master plan prepared.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen concurred with the plan but wanted to ensure the tasks that the subcommittee came up with get done. He announced that he spoke to King County Councilmember Edmonds who said the funds from the Veteran’s and Human Service Levy has not been appropriated yet and the County will collect and place the funds in an account. Following that, there will be two oversight committees that will decide how to spend the money. He continued that the City should become actively involved with this oversight committee to ensure the funds come back to Shoreline.
Councilmember Grace supported the human services master plan. Through this master plan process, he said, the City can flush out the needs of the City. He pointed out that $84,000 was the total amount of funding that the local human service providers in the community can currently provide.
Councilmember Ransom felt the City has not done anything to curb auto theft and burglaries. He pointed out that none of his recommendations to address these issues were accepted by the Council or staff. He said the answer that the police chief gave us to educate the public more is inadequate. He inquired if there was any Council support for cameras or additional officer time for auto theft, which keeps increasing. He outlined that the cameras on Aurora won’t be installed until it is built in another two to five years.
Councilmember Fimia said the Council doesn’t need to allocate monies to a specific solution if it doesn’t know why auto theft is increasing. She proposed that the Council passes a proviso that allots the funds to the department with direction that an objective analysis occurs within a certain number of months to determine why burglary and auto theft are increasing. This analysis would include what the solutions are and what the costs and benefits are to each solution is. She pointed out that only 30% of the auto thefts are taking place in park and rides.
Councilmember Ransom responded to Councilmember Fimia and said the street crimes unit used to have 4.5 FTEs, now there are only 2.0 – 3.0 FTEs. The lowering of the personnel in the street crimes unit certainly correlates to the increase of burglaries and auto theft.
Councilmember Chang said he concurred with Councilmember Fimia and said we need to know what the real issue is and do more analysis. He said one more officer will assist in freeing up others on the street crimes unit. There should be an increased police presence in the communities and the addition of another officer will help.
Councilmember Grace commented that the City will not see another officer for at least six months, based on the normal hiring process in the King County Sheriffs Department. He agreed with Councilmember Fimia’s proviso and stated that while the City is awaiting a new officer the funds could be used to execute Councilmember Fimia’s plan to investigate the issue more to conclude if a second officer is needed.
Mayor Hansen supported the proposal as is but doesn’t want to add more personnel costs at this point in time. However, he does feel there needs to be a traffic officer assigned sooner than later.
Mr. Burkett outlined that the evaluation would not cost much. Crime analysis is something that is included in the contract with the Sheriffs office. However, once the City notifies them that an additional officer is needed, the expenditure begins. Additionally, at the end of the year everything gets reconciled and the City either will pay additional funds or receive a credit.
Councilmember Gustafson is not in favor of a proviso, but he wanted to know why burglaries and auto thefts are increasing. He said the Police Chief Burtt and staff need to research the reasons why and propose solutions to the Council. He agreed with the plan as presented by the City Manager. He outlined a proposal from LaNita Wacker that said the police should place mannequins in patrol cars within neighborhoods and place “dummy” video cameras in parking lots because there is a lack of visibility in the City. In a discussion with Chief Burtt about this he said the Washington State Patrol did this but the vehicles started getting vandalized. He communicated that these ideas are interesting, but doesn’t feel they are the solution to visibility. Another idea he expressed was the police need to spend more time on acknowledging and following up on phone calls in neighborhoods. This, he said, would reduce costs and he said he is in favor of adding a traffic officer and executing the plan as presented by researching burglary and auto thefts to come up with solutions.
Mayor Hansen summarized the Council comments and said the consensus was to execute the human services plan as presented.
Councilmember Ransom felt the Council should wait on the King County Human Services funds. He commented when the burglary rates fell in the City there was an outreach effort done by the police. The officers were taking extra steps like giving out their business cards and leaving their cellular phone numbers with residents to build up a rapport with the public. This, he believed, is not occurring now.
Councilmember Fimia supported the hiring of an additional officer and offered a proviso to include changes to the budget.
Councilmember Fimia moved to implement a
proviso to accept the traffic enforcement portion of the Sheriffs budget as
amended so long as an independent analysis occurs as to why burglary and auto
theft are increasing that identifies the cost and benefits of potential
solutions including increasing the visibility of our officers and community
policing. Councilmember Ransom seconded
the motion.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen stated he didn’t understand the intent of a proviso in the budget. He felt the Council should vote to fund and staff the FTE or not. The Council, he pointed out, has the ability to direct the City Manager to do exactly what was said. He felt it is a mistake to put language like this into the budget. The Council has direct authority over the City Manager, so a proviso is not needed.
