City Council - Committee Of The Whole

City of Bellingham Committee Of The Whole Minutes December 5, 2022, 2:00 PM Mayor: Seth Fleetwood Contact: (360) 778-8100, mayorsoffice@cob.org Council Members: Hannah Stone, Hollie Huthman, Contact: (360) 778-8200, ccmail@cob.org Daniel Hammill, Edwin H. “Skip” Williams, Lisa Anderson, https://cob.org/council Michael Lilliquist and Kristina Michele Martens All meetings are held in the City Hall Council Chambers at 210 Lottie Street, Bellingham, WA, unless otherwise noted. Call to Order President Stone called the Committee of the Whole meeting to order at 2pm. Roll Call Present: Council President Hannah Stone, First Ward Council Member Hollie Huthman, Second Ward Council Member Daniel Hammill, Third Ward Council Member Edwin H. "Skip" Williams, Fourth Ward Council Member Lisa Anderson, Fifth Ward Council Member Michael Lilliquist, Sixth Ward Council Member Kristina Michele Martens, At Large Council Standing Committee Meetings: Open to the public to attend. Note: there is generally no public comment period for Committee sessions. Standing Committee Members receive reports and information, ask questions and, when appropriate, vote on a recommended action for consideration by the full Council at the Regular Meeting. The notice of Committee Meetings identified below also serves as notice of Special Meetings of the City Council at the times identified as Council Members who are not members of the committee routinely attend and participate in the Committee Meetings. Committee Chairs give a report of the Committee Meeting at the Regular Meeting in the evening prior to deliberation and formal vote. Please be advised that if the City Council is ahead of schedule, they may start with old/new business before the official Committee of the Whole meeting time. 23554 1. Salary Commission Report p. 4 Stacey Carroll, HR Experts On-Call, and Gene Knutson, Councilmember Emeritus, presented on the work of the Salary Commission. In November 2021, City Council approved an ordinance to establish an independent Salary Commission to review and fix the salaries for members of City Council. According to the ordinance, the decision of the Salary Commission will be final with no further action from City Council, will be incorporated into the budget, and will amend Bellingham Municipal Code 3.12.010 A. Committee Of The Whole Minutes Page 1 December 5, 2022  The Salary Commission set the salary at $67,000 effective 1/1/2023. This replaces the current salary including the monthly meeting stipend. The salary will increase by 3% on 1/1/2024 and every January 1st thereafter. Information Only. 23551 2. An Ordinance Amending the 2021-2022 Biennial Budget Increasing p. 6 Expenditures Forrest Longman, Deputy Finance Director, provided a summary of the final budget ordinance of the year. The ordinance adds $700,000 for utility overages from rate increases, unbudgeted costs related to private security, and less than anticipated salary savings to the Parks and Recreation Department and $100,000 to the Legal Department due to higher than anticipated wage and benefit costs. Daniel Hammill / Hollie Huthman moved to recommend approval of the ordinance amending the 2021-22 Biennial Budget. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 23552 3. An Ordinance Repealing Chapter 4.32 of the Bellingham Municipal p. 10 Code Forrest Longman, Deputy Finance Director, provided a summary of the ordinance removing Chapter 4.32 of the Bellingham Municipal Code. What was once called the Warehouse Fund has long since become the Purchasing Fund. The warehousing service now almost exclusively supports the City's water utility. The 2023-2024 Biennial Budget transfers purchasing staff from the Public Works Department to the Finance Department. As part of this change, the budget assumes elimination of the Purchasing Fund and moves the activity into the General Fund, it transfers existing dollars in the Purchasing Fund to the Facilities Fund to re-roof and add solar panels to the warehouse roof, and it shifts the remaining warehouse operations to the water utility. Michael Lilliquist / Daniel Hammill moved to recommend approval of repealing Chapter 4.32 of the Bellingham Municipal Code. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 23553 4. Municipal Court Judge Salary Increase p. 13 Forrest Longman, Deputy Finance Director, summarized the ordinance, which proposes to align the Municipal Court judge salary with District Court judges as determined by the Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials, Committee Of The Whole Minutes Page 2 December 5, 2022  which has discretion in setting the salary for District Court judges, among other positions. State law allows for the City to receive a reimbursement for a portion of the cost if 1) the Municipal Court judge is elected and 2) an ordinance aligning the salary with District Court judge is adopted. This change also affects the Court Commissioner salary as by policy they are paid 85% of the Municipal Court judge's salary. Michael Lilliquist / Lisa Anderson moved to request the Administration to review a potential Charter amendment to avoid a conflict with Article 2, Section 9. MOTION CARRIED 6-0. Abstained: Hannah Stone Daniel Hammill / Lisa Anderson moved to recommend approval of the ordinance to increase the Municipal Court Judge salary. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 23555 5. An Ordinance Adopting the 2023-2024 Biennial Budget p. 16 Forrest Longman, Deputy Finance Director, introduced the proposed 2023-2024 Biennial Budget Ordinance. The ordinance sets the budget for the two-year period beginning on January 1, 2023 and includes operating expenditures of $641,130,696 and capital expenditures of $203,295,003. Daniel Hammill / Edwin H. "Skip" Williams moved to recommend approval of the 2023-2024 Biennial Budget. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 23556 6. A Resolution Setting the Dates and Times of the 2023 City Council p. 22 Meetings President Stone presented the Resolution, which establishes the meeting calendar for 2023. Daniel Hammill / Edwin H. "Skip" Williams moved to recommend approval of the revised calendar for 2023 City Council meetings. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 23557 7. Approval of City Council Special Meeting Minutes p. 26 Edwin H. "Skip" Williams / Hollie Huthman moved to recommend approval of the November, 14 2022 Special City Council minutes. Committee Of The Whole Minutes Page 3 December 5, 2022  MOTION CARRIED 7-0. 23391 8. Approval of City Council Committee and Regular Meeting Minutes p. 29 Hollie Huthman / Michael Lilliquist moved to recommend approval of the November 21, 2022 City Council minutes. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Old/New Business President Stone introduced and welcomed the new Legislative Assistant, Jacqueline Lassiter. Councilmember Hammill requested clarity from the Administration on private security for downtown Bellingham. Council moved into Executive Session at 2:51pm to discuss two items. 1. Potential Property Acquisition 2. Potential Property Acquisition Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:51pm. Committee Of The Whole Minutes Page 4 December 5, 2022