City Council

CITY OF MOUNT VERNON CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA October 26, 2022, 7:00 p.m. Police Court Campus, 1805 Continental Place REVISED 10/25/22 To virtually attend the meeting, the public may: 1. Watch the meeting live on TV10: Comcast/Xfinity Channel 10 2. Watch the meeting live, online: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUob_hcQUmd4S93YkletdrA I. OPENING CEREMONIES A. Call to Order B. Pledge of Allegiance C. Roll Call of Councilmembers II. COMMUNITY COMMENTS 1. Review of Emails from the Public (Public comments may be sent via email to communitycomments@mountvernonwa.gov. The comments will be read aloud into the record during the public comment portion of the agenda. Please limit your comments to be read in three minutes or less. Email comments must be received by 4 p.m. on October 26, 2022.) 2. Public Comments (This is an opportunity for Mount Vernon residents to address their City Council. Please limit comments to three minutes or less. Under normal circumstances, the Mayor and Council will not respond immediately to Community Comments. If you would like someone to follow-up with you regarding the topic of your comments, please leave your name and contact information on the form at the entrance of the Council Chambers. If you are unable to attend the meeting and would like to make your comments via Zoom, please submit a request to speak via email to communitycomments@mountvernonwa.gov or by telephone at 360-419-3253. Requests must be received by 4 p.m. on October 26, 2022) III. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of October 12, 2022 Regular Council Meeting Minutes B. Approval of October 20, 2022 payroll checks numbered 111731 - 111747 direct deposit checks numbered 90508 - 90752 and wire transfers numbered 1145 – 1149 in the amount of $1,349,206.88 C. Approval of October 26, 2022 Claims numbered 19337 - 19473 in the amount of $1,716,921.27 D. Approval of Agreement 4297 IV. REPORTS A. Committees 1. Finance & Parks and Enrichment Services 2. Public Works and Library 3. Development Services B. Councilmember Comments Mount Vernon City Council Agenda October 26, 2022 Page 2 C. Mayor’s Report D. Committee Agenda Requests V. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Approval of Ordinance – Municipal Code Chapter 9, Crimes Against Persons (Staff is requesting adoption of Ordinance 3858 updating sections 9.17.030 and 9.17.060 of Chapter 9 of the City’s Municipal Code.) (required action –ordinance) (staff contact – Kevin Rogerson) B. Approval of Resolution – Waive Fees (Staff is requesting approval of Resolution 1020 waiving sewer connection fees for low-income housing Connecting Housing to Infrastructure Program (CHIP) Grant for the Skagit Housing Authority.) (required action – resolution) (staff contact – Kevin Rogerson) C. Approval of Agreement – Community Action of Skagit County (Staff is requesting approval of an agreement with Community Action of Skagit County for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding.) (required action – motion) (staff contact – Peter Donovan) D. Approval of Street Closure Request – Mount Vernon Downtown Association (Staff is requesting approval of a street closure request from the Mount Vernon Downtown Association (MVDA) for the 2022 Downtown Trick or Treating event.) (required action – motion) (staff contact – Jennifer Berner) E. Public Hearing – 2023 Property Tax Levy (This is a public hearing to review revenue estimates for the 2023 budget, allow testimony, and to discuss with Council setting the 2023 property taxes for the City.) (required action – ordinance) (staff contact – Doug Volesky) COMMITTEE MEETINGS Finance & Parks and Enrichment Services 6:00 p.m. Next Ordinance 3858 Next Resolution 1020  AGENDA ITEM: A DATE: October 26, 2022 TO: Mayor Boudreau and City Council FROM: Geoff McCann, City Prosecutor SUBJECT: PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY’S CRIMINAL CODE RECOMMENDED ACTION: That the Council move to adopt the proposed ordinance amending Chapter 9.17 of the Mount Vernon Municipal Code to reflect changes in the Revised Code of Washington. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: The Washington Legislature recently repealed and recodified certain domestic violence and anti- harassment statutes. Specifically, key provisions in RCW 26.50 and 10.14 have been repealed. As of July 1, 2022, these provisions are now codified under RCW 7.105. The provisions under RCW 26.50 and 14.14 have been adopted by reference in the City code. FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS: In order to be able to prosecute crimes organized under RCW 7.105, the City should update its code to adopt these crimes by reference. RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that certain statutes in RCW 7.105 be adopted by reference by updating sections 9.17.030 and 9.17.060 in the City’s criminal code. ATTACHED: Proposed Ordinance.  AGENDA ITEM: B DATE: October 26, 2022 TO: Mayor Boudreau and City Council FROM: Kevin Rogerson; City Attorney SUBJECT: RE: RESOLUTION REFUNDING SEWER CONNECTION FEES FOR THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF SKAGIT COUNTY RECOMMENDED ACTION: Approve the Resolution. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: The Housing Authority of Skagit County is developing a five building, multiple residence, low-income housing development in the City of Mount Vernon under permit numbers BLDG21-0060 through BLDG21-0064. As part of the permitting process, they paid $200,379.00 in sewer connection fees. Washington State Session Laws of 2021, Chapter 332, Section 1074 authorize funding for grants to local governments to pay for system development charges, such as sewer and wastewater connections. The Housing Authority’s development project qualifies for such a grant under section 1074. Section 1074 requires local governments waive the standard fees normally applied to developers for drinking water, wastewater, or stormwater connection charges before they are eligible for reimbursement. Since Skagit County has applied for and been awarded a grant under the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Connecting Housing