Councilmember Grace agreed with the intent of Councilmember Fimia’s motion, but the proper place for it is through directing the City Manager. He also included that the Council should direct the City Manager to conduct the analysis. Additionally, he said the study should not be done through an independent firm, but by the King County Sheriffs Office. He supported the traffic enforcement officer implementation as stated.
Deputy
Mayor Jepsen expressed concerns that the funds for the traffic enforcement officer
position are coming from the Neighborhood Traffic Safety Program (NTSP)
overtime funding to provide for the new officer’s salary. He felt this overtime needed to be kept.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen moved to
fund the traffic enforcement officer and the overtime by restoring the gambling
tax to 11%. Mayor Hansen seconded the
motion.
Councilmember
Gustafson is opposed to the motion but supported having a traffic enforcement
officer and reinstating $50,000 for the NTSP which would be taken from the
contingency fund.
A vote was taken on the
motion to fund the traffic enforcement officer by restoring the gambling tax to
11%. Motion failed 1-6. Deputy Mayor Jepsen voted in favor.
Mr.
Burkett clarified that the hiring of a new traffic enforcement officer and the
$50,000 for overtime are still on the table.
He communicated that the police chief and department mission is to
evaluate solutions to reduce crime.
Councilmember
Fimia stated provisos are a tool that the Council can use to tie direction to
the budget.
Councilmember Fimia withdrew the motion to implement a
proviso to accept the traffic enforcement portion of the Sheriffs budget as
amended so long as an independent analysis occurs as to why burglary and auto
theft are increasing that identifies the cost and benefits of potential
solutions including increasing the visibility of our officers and community
policing.
Councilmember Fimia said she
would offer the proviso after the budget adoption.
Councilmember Grace inquired
about the gateways reduction of $75,000 and wanted to know what gateways were
planned for 2006.
Mr. Burkett responded that
the Dayton Triangle Gateway was the next one that was planned based on the
City’s Gateway Master Plan.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen inquired
whether there was interest on the Council in restoring the gateway funding in
the budget. He felt it was wise and
important to invest in the community in order to create a sense of pride in
where we live.
Councilmember Ransom stated
he is particularly concerned about the Dayton project. He added that the area is not attractive and
it wasn’t clear in the budget documents that the $100,000 was for that
location. He said he is in favor of
restoring the funding for this project.
Mayor Hansen supported
restoring the Dayton gateway project because a design would have to be approved
before the actual expenditure of the funds.
Councilmember Gustafson
communicated that he is also in favor of enhancing the City’s identity with
gateways. However, prioritization of the
budget items needed to be done. The
traffic safety officer and other items were more important, thus the gateways
took a hit. Therefore, he stated he is
not in favor of increasing the funding for gateways. He outlined that $25,000 should be enough for
the design phase.
Councilmember Fimia pointed
out that at a community neighborhood meeting a staff member told the attendees
that there weren’t any funds in the budget for neighborhood calming. It is not wise to now restore this item and
communicate that there is no funds for traffic calming. Funding needs to be spent for priorities.
Mr. Burkett clarified that
the gateway funds are a part of the capital budget which are one-time funds so
there is no competition with the operating funds. He clarified that there is funding in the
NTSP budget to do calming in the City.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen moved to restore gateway funding
to the original amount of $100,000, an increase of $75,000 from the current
level of $25,000. Councilmember Ransom
seconded the motion.
Mr. Burkett outlined he would
direct staff to come up with something less expensive for Dayton Avenue because
the last design was for over $100,000.
Councilmember Ransom moved to increase gateway funding
to $50,000 from the current level of $25,000.
Motion died for a lack of a second.
A vote was taken on the
motion to restore gateway funding to the original amount of
$100,000, an increase of $75,000 from the current level of $25,000, which
failed 3-4. Councilmembers Chang, Fimia, Gustafson, and
Grace dissented.
Councilmember Fimia outlined
she has four items she would like Council to work on concerning the
budget. She said they are emergency
management, human services, park and recreation fees, and litter control. She asked for clarification that $15,000 was
for updating the emergency management plan and wanted to see implementation
done. She inquired how much of the
$15,000 was for actual implementation and what exactly would be done.
Mr. Burkett responded that
the $15,000 was for the plan. He
outlined that there are some items that are now required by the Federal
Government as a part of the National Incident Management System. Several elements of this plan concern
emergency planning and a couple require a contract to execute.
Councilmember Fimia would
like the funds to go to implementation.
