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WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
Special Committee of the Whole
October 27, 2014
CALL TO ORDER
Council Chair Carl Weimer called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. in the Civic
Center Garden Level Conference Room, 322 N. Commercial Street, Bellingham, Washington.
ROLL CALL
(9:33:15 AM)
Present: Barbara Brenner, Sam Crawford, Ken Mann, Carl Weimer, Pete
Kremen, Rud Browne and Barry Buchanan.
Absent: None.
COMMITTEE DISCUSSION
1. ORDINANCE ADOPTING THE 2015 -2016 WHATCOM COUNTY BUDGET
(AB2014 -205C)
Planning and Development Services Department
Sam Ryan, Planning and Development Services Department, stated revenue and
permit numbers have increased slightly. She proposes six to ten percent increases in fees,
which will be a revenue increase of about $300,000. There have been shortfalls in fees for
fire plan review and inspections and 502 legislation. They've added a fee for additional time
spent on conditional use permits. They continue to improve the permit process, shorelines,
and enforcement. Their priority next year is enforcement. They will propose amending and
streamlining the ordinances for enforcement. They are very good at keeping within the
budget.
She described the additional services requests (ASRs) for fuel allocation, reallocation
of the best available science update, a half -time pollution identification control (PIC)
position to do enforcement, hiring an additional consultant for an additional study regarding
the Georgia Pacific Terminal (GPT) if necessary, an additional Planner II position for the
national pollution discharge elimination system (NPDES) and illicit discharge detection and
elimination (IDDE) program, and the half -time purchase of development rights (PDR)
position.
Brenner asked how they evaluated the building permit fees. Ryan stated they are
compared to five similar counties.
Brenner asked about fees for 502 legislation. Ryan stated that is the legalized
marijuana legislation, which is taking a lot of staff time.
Special Committee of the Whole, 10/27/2014, Page 1
1
2 Mann asked if counties get any sales tax or other revenue from the 502 legislation.
3 Louws stated they get the normal sales tax amount.
4
5 Brenner asked what happens with enforcement if more County staff leave. There
6 has to be a way to fill positions other than by shifting enforcement staff. Louws stated he
7 and the Planning Director are committed to doing better enforcement next year. The people
8 assigned to the enforcement positions need to do enforcement. He and Ms. Ryan will meet
9 regularly. If staffing changes hurt the department, the administration will talk about it with
10 the Council.
11
12 Brenner stated the extra fee for CUPS should be hourly, not a flat fee. It's not
13 difficult to figure out the hours. Some people won't require too many extra hours, and they
14 shouldn't have to pay more. People who require more hours shouldn't have to pay less and
15 have others subsidize their cost.
16
17 Browne stated he agrees with Councilmember Brenner. He asked about the fee
18 process. Ryan stated the fees are for all planning permits, not just the conditional use
19 permit. She explained the planning process. Some projects are large and complicated and
20 require additional hours for which the department isn't compensated, such as reviewing
21 difficult scientific information, for example. Sometimes there are many revisions. If the
22 Council feels an hourly fee is more equitable, she is fine with changing it.
23
24 Kremen stated he agrees with Councilmembers Browne and Brenner about charging
25 an hourly rate instead of a flat fee.
26
27 Weimer asked about funding for the geographic information system (GIS) update.
28 Ryan stated that funding is in the Information Technology (IT) Division budget.
29
30 Louws stated a multi- department, multi -year program is being developed to get the
31 GIS and land use records up to an acceptable standard.
32
33 Weimer asked if there is outreach to the community who live in shoreline or
34 hazardous zones to educate people of their responsibilities, depending on where they live.
35
36 Browne stated he agrees with Councilmember Weimer about the GIS program. He
37 asked what fees other jurisdictions charge that Whatcom County doesn't, including
38 stormwater or impact fees. He would like to see a comparison with other counties and with
39 other cities. Ryan stated she's not sure about the stormwater fee charge. Two staff people
40 provide service to the overlay areas for permit review, and they charge an hourly fee for
41 their services. They recoup about 100 percent for building services staff, 60 percent for
42 current planning staff, and up to 80 percent for natural resources staff.
