HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Council November 18 20081 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
2 Special County Council
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4 November 18, 2008
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6 Council Chair Carl Weimer called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. in the Council
7 Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham Washington.
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9 Present: Absent:
10 Barbara Brenner None
11 Bob Kelly
12 Sam Crawford
13 Seth Fleetwood
14 Laurie Caskey- Schreiber
15 L. Ward Nelson
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18 1. ORDINANCE ADOPTING THE 2009/2010 WHATCOM COUNTY BUDGET
19 (AB2008 -227E)
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21 Proposed Fund Balance Decrease - Park Improvements, Item 17
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23 Caskey- Schreiber moved to approve with a corrected amount of $886,000 for the
24 year 2010. It would all come from the real estate excise tax (REET) II funds for identified
25 park improvements. For the first time ever, contractors are calling Mr. McFarland for work.
26 If money is in the fund and projects need to be done, use the money now while there is
27 available labor. Put money back into the local economy, and also get some needed work
28 done.
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30 Desler described on what types of projects REET II funds could be used. The
31 administration wanted to work out certain issues before spending money on these additional
32 parks projects. Also, the administration plans to use money from the sale of the Parks
33 Department Building on the Mount Baker Highway on these projects. They would like to use
34 REET funds on certain road projects.
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36 Brenner stated she would like to know which projects on the parks ASR are
37 necessary for safety reasons.
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39 Nelson asked to see an outline of how the administration will use REET I and REET II
40 funds over the next two years. Create proposals for spending these funds during the next
41 two years.
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43 There was discussion about how REET funds can be used.
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45 Mike McFarland, Parks and Recreation Department Director, stated they've prioritized
46 their capital projects. The top projects are safety issues. Next are projects due to
47 accessibility. The lowest projects have to do with capacity. Out of all the projects, there
48 are seven that can be packaged together and put out to a contractor.
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50 Caskey- Schreiber amended her motion and moved to prioritize ASR items 2, 3,
51 5, 6, 10, 11, and 12 in an amount of $307,300 in 2009 and $365,000 from REET II in 2010,
52 to be put out to contract.
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Special Whatcom County Council - 200912010 Budget, 11/18/2008, Page 1
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Motion carried unanimously,
Proposed Fund Balance Decrease - Pt. Roberts Housing, Items 18, 18a, and 18b
Bill Elfo, Sheriff, stated there has been progress on this issue. There is $240,000 for
two modular homes. They could locate the homes at Lighthouse Marine Park.
Caskey- Schreiber moved to allocate $240,000 from REET I funds to acquire two
new manufactured homes for Sheriff deputies in Point Roberts.
(Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side A.)
Motion carried unanimously.
Proposed Fund Balance Decrease - Juvenile Justice Center, Item 19
Dave Reynolds, Juvenile Detention, explained one method for reducing the cost, and
stated they can do the service at an amount of $162,402 in 2009 and $187,526 in 2010 if
they don't have the rental space.
Caskey- Schreiber moved to approve item 19 as it is presented and add $50,000 in
non - departmental for the rental space. She asked Mr. Reynolds to explain how successful
this program has been. Reynolds stated the program includes juvenile detention diversion,
day reporting, work crew, and educational resources and training.
Caskey- Schreiber stated funding this will get people out of bad, repetitive cycles.
Reynolds stated these programs have reduced the necessary juvenile detention beds from
88 to less than 30. They really affect recidivism in the community. Rehabilitation as well as
accountability is a mandate from the State legislature. They need a range of options.
Motion carried 5 -2 with Nelson and Crawford opposed,
Proposed Fund Balance Decrease - Food Bank, Item 21
Weimer moved to approve this item, a levy of $.08 per $1,000 of assessed value to
increase the Flood Control Zone Property Tax. They've been going around for nearly two
years about water protection levels of service. He can't find any other source of money to
fund those activities. This would increase the flood fee by $.08 per $1,000 of assessed
value, which is $2 per month for a $300,000 house. The fee would generate $1.6 million,
which could increase flood hazard prevention on the river, work around Lake Whatcom, the
shellfish closure at Birch Bay, and other shoreline issues. The County could start on the
stormwater plan for Lake Whatcom in 2009 instead of 2010.
Brenner stated use REET II for some of these things.
Caskey- Schreiber stated discuss this item later in the meeting, after they've
discussed proposed cuts to the budget.
Motion failed 3 -3 -1 with Crawford, Nelson, and Brenner opposed and
Caskey- Schreiber abstaining.
(Clerk's Note: Discussion of this item continued at the end of the meeting.)
Special Whatcom County Council - 2009/2010 Budget, 11/18/2008, Page 2
1 Proposed Fund Balance Decrease - Stormwater District Fee, Item 22
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3 Weimer asked the administration if they should wait on this item until they find out
4 if they need it. He asked if they need this as a placeholder until they see if it becomes a
5 reality in the Spring. Desler stated they can develop a supplemental budget request as the
6 proposal develops. He moved to approve this item, to impose a new stormwater utility.