For example, there needs to be some general education of the public on
how to get emergency kits and where to go and what to do in case of an
emergency so every resident of Shoreline is prepared. The staff needs to identify specific needs
and outline the highest priorities for the Council to discuss and finalize.
Mr. Burkett responded that
this was covered as part of the original proposed budget where additional funds
were allocated for education. The
Certified Emergency Response Training (CERT) class is a portion of this
education piece. Public education is an
important element of emergency management and it was outlined in the
budget. The staff identified the highest
priorities for the Council as directed at the last Council meeting.
Councilmember Fimia moved to allocate $15,000 for the
implementation and planning of the City of Shoreline Emergency Management Plan.
Councilmember Grace inquired
if there are compliance issues if the City doesn’t update the emergency
management plan.
Mr. Burkett responded that
the motion to implement the emergency management plan should satisfy the
requirements of the Federal government.
Tony Burtt, Police Chief said
the City needs to update the National Incident Response Plan to be eligible for
disaster relief funding. One of the
first things the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) does before it
releases funds is to determine whether a current emergency management plan is
in place. Currently, the City’s plan is
not up-to-date, he noted, because there have been recent requirements imposed
on the City. In order to be compliant
there are chapters which need to be built and added to the plan.
Councilmember Gustafson
pointed out that this is an “unfunded mandate” and agreed with the language
revision from Councilmember Fimia. He
said the Council needs to move on and get this done.
Councilmember Fimia continued
her revisions and discussed the parks and recreation fees.
Councilmember Fimia moved to freeze the fees for youth
and family recreation programs for Shoreline residents. Councilmember Ransom seconded the motion.
Councilmember Fimia stated
this loss of revenue would be a small amount that the City would lose, but it
has a positive impact on Shoreline residents.
Councilmember Grace prefers
not to arbitrarily increase fees, but he doesn’t want to put the department in
a deficit situation. He wanted to know
how this freeze would affect the revenues before deciding to vote for the
motion or not.
Councilmember Gustafson
agreed with Councilmember Grace and would like an analysis done by the Parks,
Recreational & Cultural Services Committee and come back to the Council
with it.
Dick Deal, Parks,
Recreational & Cultural Services Director stated there is a scholarship
program in place for students who meet the reduced and free lunch
qualifications receive up to $50.00 per quarter and $100.00 in the summer
quarter for free class activity.
Typically, the City gives $30,000 - $35,000 a year in scholarships.
Mayor Hansen stated he is
opposed the motion because he felt the Parks, Recreational & Cultural
Services Committee should make a recommendation to the Council before a vote is
taken.
Councilmember Fimia inquired
if there are waiting lists for children and their families who qualify.
There is a waiting list for
some popular classes, responded Mr. Deal, because it is on a first-come,
first-served basis for those families that meet the State low-income
standards. However, no one is turned
away from any scholarship program that is offered.
Councilmember Fimia withdrew the motion to freeze the
fees for youth and family recreation programs for Shoreline residents. Councilmember Ransom seconded the motion.
Councilmember Fimia discussed
her third item concerning human services.
She felt $20,000 was a high amount for drawing up a plan for human
services. She suggested allocating $5,000
for the human services plan, $5,000 for a youth service plan, $2,000 to conduct
two grant workshops for non-profit schools and community leaders to be
sponsored by the City, and the remaining $3,000 would go into the human
services fund with an emphasis on addressing literacy programs.
Councilmember Fimia moved to allocate an additional
$20,000 for human services distributed as follows; $5,000 for the human
services plan, $5,000 for a youth service plan, $2,000 to conduct two grant
workshops for non-profit schools and community leaders to be sponsored by the
City, and the remaining $3,000 would go into social services with an emphasis
on addressing literacy programs.
Councilmember Ransom seconded the motion.
Councilmember Ransom is in
favor of conducting some grant workshops but said the rest of the motion is too
restrictive.
Councilmember Gustafson is
opposed to the motion and agreed with Councilmember Ransom in that the motion
is too restrictive. He added that grant
writing workshops are good to have, but he felt the staff needed more
flexibility because they have the guidance on how to spend the funds.
A vote was taken to allocate an additional $20,000 for
human services distributed as follows; $5,000 for the human services plan,
$5,000 for a youth service plan, $2,000 to conduct two (2) grant workshops for
non-profit schools and community leaders to be sponsored by the City, and the
remaining $3,000 would go into social services with an emphasis on addressing
literacy programs, which failed 2-5.
Councilmember Fimia and Councilmember Ransom voted in favor.