43
44 Browne stated the County must be able to demonstrate that it neither overcharges
45 nor undercharges relative to other jurisdictions. Ryan stated she tried to do that, but every
46 jurisdiction calls their fees something different, so there were big gaps in her spreadsheet.
47 She increased the fees so it wouldn't be so onerous to applicants, but would help cover
48 costs a bit more.
49
50 Weimer stated increase critical areas ordinance (CAO) enforcement to full time to do
51 education and create a farm plan database.
52
53 Prosecuting_ Attorney and Law Library
Special Committee of the Whole, 10/27/2014, Page 3
1 Louws stated the administration has been working with civil deputy prosecutors on
2 the new focus on land use enforcement.
3
4 Browne asked the impact to the County if someone is apprehended at the border and
5 how the County gets certain cases from Yakima. McEachran stated many border cases are
6 prosecuted by the County. Also, the County pays the cost of 80 to 100 extradition cases
7 per year. The mental health cases are civil involuntary commitments, which require mental
8 health commitment hearings that require his staff. People from all over the State come
9 here to use their resources. Whatcom County gets some money for outside cases that are
10 housed here.
11
12 Public Defender
13
14 (10 :57:54 AM)
15
16 Jon Komorowski, Public Defender's Office, stated they need a receptionist in the
17 office and funding for travel and training in the amount of $10,000. Also, they would like to
18 increase a clerk position from .8 FTE to 1 FIFE.
19
20 Weimer asked if all ASRs have been approved. Komorowski stated they have been.
21 More mental health case beds will open up soon in Skagit County, so that may help out.
22 According to State standards, an attorney is not supposed to do more than 250 mental
23 health cases per year, but that standard is low. He's done 330 so far this year.
24
25 Sheriff and Jail
26
27 (11 :00 :11 AM)
28
29 Bill Elfo, Sheriff, gave a report on jail planning, updating the records management
30 system, the new emergency operations center, and mental health /criminal justice system
31 problems.
32
33 Mann asked about a recent purchase for a specialized vehicle. Elfo stated it is a
34 bulletproof vest on wheels. He described the vehicle.
35
36 Brenner asked what the County can do about not reducing the gang task force. Elfo
37 stated all positions on the task force will be kept intact.
38
39 Brenner stated mentally ill felons cannot go to mental health court. She asked the
40 estimated percentage of the mentally ill who are misdemeanants versus felons. Elfo stated
41 the issue is the backload of people who are waiting in jail to go to evaluations at Western
42 State Hospital. He's pleased with the cooperation of the Health Department to address
43 some of these issues, increased psychiatrist and behavioral health specialist time in the jail,
44 and a behavioral health specialist position. People are more quickly evaluated, treated, and
45 their treatment continues after jail.
46
47 Brenner asked if mental health services reduce the number of cases that go to jail.
48 Elfo stated they will have to see how it's implemented. Evidence shows a strong potential
49 for success.
50
51 Brenner asked if the County can get people on Medicaid while in jail. Elfo stated
52 Medicaid is cut off for inmates. Social workers in the jail try to get them re- enrolled before
53 their release. The behavioral health fund is also paying for gaps in Medicaid.
Special Committee of the Whole, 10/27/2014, Page 5
1 (1:02:04 PM)
2
3 Regina Delahunt, Health Department Director, stated they tried to maximize revenue
4 and control costs without reducing services or staff when preparing the 2015 -2016 Budget.
5 They were mindful of the general fund contribution, which is reduced from the previous
6 budget. Part of that reduction relates to the County's purchase of the State Street building.
7 Rent is significantly reduced.
8
9 The most significant changes relate to the Environmental Health Division. They
10 propose increasing environmental health fees to better cover the direct and indirect costs of
11 services. The budget also proposes some expansion for environmental health.
12
13 She described the five ASRs regarding Health Department input into the Gateway
14 Pacific project, an increased F7E in the onsite septic (OSS) program, implementing the solid
15 waste program, an additional position in the food program and food service inspections, and
16 a car for the food inspector. However, they have reevaluated their need for the vehicle, and
17 they will not need that car after all. All of those ASRs are covered by environmental health
18 fees, so there is no request for additional contribution from the general fund.