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8 Brenner stated fund the plan through REET instead of raising taxes and fees.
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10 Weimer withdrew his motion until there is a proposed stormwater funding
11 proposal.
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13 Proposed Fund Balance Decrease - District Court Clerk Reinstated, Item 23
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15 Brenner moved to approve this item, to add six months of bridge funding for a
16 District Court Clerk. The County is asking the District Court to keep having everything
17 funneled to them, which is an amount much greater than all the other law and justice
18 agencies, but it isn't allowing them adequate staff to process anything. This is a minor cost,
19 comparatively.
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21 Motion carried 5 -1 with Crawford opposed and Kelly out of the room.
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23 Caskey- Schreiber moved to add an appraiser for the purchase of development
24 rights (PDR) program for $20,000 from the general fund for 2009 and 2010 to contract out
25 for an appraiser.
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27 Motion carried 4 -2 -1 with Crawford and Nelson opposed and Brenner
28 abstaining.
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30 (Clerk's Note: The Committee took a break from 10:24 a.m. to 10:35 a.m.)
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32 Fleetwood stated the ballpark estimate of closing the gap in the general fund is
33 approximately $2.4 million.
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35 Desler stated there needs to be an ending fund balance at a cushion to meet the
36 commitments they've made. The ending fund balance in 2010 will be about $2.35 million
37 less than what was in the Executive's budget.
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39 Caskey- Schreiber stated they need to come up with $3 million in budget cuts.
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41 Brenner moved to restore one custodian position in the amount of $45,315 for
42 2009 and $47,443 for 2010, for a total $92,756 for both years. It's very important that
43 they keep public access areas clean.
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45 Mike Russell, Administrative Services Department, explained the custodial staff and
46 services.
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48 Motion carried 5 -1 -1 with Kelly opposed and Crawford abstaining.
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50 (Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side B)
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52 Crawford moved to discuss the proposed fund balance increase items in order.
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Special Whatcom County Council - 2009/2010 Budget, 11/18/2008, Page 3
1 Motion carried unanimously.
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3 Proposed Fund Balance Increase - WASAC/NACO, Item 1
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5 Caskey- Schreiber moved to approve withdrawing funding for the Washington
6 State Association of Counties (WaSAC) and dues in the amount of $64,832 for 2009.
7 Question whether their lobbying efforts agree with Whatcom County. Consider whether
8 Whatcom County really gets its money's worth for this organization. No one has attended a
9 WaSAC meeting in years.
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11 Motion failed 2 -5 with Brenner and Caskey- Schreiber in favor.
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13 Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Carpet Replacement, Item 2
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15 Caskey- Schreiber moved to approve this item, and transfer those funds in the
16 amount of $212,292 back to the general fund from the building replacement and recovery
17 (BR &R) fund. She asked to see a list of funds and their expenditures all on one page.
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19 Motion carried 5 -2 with Crawford and Nelson opposed.
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21 Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Health Promotion, Item 3
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23 Caskey- Schreiber moved to approve this item and not do this program. Times are
24 tight. This is one of those things that they could get rid of with very little effect.
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26 Motion carried 4 -3 with Crawford, Fleetwood, and Kelly opposed.
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28 Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Reduced Work Week, Item 4
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30 Caskey- Schreiber withdrew this item.
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32 Proposed Fund Balance Increase - ATS System, Item 5
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34 Caskey- Schreiber moved to approve this item, to remove $30,000 from the total
35 of $360,000, for a new total of $330,000 in 2010, not in 2009. That is a huge budget for
36 training, and that amount was a rough estimate. Aim lower. If they need more, they can
37 come back to the Council.
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39 Keith Willnauer, County Assessor, stated they can't afford to not pay for something
40 as important as this. They are committed to being as fiscally responsible as possible with
41 those expenditures. They must plan adequately to assure success. A cut may affect the
42 stability of the system, once it's in place. He described the training and other support this
43 item would fund.
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45 Motion failed with 5 -2 with Crawford and Caskey - Schreiber in favor.
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47 Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Sales Tax Forecast Increase, Item 6
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49 Caskey- Schreiber withdrew this item.
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51 Proposed Fund Balance Decrease - Animal Control, Item 16
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Special Whatcom County Council - 2009/2010 Budget, 11/18/2008, Page 4
1 Caskey- Schreiber asked to allow the Humane Society Director to speak on this item.
2 She proposes an amount of $30,965 increase to the amount the Executive budgeted, for
3 2010. The Humane Society needs $551,679 to do the service in 2009. She had proposed
4 to add $49,094 to offset the Executive's shortfall of $502,585. In 2010, the Humane
5 Society needs about $31,000 more. The Executive has budgeted $520,714 for that service
6 in 2010.
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8 Penny Cistero, Humane Society Director, stated she doesn't have a 2010 budget.