Councilmember Fimia moved to allocate
$2,000 for two (2) grant workshops sponsored by the City. Councilmember Ransom seconded the motion.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen outlined
that most of the non-profit agencies in the City are very good at obtaining
grant funding. He pointed out that the
County does conduct two of these a year and he encouraged the Council to confer
with King County Councilmember Ferguson to have the County sponsor them for the
district.
Mayor Hansen is opposed to
the motion and said the Council should direct the City Manager to do a grant
workshop. He said the Council is getting
too detailed with the budget.
Councilmember Fimia outlined
that this has public support. She stated
the larger non-profits have staff to handle grants but smaller non-profits do
not. She said this would be a small
amount of money and she said she would like to try this as a pilot and do just
two per year.
Mayor Hansen agreed that the
Council should approve one workshop through the existing budget and see what
the response is. If this one goes well,
then the City can sponsor another one.
He felt the discussion was moving away from policy-making and moving
into micromanaging.
Mr. Burkett said he can have
the Human Services Manager, Rob Beem come back to the Council with proposals
and ideas at the next Council meeting.
Councilmember Gustafson
agreed with Mayor Hansen and Mr. Burkett to have Mr. Beem bring something back
to the Council.
Councilmember Fimia felt this
item is Council policy and she disagreed with abdicating it to City staff. She said she agreed with revising the motion
to one workshop and staff would determine where the money would come from. However, she disagreed with allowing staff to
decide whether or not the workshop would take place.
Councilmember Ransom
recommended amending the motion to allow for one workshop.
Councilmember Fimia said it
is not appropriate for the Chair to be interjecting his/her opinion until the
end of the discussion period for any item.
Councilmember Ransom amended the motion to direct the
City Manager to conduct one (1) grant workshop and report to the Council. Councilmember Gustafson seconded the motion,
which carried 7-0.
Councilmember Fimia
introduced her litter control item. She
felt the language in the proposal is not very strong and it needed stronger
direction from the Council.
Councilmember Fimia moved to direct the City Manager
to plan a City-wide litter control program, adopt-a-park, and a gifting program
and report to the Council on costs and where the funding would come from. Councilmember Ransom seconded the
motion.
Councilmember Chang inquired
if this could be a part of the park planner job description. Additionally, he asked Councilmember Fimia if
the City needed to spend funds on litter control.
Councilmember Fimia responded
that she would like to see funding allocated for litter control in the City.
Councilmember Gustafson
outlined he does support it, but does believe the parks coordinator is the
logical person to handle this task. He
requested to have information on this program be available at the Council
retreat. City staff, he pointed out,
should have the flexibility to evaluate these programs. He concluded that he is in support of the
program, but opposes the motion.
Councilmember Ransom stated
that the North Rehabilitation Facility (NRF) crews and community service from
the district court did litter control for the City at one point in time. He inquired how litter is controlled now.
Mr. Burkett responded that if
the motion passes the staff would propose a new program for this, but as of now
the City contracts with a private firm for litter control which actually is less
expensive than the NRF crews used to be.
Councilmember Fimia amended the motion to direct the
City Manager evaluate a City-wide litter control program, adopt-a-park, and a
gifting program, report to the Council, and, if directed, implement such programs
with the proposed budget. Councilmember
Ransom seconded the motion.
Mayor Hansen estimated that
litter controls are already in place in the City and there would be no need for
anything further.
Councilmember Gustafson
pointed out the staff would come back to the Council anyway and the funding
portion should be left off.
A vote was taken on the motion on the table to direct
the City Manager evaluate a City-wide litter control program, adopt-a-park, and
a gifting program, report to the Council, and, if directed, implement such
programs with the proposed budget, which carried 6-1. Mayor Hansen dissented.
Councilmember Chang
emphasized the street trees on Meridian and 15th Avenue NE are
causing damage to sidewalks and underground utilities for property owners. He urged the Council to start working on a
solution which should be made a priority when the extra funds come back from
the sidewalk projects around the City.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen announced
that King County has adopted their budget and King County Councilmember Edmonds
got $1,000,000 allocated in the 2006 Budget for the acquisition of open
space. This, he said, represents
$200,000 more than the City estimated so does this budget need to be revised to
accept the $200,000 or will it be done through a budget amendment at a future
Council meeting.
Debbie Tarry, Finance
Director stated it can be done during the CIP update next year and this budget
does allow for the appropriation of funds and the expenditures. The City will just have another $200,000 in
revenue.
Councilmember Grace inquired
how many of the damaged sidewalks are near schools. If they are the Council should focus on them.
A vote was taken on the motion on the table to approve
Ordinance No. 404 adopting the Annual Budget of the City of Shoreline for the
year 2006 and Resolution No. 239, revising Benefit and Compensation Plan for
Employees, which carried 7-0.
