FEDRAC MIN 03-24-2009
A Federal Way
MEETING SUMMARY
Committee Members in Attendance: Committee Chair Park and Committee Member Duclos;
Committee Member Faison's absence was excused.
Councilmembers in Attendance: Mayor Dovey and Councilmembers Burbidge and Kochmar.
Staff Members in Attendance: City Manager Neal Beets, Assistant City Manager Bryant Enge,
Assistant City Manager Cary Roe, Police Chief Brian Wilson, Deputy Police Chief Andy Hwang,
Deputy City Attorney Aaron Walls, IT Director Mehdi Sadri, Finance Director Tho Kraus, Human
Resources Director Mary McDougal, Community Development Director Greg Fewins,
Communications & Governmental Affairs Manager Linda Farmer, and Deputy City Clerk Krystal
Roe.
1. CALL TO ORDER: 5:31 P.M.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT: None
3. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
Topic Title/Description
A. Approval of Minutes: February 24, 2009 Meeting
Not enough Committee Members who were present at the February meeting
were available at tonight's meeting to make a motion and vote on approval of
the minutes. The minutes will be brought forward for approval at the April 28,
2009 meeting.
B. Legislative Briefing
Doug Levy joined the meeting via a conference call and provided
updates on the key interests to Federal Way.
Ms. Farmer spoke highly of the new federal lobbyists and noted their
willingness to work without an executed contract. Currently, Strategies 360
is working hard to secure appointments with Senators Murray and Cantwell
and Representatives Reichert and Smith for the Council's trip to
Washington, D.C. next week.
C. Permit Deadline Extensions
Mr. Fewins distributed handouts including the recently approved Planning
Commission Work Plan. Mr. Fewins noted the City of Federal Way is ahead
of many other cities in its willingness to assist permit holders and developers
in terms of permit deadlines and extensions. Most of the Master Builders
Association's recommended polices/programs have either already been
put in place through prior practice or are coming forward in the way of
recommended code amendments (including changes relating to short
plats). However, some requested services will not be possible with current
staffing levels; those improvements would only be put in place if the
Forward
to Council
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FEDRAC Meeting Summary
March 24. 2009 - Page 2 of 3
$75,000+ in requested carry-forward funds were made available. At this
time, that request has not been approved.
D. Sharing Fiber Optic Installation
Mr. Sadri presented his report to the Committee and outlined the benefits
which would be realized by approving the proposed agreement. He
further explained this agreement would act as a general umbrella which
would help to facilitate any future, separate agreements between two or
more member agencies for specific infrastructure-building projects.
The Committee inquired about the lead agency for this agreement. Mr.
Sadri answered that although the Cities of Bellevue and Kirkland together
with the University of Washington were the originators of the agreement,
there is no lead agency for this umbrella agreement.
Motion second and carried to approve the staff recommendation to enter
into the Interlocal Agreement for Sharing Fiber Optic Installation Projects
(carried 2 - 0).
E. Vouchers
Motion second and carried to approve the vouchers as presented (carried 2-0).
F. Monthly Financial Report
Ms. Kraus presented her report and highlighted the current budget
shortfalls. She noted sales tax, real estate excise tax (REET) and utility tax
revenues remain significantly lower than projected.
She noted the Police Department's overtime budget is below budget and
has been managed very well thus far.
The Committee inquired about the Federal Way Community Center's
performance and asked if there are any obvious reasons for its
underperformance. Ms. Kraus replied she will be meeting with staff in the
next week and will be prepared to bring an analysis back to the April
FEDRAC meeting.
Motion second and carried to approve the Monthly Financial Report as
presented (carried 2 - 0).
G. Carry-Forward Requests & Long-Range Plan Update
Mr. Enge suggested bringing the issue forward to the April 28, 2009 FEDRAC
meeting for discussion, followed by a special Council study session on May
5, 2009. He stated between now and April 28, staff will be working to
develop a prioritization process to evaluate and rank current programs and
potential cuts. An analysis and discussion of proposed cuts may be ready
April 28, but possibly not until May 5. Any proposed program changes/cuts
will require a thorough review to protect against unintentional effects.
Mr. Beets and Mr. Enge spoke to the possibility of putting a hiring freeze in
place with the exception of a few key positions already in the process of
being filled.
Specifically, Mr. Beets stated he would prefer to move forward with the
Parks Director process. However, employment would not be offered to the
preferred candidate until after the budget has been brought to Council.
Other exceptions to the hiring freeze would be for police officers (who
would be paid out of dedicated Proposition 1 revenue) and temporary
seasonal workers. Mr. Roe commented that without seasonal employees, it
4.7 .2009
Consent
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Consent
4.7.2009
Consent
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FEDRAC Meeting Summary
March 24, 2009 - Page 3 of 3
would be very difficult to maintain expected levels of service at
Celebration and other major parks.
Committee Member Duclos stated the importance of clearly
communicating any planned hiring freeze and to state the exceptions to
the freeze at the time it is announced. To do otherwise would send a
mixed signal to staff and others.
In addition to utilizing a hiring freeze (whether selective or across the
board) Mr. Enge also spoke about the possibility of repealing the 2010
COLA for non-represented employees; the City would need to negotiate
this with represented employees. He also noted the possibility of halting
contributions to the unemployment insurance fund as the fund currently
has a large reserve.
To increase available cash flow, the Council could consider using debt
financing as a tool to fund capital projects, thus freeing up millions each
year in existing revenue.
The Committee asked Mr. Enge to report back at the next meeting on the
interest rate and the length of time for such debt financing.
Mr. Enge further asked about utilizing red light photo enforcement revenue
to fund traffic safety programs/projects (in keeping with the Council's
previously stated policy and ordinance) and using the capital or operating
funds currently budgeted for such line items elsewhere.
The Committee discussed other options including offering early retirement
to eligible employees.
The Committee asked Mr. Enge and Mr. Beets to come back to the
Committee with details on these, and any other creative funding
mechanisms at the next FEDRAC meeting, along with:
· A capital plan update
· Use of utility tax funds
· Effect of mandatory employee furloughs
· Effect of incre9sed employee contributions to medical premiums
If possible, Mr. Enge will also bring forward a list of recommended program
cuts to the April FEDRAC meeting. However, if more time is needed for
analyzing, the list will not be brought forward until the study session on May
5,2009.
4. OTHER: None
5. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
6. NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 @ 5:30 p.m.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:45 p.m.
Attest: . t<
~ rystal Roe, Deputy City Clerk
~ ~ ~ ./ EXCUSED
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Dini Duclos Eric Faison
Committee Member Committee Member
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