to Infrastructure Program (CHIP) to reimburse the City $200,379.00 for the sewer and wastewater connections already paid by the Housing Authority. The Department of Commerce has determined because the fees have been paid, they are not waived and therefore cannot release the grant funds to Skagit County, however, has stated that it will release the grant funds to Skagit County if the connection fees are waived and scheduled to be refunded to the Housing Authority. A timely refund will allow the Housing Authority to use the funds for other costs associated with their low-income housing project. After discussion with City and County Staff it was determined in order to avoid cumbersome administrative issues the waived fees ($200, 379.00) will be held and refunded to the Housing Authority upon Skagit County’s payment of the connection fees as authorized under Section 1074. FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS: The Resolution is acceptable to the City of Mount Vernon, WA. RECOMMENDATION: Approval. ATTACHED: Proposed Resolution.  AGENDA ITEM: C DATE: October 26, 2022 TO: Mayor Boudreau and City Council FROM: Peter Donovan, Special Projects Manager SUBJECT: CDBG AGREEMENT WITH COMMUNITY ACTION RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: -Community Action will use this funding for their Housing & Resource Center program. This allocation of $35,998 represents 10% of the City’s total 2022-2023 CDBG award from HUD. -HUD has approved this expenditure FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS: -This expenditure was approved by Council as a part of the City’s 2022-23 CDBG Annual Action Plan RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that Council authorize the Mayor to enter into an agreement with Community Action of Skagit County. ATTACHED: Draft version of CDBG Agreement with Community Action AGENDA ITEM: D  AGENDA ITEM: E DATE: October 26, 2022 TO: Mayor Boudreau and City Council FROM: Doug Volesky, Finance Director SUBJECT: REVIEW REVENUE SOURCES AND DISCUSS SETTING 2023 PROPERTY TAXES RECOMMENDED ACTION: Staff recommends that Council adopt an ordinance to establish the 2023 property tax revenue amount. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: A major part of the City’s budget process is establishing revenue estimates for the budgeted year. The City’s revenue policies include: 1. Current revenues will be sufficient to support current expenditures, 2. Calculated using an objective, analytical process, and will be neither overly optimistic nor overly conservative, 3. Estimates will be performed utilizing accepted analytical techniques and shall access the full spectrum of resources available to finance City programs and services. Estimated total revenue included in the 2023 Preliminary Budget is $123,195,661. This is an increase of $46,421,113 or 60.5% from the City’s 2022 budgeted revenue amount. This increase is due mainly to increased funding for major capital projects including $48,317,000 for the Mount Vernon Library Commons project and $953,000 for the Fire Station #3 remodel project. Total taxes increased $1,249,800 from the budgeted 2022 revenue amounts. Per MRSC, “As part of the budget process, the taxing jurisdiction establishes the amount of property tax revenue needed to fund the budget. That amount needed to fund the budget is called the levy. It is the total amount to be collected from the taxpayers by a taxing district. In Washington, property tax increases are not based on the increasing value of properties. They are based on last year’s property tax levy, which is simply the amount of the property taxes that were assessed in the prior year. By November 30 of each year, the amount of taxes to be levied by taxing districts are certified to the county assessor in a dollar amount. In Mount Vernon, our tax levy amount in 2022 was $8,215,714. The county assessor calculates the levy rate necessary by dividing the total levy amount by the assessed value of taxable property in the district. By law, this number is expressed in terms of a dollar rate per $1,000 of valuation. For example, a rate of $0.00025 is expressed as 25¢ per $1,000 of assessed value. The formula for property tax collections is expressed as: Levy = Levy Rate x Assessed Value (AV)”. The City of Mount Vernon is required by law to hold a public hearing to review revenue sources for the coming year and also to set property taxes for the coming year. The City’s property tax increase is limited to the lesser of one percent (1%) or the implicit price deflator (IPD) for the year. Additionally, a City may capture 100% of all new construction and may take any “banked capacity” available to them. Some important facts to consider when setting the 2023 property tax include: 1. The implicit price deflator (IPD) for the year is 6.457%, so it is more than 1%, so tax districts will be allowed to levy 1% more than they collected in 2022. A 1% adjustment to the property tax is $90,800. This amount is not included in the 2023 Preliminary Budget. 2. Banked Capacity. As a result of the City of Mount Vernon not taking the maximum regular tax which could lawfully be levied in past years, the City has accumulated banked levy capacity of $864,271.54. The amount of banked capacity changes each year because the highest lawful levy and the actual levy are recalculated. Having banked capacity for one year does not guarantee the city will have the same amount the following year. There is no banked capacity included in the 2023 revenue budget. 3. New construction value per the County Assessor’s Office is $21.6M which will generate $38,327 of new revenue to the City in 2023. The new construction has been included in the 2023 Preliminary Budget. FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS: City staff recommends that City Council: - Set the property taxes in 2023 at 100% of the 2022 revenue amount, - Take all new construction allowed to the City. RECOMMENDATION: City staff recommends Council adopt an ordinance to set the City’s 2023 property tax levy amount, or Council could choose to have further discussion and approve this ordinance at a later date. ATTACHED: 2023 Property Tax Levy amount Ordinance.