City Council - Special Meeting

City of Bellingham City Council Special Meeting Minutes 2017 City Council Retreat 03/25/2017, 9:00 AM Mayor Kelli Linville Contact: (360) 778-8200, ccmail@cob.org Council Members April Barker, Gene Knutson, Daniel www.cob.org/council Hammill, Pinky Vargas, Terry Bornemann, Michael Lilliquist Woodstock Farm, Chuckanut Drive, Bellingham, WA and Roxanne Murphy Audio of this meeting is available. Please contact the Legislative Assistant to request a link: 360.778.8200, ccmail@cob.org. Call to Order Roll Call Michael Lilliquist, Chair Roxanne Murphy April Barker Terry Bornemann Gene Knutson Pinky Vargas Dan Hammill Others present: Mayor Kelli Linville, Deputy Administrator Brian Heinrich, Planning Director Rick Sepler, Legislative Analyst Mark Gardner, Legislative Assistant Marie Marchand, and members of the public Committee Of The Whole 21551 1. Annual City Council Retreat Discussion of Sustainable Budgeting Presentation by Planning and Community Development Director Rick Sepler A Regional Fire Authority is an independent taxing authority lowering the levy rate. All jurisdictions have a seat at the table. It is a configuration that is doing well in Washington with 50% of the budget going to uniform services. Lynnwood is in the process. Council would appoint Councilmembers to participate in its development. In terms of Level of Service, otherwise referred to as Sustainable Budgeting, if we take in all the UGA, our level service declines (e.g. water service, police, fire) in a more broad area. We need to make new facilities. We need to find a remedy for this. With an increased Level of Service, how big can we spread the City? Service has to go down when we do more for a greater number of people. It is less expensive to serve communities that are closer to each other. 1  It's a dynamic combination to see different scenarios. How do we position ourselves in our budget? The challenge in budgeting is managing priorities. Oftentimes, departments can see their own interests only. The public receives many asks; how does COB’s ask fit in with the others? Brian Heinrich said that Redmond has a different process for how they measure budgeting into the future. They identify five categories: none, reactive, manage, proactive, and comprehensive (completely managing how that service is delivered). How would that fit in Bellingham? Redmond has a Results Team with six priorities (Bellingham has nine). Departments create a bid with direction from Mayor and submit a two-page narrative to teams for review. Teams rank bids based on priorities. The process is not flexible on an emerging issue such as homelessness, which a city may be ill-equipped from the budget process to address. How is this emerging issue paid for? By defunding the less important issue the city previously funded? Bid teams scale different requests. What won't you do if you don't receive the money you want? How do the departments interact with their Council and other departments? Taking budget conversation to staff below the department head? We have 800 COB ambassadors. This process could result in greater staff knowledge. Council’s understanding of the budget has increased. The Mayor said that the people who are ranking are not from the group that is proposing its budget need. Therefore, the process results in objective, fact-based decisions. Rick concluded his presentation and Councilmembers asked questions and a discussion took place. Upon conclusion of the discussion, the Council thanked Rick and the Administration for the thorough presentation. Possible Reforms to City Council Meeting Practices Making meetings more accessible.  How can the City arrange a bigger venue and viewing capability in anticipation of crowed Council meetings? This includes challenges around recording and providing ample time to announce a change in venue.  How does Council make sign-up sheets more visible and educate people on how to sign up?  Put meeting Guidelines for Public Comment on the overhead before meetings.  Announce that signs may not obstruct others’ view, or be used in an intimidating manner. Add that rule to Council’s Rules of Procedure document.  Reorient the podium so speakers address the Council, not the audience. Committee structure.  Can committees go deeper into issues? The Committee Chair has a special role and can talk with experts on the staff and facilitate thorough discussion. Meeting in the morning leaves more time for in-depth discussion.  Instead of just showing staff time, can the agenda bill also include discussion time?  Can the Council spend time analyzing what it has to do versus what it is nice to do? 2   Can presentations be in the evening only, and not in the afternoon?  Can the person who makes the decision (Committee Chair or President) be supported by other members? Council Communications.  How does Council communicate with the public? (The various ways were discussed.)  The Council President now has a job description, provided by Brian Heinrich, which lays out his/her supervisory duties, including supervising the hiring of staff.  Pinky’s outgoing message included the Council hosting town halls.  Michael and Pinky’s memorandum offered five options for moving forward in the Council’s communications effort. It was decided that communications activities will be handled by existing staff with guidance, as needed, from the City of Bellingham Communications Director, and in partnership with the Council President.  A Council Communications Plan needs to be drafted and adopted by Council. This Plan should clarify which Councilmember public voices can be posted on the Council’s social media, and address the need to use social media to “dispel myths.”  Councilmembers having their Facebook pages under the City (with the City having no editorial control) allows for capture of all metadata in case of a Public Records Request. Only one Councilmember is taking advantage of this. Neighborhood Advisory Board.  The possibility of initiating a City Council Neighborhood Committee that Council would staff was discussed briefly. Council does not have a direct link to MNAC.  If Council has this type of committee, will it be unfair to other groups, such as renters, that approach the Council wanting similar committees? The President thanked everyone for a productive retreat and adjourned the meeting. 3