19
20 They've reprioritized work to ensure that the Healthy Communities, Health
21 Improvement Plan, and Community Health Assessment programs continue. They plan to
22 increase public health services to residents in the East County. They were careful to
23 balance expenditures against declining balances in the behavioral health fund and homeless
24 housing fund.
25
26 Brenner asked about the restaurant inspection fees. Base fees on the number of
27 hours it takes to inspect and the frequency of inspections. Delahunt stated there are re-
28 inspection fees for those establishments that take more time. The base fees are different
29 for the different types of facilities. She described the fee structure, which is a hybrid
30 system based on both seating capacity and risk. Most jurisdictions are going toward a risk -
31 based fee structure. The higher -risk establishments will pay a higher fee. Most fees will
32 increase between 15 to 20 percent. The fee actually went down in a few categories. The
33 fee is based on the number of hours it takes them to inspect the establishment and the
34 number of times they need to do an inspection, based on risk. Re- inspection fees occur if
35 an establishment fails an inspection, and the inspector needs to return.
36
37 Browne stated provide services first to local residents and children from anywhere
38 who have ended up in Whatcom County, before providing services to adult outsiders who
39 come here to access services. He would like to know how Whatcom County's fees compare
40 to other jurisdictions. Delahunt stated she compares fees with other jurisdictions every
41 year. They're usually within the same range. Some counties believe in subsidizing fees
42 from their general fund more than Whatcom County does.
43
44 Weimer asked if the budget for the new staff person for OSS operations and
45 maintenance (O &M) includes funding if they make the entire Nooksack watershed a marine
46 resource area. Delahunt stated she hopes it does.
47
48 Weimer asked about outreach to marine resources areas. Delahunt stated they've
49 increased that budget.
50
51 Weimer asked the value added by moving the Solid Waste Division to the Health
52 Department. Delahunt stated there is money in the solid waste fund. The Health
53 Department will look for service gaps in the community, what exists that is of value to the
Special Committee of the Whole, 10/27/2014, Page 7
1 groundwater modeling, community outreach, and other programs. With outgoing and
2 incoming funds, the Joint Board will have about $300,000 left at the end of 2015. He would
3 provide information on what was spent in 2014. In general, the money is spent on projects
4 related to the implementation of the Lower Nooksack Strategy.
5
6 The Planning Unit in this budget has a $30,000 allocation for meeting facilitation.
7 The Planning Unit is self - governing and can choose how many times it meets. There is also
8 $10,000 for outreach to engage the constituency. He does not have any other money in the
9 budget for the Planning Unit, because he's been expecting the Planning Unit to present the
10 County with a work plan and budget. They've not done that yet, and they've been working
11 on it for over a year. Every time he tries to help the Planning Unit, some members reject
12 his help because the Planning Unit is self - governing, but he also hears comments that he
13 isn't doing enough to help the Planning Unit. He anticipates that they will find money to
14 fund the work plan once it's done. The Planning Unit has some decisions to make, and he
15 would like to see their work plan.
16
17 Brenner asked if the Executive lets them know that they can have more meetings
18 and more facilitation. Louws stated he has no problem with that. The Planning Unit has
19 $30,000 for next year, with which they can self - govern and decide how many meetings to
20 have and how often they meet. If they come back with a work plan that explains what
21 they're trying to do and going to accomplish, he's open to the option of providing additional
22 funding. Until he gets a response to the initial request for a work plan and budget, which
23 was done 16 months ago, he isn't going to try to guess what's going on with them. At the
24 next Council meeting, Gary Stoyka is going to present detailed information about what's
25 going on with the Joint Board.
26
27 Brenner stated the Joint Board is working on the Lower Nooksack Strategy, which is
28 the same thing the Planning Unit is supposed to be working on. The Council approved a
29 resolution years ago that said the Council wanted Joint Board expenditures to come to the
30 Council for approval before the Joint Board makes those expenditures.
31
32 Browne referenced the ASRs on page 293 regarding the applied benefits. The
33 benefit number is higher than in other departments.
