Federal Way City Council - 9/15/20

(Virtual) Meeting Highlights:
Citizen Comments 
Four people commented on a house at 18th and S. 296th Ave. that has become a public nuisance.  The house has been vacant for over 18 months, and there have been two fires there.  It presents a threat to surrounding homes.  The City will have it demolished, and then will put a lien on it for the expenses.
 
Three people presented comments requesting rental and other assistance for people suffering during the Covid economic crisis.  The Mayor stated that the City is working on more rental assistance, and in bringing back some daycare. 
 
Biennial Budget Presentation (2021-22)
Mayor Ferrell wants the budget planning to be a very transparent process. Priorities: 

• Security of residents & property;
• Maintain a clean and litter-free city;
• Avoid layoffs of current city staff, and maintain current levels of service;
• Fully fund most reserve accounts;
• Have a structurally balanced budget;
• Continue recovery from the Covid crisis.

 
We increased the number of police officers from 134 to 137.  We will have adequate funding for jail service since the City dropped its contract with the SCORE facility.
 
What the Budget includes:

• Improvements to Dumas Bay and FW Community Center (new hot water heater);
• Funding for a new Shop facility study and design.
• Maintain current staffing levels.
• Maintain “eyes on Federal Way” customer service app.
• Maintain additional 2 FTEs for litter clean-up/removal.
• Equipment and supplies to keep staff and customers safe during Covid.

 
To retain non-represented employees, we are offering a 3% COLA to prevent further salary erosion from area-wide averages.
 
Fully fund most reserve accounts:

• Structurally balance budget;
• $9 million general fund balance;
• $2 million in REET;
• Utility tax fund, $1 million reserve;
• Prop 1 is fully funded;
• Red light enforcement – balance is at $525K;
• Risk Management – since we are no longer self-insured, mayor proposes a $600K reserve fund;
• Health insurance.

 
Bond Capital Projects:

• Study/Design for Public Works Shop - $250K/$250K
• I.T. back-up and security contact -         $175K/$25K
• Steel Lake Maintenance Facility -          $143K
• Dumas Bay HVAC and windows -         $20K/$70K
• FWCC Water Heater -                             $33K

 
TOTAL:                                                   $621K/$345K
                                         Two years =    $966.2K
The city can refinance two old bonds to lower annual payments, the Federal Way Community Center 2013 GO Bond of $8.3, and one other.
 
Parks and Recreation Highlights

• Two new FTE’s, up from a .5 and a .75 .
• Water heater replacement
• Lakota park upgrades

 
Community Development Highlights

• Loss of 1 FTE associate planner (vacant position);
• 1 FTE addition from Development Specialist to Permit Technician to improve efficiency;
• Addition of 1 FTE Graffiti (removal) technician.

 
IT Highlights
IT Security focus
            a. City-wide security awareness training;
            b. Multi-factor authentication;
            c. Darktrace Network protection;
            d. I.T. Department reorganization;
            e. New help-desk for software.
 
Recovery from Covid-19 Crisis

• Closed community center in March;
• Laid-off P/T employees of FWCC, Dumas and PEAC;
• Some employees brought back with re-openings;
• Acquired equipment that promotes remote working.

 
Actions for Solvency

• Departure from SCORE jail contract ($2 million savings);
• Water/sewer tax judgement ($1 million ongoing revenue);
• Utility tax on solid waste and recycling;
• Debt management.

 
Revenue for 2021 is $125.85 million.  Federal Way now has a web page where everyone can view the current budget planning.

​There was a presentation by Kirk Ross on behalf of Federal Way becoming a member of the National League of Cities (NLC). (Mr. Ross is an intern with NLC, and was zooming to us from Alabama.)   NLC is the voice of all American cities in terms of advocacy; it is currently advocating for direct funding for cities from the federal government, rather than having funding going through the states.  You are able to communicate easily with official from other city councils.

• In 2021 NLC will host a conference on small business resiliency.
• FW will be able to access grant programs, such as for mental health, park development, etc.

• NLC provides warranties for citizens’ water main replacements.
• There is a week-long conference in the spring.
• The dues for Federal Way would be $8K annually. 

Two council members spoke of advantages they had already gained from attending to NLC conferences.  FW Council voted to join the National League of Cities.

The Mayor announced the finalists for City Council Position 5 (down from the original 23 applicants), which Mark Kappong vacated, taking a private industry position in California. They are:  Jack Dovey; (The mayor went through the rest of the names too quickly for me to write them down.)  Mr. Dovey is a long-time FW resident who has served on both the Council and previously as mayor. The City Council resolved to have criminal background checks of the remaining 5 candidates.  The checks will be done through a commercially available service.

There were new appointments of people to the Arts Commission (1); the Diversity Commission (2); and the Parks and Recreation Commission (1).