Councilmember Fimia moved to direct the City Manager
to acquire an analysis from King County as to why burglary and auto theft rates
are increasing and what the City of Shoreline and King County can do to reduce
those rates. Councilmember Ransom
seconded the motion.
Councilmember Ransom is
concerned because the crime statistics personnel at the County are rotated and
a professor of criminology is needed to get the correct answers.
A vote was taken to direct the City Manager to acquire
an analysis from King County as to why burglary and auto theft rates are
increasing and what the City of Shoreline and King County can do to reduce
those rates, which carried 7-0.
Councilmember Ransom moved to extend the meeting until
10:30. Councilmember Fimia seconded the
motion, which carried 7-0.
Mayor Hansen stated the Council would not
be able to hear Item 9(b) this evening and asked that the City Manager move it
to the next City Council meeting. Mr.
Burkett concurred and stated the item was for discussion only.
9. UNFINISHED
BUSINESS
(a) Municipal Court Analysis Part 2
Julie Modrzejewski, Assistant City Manager stated she will review two options; 1) implementing and running our own Shoreline municipal court; and 2) contracting with another city for municipal court services. She introduced King County District Court attendees Judge Douglas Smith, Chief Administrative Officer Trisha Crozier, Division Director Rochelle McKenzie, and Budget Director Donna Burner. She reported that there were three jurisdictions based on caseload and population which resemble Shoreline; Kirkland, Bothell, and Seatac. She reviewed the estimated costs and revenues of both options. She pointed out that the lead time for the City staff to implement a municipal court would be 12 – 18 months. Additionally, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, and Seattle did not show a real interest in allowing our City to utilize their services. Lake Forest Park and Bothell did not have the staff to do so. However, the issue with the City of Seattle is that they have over 500,000 case filings a year and Shoreline as 1% of their total case filings, thus it may not be worth it to them to allow us to use their facilities. She concluded that the staff recommendation is for the City to keep utilizing King County for municipal court services.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen stated the Council should move ahead and contract with King County for municipal court services. However, he is worried about the declining revenues and the increasing costs to the City. He asked what level of flexibility do the judges have in reducing fines within the municipal court system and how does that directly impact the City’s obligation to make up the difference if there is a shortfall situation.
Judge Doug Smith stated that everyone is treated the same at the court. There are set figures on how much the City will receive from each infraction. Some infractions are paid off with community services. He urged the Council not to contract with the Seattle District Court because he felt the City would have no control in their court system.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen asked that someone follow up on the question to the Council.
Donna Brunner, Budget Director, King County District Court outlined that if things stay the same expenditures could outpace the revenues. However, she said the addition of the new traffic officer will increase citations and both traffic and parking citations increase revenues.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen is concerned that the Council has little control over the decisions the District Court makes and these decisions affect the City’s revenue.
Ms. Brunner stated that the County Council has the same concerns and the District Court is looking for more efficient ways to provide municipal court services. She said the new contract has language that emphasizes some City control and the willingness to work with the City.
Deputy Mayor Jepsen questioned if it was possible for the Suburban Cities Association (SCA) to work with the District Court and the State Legislature to refine the system so costs to administer the municipal court system can be recovered through fines.
Ms. Modrzejewski pointed out that at the last legislative session a bill was passed to have judge salaries paid by the State. She said SCA is already working with the District Courts to control costs. She also announced that Shoreline is a member of the Court Management Review Committee which meets quarterly to review the exhibits that are a part of the contract with the District Court.
Judge Smith emphasized that a positive aspect of contracting is the City has limited liability concerning court staff and statewide probation liability issues.
Councilmember Ransom asked for further information concerning the 141 active misdemeanant cases in the City of Shoreline.
Judge Smith responded that although the cost for them is steep, probation officers are a valuable resource and are a tremendous asset in being able to know the background of these individuals.
Councilmember Ransom supported renewing the contract as presented.
Councilmember Fimia supported renewing the contract for a five-year term but asked that the alternatives analysis be more thorough next time. She said she would like to hear specific pros and cons.
Mayor Hansen had concerns about the length of time of the contract. He said a five-year term is too long.
Councilmember Gustafson thanked the representatives from the King County District Court for coming and staying so late.
Councilmember Ransom inquired if the five-year term is binding.
Ms. Modrzejewski responded that the City staff will outline the terms of the agreement for the Council at the December 12th City Council meeting.
10. ADJOURNMENT
At 10:31 p.m., Mayor Hansen
declared the meeting adjourned.
/S/ Scott Passey, City Clerk, CMC