34
35 Brad Bennett, Administrative Services Department, stated the road fund charges for
36 actual productive time and uses a flat burden rate for the benefits. The amount for wages
37 reflects actual time that will be charged. The $74,000 amount is for the benefits that
38 include health coverage, vacation, and sick leave. The vacation, holiday, and sick leave are
39 calculated with the benefits instead of the wages. The flat burden rate is used for job -
40 costing in the road fund. They use a different system for charging actual wages and
41 benefits in the Planning Department, for example. This is a mechanism to charge the actual
42 costs for billable hours to the project.
43
44 Browne stated the different formulas make it difficult to compare costs or understand
45 true costs. He would prefer that the costs are divided by billable salaries and wages,
46 unbillable salaries and wages, and benefits. Bennett stated the system doesn't separate the
47 unbillable salaries and wages from the benefits. The system only allows them to use one
48 percentage for the flat burden rate, so it includes both unbillable time and benefits.
49
50 Browne asked how much the County spends on rental equipment during the year and
51 how they analyze the cost of buying versus renting. Abart stated there is a difference
52 between interdepartmental interfund rentals and outside equipment rental.
53
Special Committee of the Whole, 10/27/2014, Page 9
1 Roland Middleton, Public Works Department, stated CH2MHill put together a
2 document in 2010 regarding all the different funding mechanisms.
3
4 Weimer stated that is a good document. He would like to know when the
5 administration thinks the County needs to begin implementing some of those mechanisms.
6
7 Kremen stated the State legislature no longer provides additional money for these
8 mandates. Instead, they provide more taxing authority for local jurisdictions. The County
9 will have to raise local revenue to accomplish these tasks, unfortunately.
10
11 Brenner stated the NPDES is duplicative and ridiculous. They shouldn't have to do
12 annual inspections. Because the State isn't funding it, the County's obligations are overkill.
13
14 Abart stated they aren't ignoring road responsibilities, but they will place a higher
15 emphasis on water - related activities over the next two years and beyond.
16
17 Work Session
18
19 (2:22:36 PM)
20
21 Louws referenced a $16,000 request from the Historical Society for the old
22 courthouse. There is $8,000 per year in a fund for this year and next year that is
23 unallocated. He's already instructed staff to write a contract for the $16,000 to purchase
24 and install an elevator in the old courthouse. He asked if the Council would like him to go
25 forward with the contract. About $200,000 is restricted for historical documents.
26
27 Bennett stated the State approved a fee on recorded documents for historical
28 preservation. The fees collected are restricted funds in the general fund. The definition of
29 what can be historically preserved is broad. The County has used it before on the old
30 courthouse, recording county documents, the totem pole, and they've talked about using it
31 for the geographic information system (GIS) map project.
32
33 Crawford asked the purpose of and who owns the old courthouse. Louws stated it
34 has large rooms that would work for public meetings or art displays. Until they get the
35 accessibility issues taken care of, they can't secure the final permits necessary to make a
36 facility available for public use. The Historical Society owns the building.
37
38 Kremen stated it is the oldest brick building in the state of Washington. It also used
39 to serve as the County jail. He described fundraising efforts of the Historical Society.
40
41 Weimer moved to spend $8,000 in 2015 and $8,000 in 2016 on an elevator
42 purchase and installation at the old county jail for the Whatcom Historical Preservation
43 Society.
44
45 The motion carried by the following vote:
46 Ayes: Brenner, Crawford, Mann, Weimer, Kremen and Buchanan (6)
47 Nays: None (0)
48 Absent: Browne (out of the room) (1)
49
50 Louws stated the Council talked about augmenting funding for the food bank. The
51 budget currently has $50,000 allocated to the food bank. If the Council is going to add
52 funds, he would be comfortable with a total of no more than $100,000. He is trying to
53 balance the budget, maintain the ending fund balance, provide dollars for employees in
Special Committee of the Whole, 10/27/2014, Page 11
1 The motion failed by the following vote:
2 Ayes: Crawford (1)
3 Nays: Brenner, Mann, Weimer, Kremen, Browne and Buchanan (6)
4
5 Mann moved to increase funding for the food bank in the amount of $80,000 per
6 year for food purchases, pending legal approval, with the intent that $10,000 go to each
7 food bank in the county for the purchase of healthy food.
