Finance Committee

City Hall Meeting Minutes 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Finance Committee Information: 360.753.8244 Wednesday, September 20, 2017 5:00 PM Room 207 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Cooper called the meeting to order at 5:01 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Committee member Bateman joined the meeting via conference call. Present: 3 - Chair Jim Cooper, Committee member Jessica Bateman and Committee member Jeannine Roe OTHERS PRESENT The Washington Center for the Performing Arts Executive Director Jill Barnes The Washington Center for the Performing Arts Development Director Joselyn Wood City Manager Steve Hall Assistant City Manager Jay Burney City Attorney Mark Barber Administrative Services Acting Director Dean Walz Administrative Services Deputy Director Debbie Sullivan Community Planning & Development Director Keith Stahley Building Official Todd Cunningham 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA City Manager Steve Hall requested item 5.E Oral Report - Long Term Budget Sustainability be postponed to the next Finance Committee meeting. The agenda was approved as amended. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 4.A 17-0966 Approval of August 9, 2017 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes The minutes were approved. 5. COMMITTEE BUSINESS 5.A 17-0964 Consideration of Joint Funding for the Development Director at the Washington Center of the Performing Arts City of Olympia Page 1 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes September 20, 2017 Ms. Barnes received the audit for fiscal year 2016 - 2017 and reported the Center finished in the black for the first time in many years. She shared some of the different funding tracks they have engaged in with the help of Joselyn Wood, Development Director for the Center. Currently the position of development director is funded through the City. To establish and solidify funding tracks, Ms. Barnes requested that the City continue to fund the position for two more years at 75% and then 50%. This would allow for gradual impact to their operating expenses. Committee member Roe commended Ms. Barnes and Ms. Wood for the tremendous effort put forth to strengthen the downtown, grow the Center and draw people to the area. She proposed a three year funding solution of 75%, 75% and then 50% for the development director position. Committee members unanimously agree to forward a recommendation to the City Council to fund a three-year extension of the development director position at 75%, 75% and 50%. The recommendation was forwared to City Council for consideration. 5.B 17-0967 Operating Budget Challenges - Criminal Division’s Vital Needs Mr. Barber presented information regarding staffing and software needs for the Criminal Division. The workload for the prosecution staff has increased tremendously due to increased referrals from the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorneys Office and a change in generating and filing complaints. Unfortunately, this trend is expected to continue. He asked for $50,000 in the 2018 budget to hire outside prosecution services. The City needs a third prosecutor; however, the budget doesn't support it at this time. Hiring outside prosecution services would provide a temporary patch that offers coverage for vacations, illness and additional support. Committee members discussed the staffing situation and asked Mr. Hall to budget $50,000 for prosecution services in the 2018 budget. Mr. Barber noted the lack of a case management system has also hindered the prosecution department. The current paper oriented system is labor intensive, requires duplication, and lacks the ability to provide necessary statistical information. Prosecution is working with IT to put out a request for information (RFI) for case management software. Initial quotes range from $250,000 to $700,000 for implementation and software. Chair Cooper mentioned the entire City has software needs and it could be beneficial to have Chief Information Officer Shawn Ward provide an overview of needs. City of Olympia Page 2 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes September 20, 2017 The discussion was completed. 5.C 17-0915 Operating Budget Challenges - Code Enforcement Briefing Mr. Cunningham discussed the workload of the two code enforcement officers. The areas of responsibility for the code enforcement program include: zoning and land violations, vegetation violations, nuisance property abatement, encampment enforcement, graffiti and emergency management support. The number of encampment enforcement and abatements has grown tremendously in 2017 and has required other enforcement responsibilities to be placed on the back burner. Dealing with encampments takes a great deal of time, attention and funding. Unfortunately, once an encampment has been cleaned another will establish itself near the site. The cost of an additional code enforcement officer has been included in the upcoming public safety ballot measure. Should the measure not pass, there would still be a need for a third officer. The report was received. 5.D 17-0971 Consideration of Funding for a Lobbyist The City had a lobbyist prior to the recession. Mr. Burney picked up many of the responsibilities of advocating, tracking, monitoring and promoting legislation with the help of Associated Washington Cities (AWC) and has been effective. However, the City has some bigger transportation issues on the horizon, such as the State Route 101/West Olympia Interchange, that need a dedicated individual to nurture them. Council identified the need for a lobbyist as a priority at the 2017 Council Retreat. Jennifer Ziegler Public Affairs has been highly recommended by local delegation and other communities. Ms. Ziegler has expressed interest in working with the City of Olympia. Staff is looking for $11,000 from the Council Goal money fund to hire a lobbyist in 2017 to help the Council develop the 2018 legislative session agenda and $35,000 to $40,000 in the 2018 budget for the lobbyist. Committee members wanted to move forward with the 2017 request for $11,000 and asked Mr. Burney to enter into negotiations for the 2018 budget as the dollar figure is high for a short legislative session. The recommendation was completed. 5.E 17-0965 Oral Report - Long Term Budget Sustainability The report was postponed to the February 21, 2018 Finance Committee meeting under File 18-0166. City of Olympia Page 3 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes September 20, 2017 6. REPORTS AND UPDATES - None 7. ADJOURNMENT Chair Cooper adjourned the meeting at 7:15 p.m. City of Olympia Page 4