8
9 Kremen stated divide the funds on a need basis. Populations using food banks
10 around the county are different. Get a commitment from the Bellingham Food Bank to
11 distribute it throughout the community. Leave it up to the food banks where it is
12 distributed.
13
14 Mann referenced and read from an email he received from Mike Cohen of the
15 Bellingham Food Bank about the food bank network request. Leave it at $80,000 for the
16 healthy food purchases.
17
18 Buchanan stated the professionals who deal with the community know how best to
19 distribute according to need and demand.
20
21 Browne stated there needs to be a policy about the parameters for the funding.
22 Over time, requests will increase. The Council needs to decide what it will support.
23
24 Weimer stated the Council has the ability to readjust every two years when it sets
25 the budget.
26
27 Mann amended and restated his motion to increase funding to the food bank
28 network, general fund item 4116, in the amount of $80,000 per year, pending legal
29 approval, for the purchase of healthy food, for a total of $138,000 per year.
30
31 Louws stated the Council is authorizing the expenditure of the money, but not the
32 contract for the expenditure. This will be allocated through a contract that comes to the
33 Council for approval.
34
35 The motion carried by the following vote:
36 Ayes: Brenner, Mann, Weimer, Kremen, Browne and Buchanan (6)
37 Nays: Crawford (1)
38
39 Louws referenced Council- proposed funding for the Sean Humphrey House. The
40 agency specifically did not apply for funding. Another request is for senior center funding in
41 the amount of $10,000 per senior center, for a total of $80,000. The money the County
42 provides goes to the Council on Aging, which distributes and manages several of the
43 centers. The Lynden Senior Center works outside the Council on Aging program. The
44 County increased funding to the Meals on Wheels Program during the last budget cycle,
45 which he approved for this cycle also. The centers are making their funding work at this
46 particular time.
47
48 Brenner moved to provide $10,000 to each senior center specifically for food.
49
50 Browne stated consider the allocation. There is a tiny senior center in Welcome.
51
Special Committee of the Whole, 10/27/2014, Page 13
Weimer stated increase the PIC staff person from .5 FTE to 1 FTE, in ASR 2015 -5141
on page 234, at an additional cost of about $45,000. Allow the PIC staff person to talk to
people in shoreline and other areas to make those people are aware of the regulations. Also
increase funding for education outreach and for building a PIC compliance and farm plan
database.
Tyler Schroeder, Executive's Office, stated staff is already building the database
within the Tidemark database. He described the database. They will make sure everyone
who needs access to the database will get it.
Weimer stated make sure the education program is broader, to include a discussion
with people in critical areas and shorelines, so they're aware of the constraints on those
areas. Public Works staff for the PIC program aren't going to do enforcement. A .5 FTE to
work with Public Works PIC program staff, check farm plans, and do enforcement doesn't
seem adequate.
Browne stated he is concerned about the purchase of development rights (PDR)
program. Recent PDR purchases didn't have a lot of value for the money. He's reluctant to
spend more money on staff for those opportunities. He would rather review the underlying
mission and value set before putting more money into staff.
Weimer stated increasing the position to full time would preclude the staff from
working on the PDR program. The PDR position was temporary, but is being made
permanent. Schroeder stated that is correct.
Weimer moved to make the FTE position in ASR 2015 -5141 a 1 FTE instead of a .5
FTE, and add another $55,000 for effective, creatively- designed educational outreach
regarding critical areas and shorelines.
Louws stated he would like to have an opportunity to properly present a full -time
option for this position.
Kremen stated the budget already includes approximately 18 new FTEs. The County
doesn't have the reserve fund that it used to. If it becomes necessary to reduce the work
force, they won't be able to do it with attrition. There's a limit to the number of new hires
they can add. If they do add this position, remove from another position they're adding.
Weimer stated the cost could come from the flood fund, which will still be over its $5
million reserve before accounting for any grants they receive. Schroeder stated they could
move .5 FTE from Public Works Department ASR 2015 -5200.
Brenner stated she doesn't support having it come from the flood fund. The
administration can make enough other cuts to pay for it.
Schroeder stated one option is to reallocate a .5 FTE from Public Works to the
Planning Department, making the PDS enforcement position a full FTE. He's had that
conversation with staff, in case the enforcement load is higher than the PIC program work
load. The Council can formalize that if it wants.
Weimer stated his original motion stands to make the FTE position in ASR 2015 -5141
a 1 FTE instead of a .5 FTE, and add another $55,000 for effective, creatively- designed
educational outreach regarding critical areas and shorelines.
Special Committee of the Whole, 10/27/2014, Page 15
1
2 Browne referenced Volume 1, page 6, and stated meet County Charter
3 requirements for performance management with internal and external surveys; encourage
4 immediate feedback from customers; engage in trending analysis to look at the
5 performance of a department against its own performance on a quarterly basis, where
6 possible; compare Whatcom County performance with other jurisdictions; use datasf.org
7 from the City of San Francisco as a model for publishing datasets on everything they do to
8 provide transparency and encourage companies and citizens to develop applications that
9 help citizens benefit from the data. He moved to create 1 FTE within the office of the
10 County Executive, staffed by someone with comparable skill and communication abilities as
11 Tyler Schroeder or Perry Rice, with a $100,000 to $125,000 salary, to meet the
12 requirements of the Charter, provide a mechanism to encourage continuous improvement,
13 and raise the awareness of Whatcom County in the high -tech sector, which could encourage
14 companies to locate here. Invite the Cities in Whatcom county to join and develop common
15 standards for the data. It is an entirely new position that would be tasked with collecting
16 and publishing the relevant data on the website in a format that people can use and would
17 coordinate with departments to develop and post key performance metrics.
18
19 Brenner stated she likes the idea, but they don't need a new position to do this work.
20 Mr. Schroeder and Mr. Rice can work to come up with something. Whatcom County is less
21 complicated than San Francisco. Ask that the administration look into how this could be
22 accomplished.
23
24 Browne stated it's a significant project that needs a dedicated position. Mr.
25 Schroeder and Mr. Rice both already have full workloads.
26
27 Buchanan stated the City engaged in a similar strategic planning exercise to provide
28 metrics. The City Council was heavily involved in 50 -year strategic planning and developing
29 detailed strategic initiatives. The public was involved in creating data points. The project
30 took two years.
31
32 Crawford stated he is against the motion. He respects the information and would be
33 interested in looking at it. He encourages Councilmember Browne to develop the idea and
34 work with the administration. Recent comparisons to the municipalities of Seattle and San
35 Francisco are problematic, and nothing like Whatcom County. Financially and socially, they
36 have problems that Whatcom County doesn't have. Refine the idea, talk about what the
37 County would specifically get out of the effort, and then ask the Council to fund it. He
38 would like to know very specific outcomes. He participated in the City of Bellingham
39 process and persuaded the City to add the farm gate value as a metric. He likes the idea in
40 general, but doesn't support it until they understand better what specifically would be done,
41 what is the desired end result, and how the County can use this information. For example,
42 get input from the Chamber on whether potential new employers would find such
43 information useful and how that information can be used to the County's benefit.
44
45 Browne stated he intends to put the money in the budget as a placeholder, work with
46 the Executive on the details, and bring it forward to the Council as a formal request. He
47 recommends designating $125,000 as a placeholder.
48
49 Mann asked why they would hire an FTE rather than contract for the service.
50
51 Browne stated that may be one solution. He's estimating what is needed to get the
52 project going. One intelligent person working with the departments would be enough to
53 understand the value of the project, whether it's an employee or a contractor.
Special Committee of the Whole, 10/27/2014, Page 17
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There was no other business.
ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at 4:15 p.m.
The,.Counibl apIroved these minutes on
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Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription
March 3, 2015.
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
i
Carl Weimer, Council Chair
Special Committee of the Whole, 10/27/2014, Page 19