9 They need more money to take in a higher number of animals that have come into the
10 shelter and also on cost increases. Eighty -eight percent of her budget is for employees.
11 They cut a part -time position from the 2008 budget. They have not increased staffing
12 levels. The cities all share costs to do business with each other, because they operate out
13 of one facility. The County has a stand -alone operation, and business costs aren't shared.
14 They plan to put all services under one roof in two to three years, so the County would
15 enjoy the benefit of shared costs. The only way to reduce costs is through staffing levels.
16 They are at the minimum staff level. To provide service, they need to maintain level of
17 staff. The Humane Society will not cut the service. If the County wants less service, it
18 won't provide the level of service needed for the program, and the County would have to
19 provide animal control services itself. They've had numerous animal abuse cases over the
20 year that they must handle.
21
22 (Clerk's Note: End of tape two, side A.)
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24 Bill Elfo, Sheriff, stated that since the Humane Society has taken over, the difference
25 in response, service quality, and assistance to the detectives has been dramatic. They
26 considered performing this service internally. Given the County's union wage requirements
27 and benefits, the service is less expensive if contracted out. He used to get ten complaints
28 per month about an unresponsive service provider. He hasn't received a single complaint
29 about the Humane Society.
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31 Caskey - Schreiber restated the motion to approve an added $19,000 for 2010,
32 assuming the additional fees are approved, and clarify the previous motion of adding
33 $49,094 for 2009.
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35 Motion carried 5 -2 with Crawford and Nelson opposed.
36
37 (Clerk's Note: This item continued, below.)
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39 Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Small Potatoes Gleaning, Item 7
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41 Nelson stated he understands how this project supports the Food Bank. He
42 withdraws his motion.
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44 (Clerk's Note: the Committee took a lunch break at 11:55 p.m. to 1 p.m. End of
45 tape two, side 8.)
46
47 Proposed Fund Balance Decrease - Animal Control, Item 16
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49 Marianne Caldwell, Administrative Services Department, submitted information and
50 stated they must refine the numbers, including the amount that goes into the equipment
51 rental and revolve (ER &R) fund. She described the budget adjustments.
52
Special Whatcom County Council - 2009/2010 Budget, 11/18/2008, Page 5
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Caskey- Schreiber moved to reduce the amount contributed to the ER &R fund for
animal control from $20,000 each year to $13,600 each year.
Motion failed 1 -6 with Caskey- Schreiber in favor.
Brenner moved to not fund a lighting retrofit in 2010.
Motion failed 1 -6 with Brenner.
Caskey- Schreiber moved to add to animal control $17,486 for 2009.
Motion carried 4 -3 with Crawford, Kelly, and Nelson opposed,
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Lake Whatcom Watershed Park, Item 8
Nelson moved to approve this item, which would eliminate funding for the park.
Motion failed 3 -4 with Nelson, Crawford, and Brenner in favor.
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - AS Finance 3.0 FTE, Item 9.
Brenner withdrew this item.
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Executive's Office Contingency Fund, Item 10
Brenner moved to approve this item and eliminate the fund.
Motion failed 1 -6 with Brenner in favor,
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - OSS Low Interest Loan Program and Eliminate 1.0 FTE_
Item 11
Brenner moved to approve this item.
Motion failed 1 -6 with Brenner in favor.
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Eliminate Public Works Solid Waste Positions 2.5 FTE,
Item 12
Brenner moved to eliminate 1.5 FTE, not 2.0 FTE, in the amount of $115,000 per
year for two years from the solid waste fund. Have someone to help shepherd people to
and from where they have to go. A portion of the cost of the County Conservation Specialist
in the Executive's Office can be paid by the solid waste fund. Contract out the services
provided by the County's solid waste specialist to get the expertise they need. Right now,
they are duplicating efforts.
There was discussion on the functions of the Solid Waste Division.
Brenner amended her motion to eliminate the Solid Waste Specialist position.
Motion failed 1 -6 with Brenner in favor.
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Eliminate Real Estate Manager Position, Item 13
Special Whatcom County Council - 2009/2010 Budget, 11/18/2008, Page 6
1
2 Brenner moved to approve this item to eliminate this position. Target the appraisals
3 they need. They don't need a full -time position to do those things.
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5 Desler described the duties of this position, and how the County handled the tasks
6 before the position was hired.
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8 (Clerk's Note: End of tape three, side A.)
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10 Motion failed 1 -6 with Brenner in favor.
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12 Proposed Fund Balance Increase - 80% of Travel & Tuition Associated with Training, Item
13 14
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15 Brenner moved to reduce travel and tuition associated with training by 50 percent,
16 not 80 percent. The administration may bring to the Council anything above that amount
17 requested by a department as a supplemental request.
18
19 Dave McEachran, Prosecutor's Office, stated his attorneys and Public Defender
20 attorneys are required to have 15 hours of continuing education to continue practicing law.
21 All training is provided through the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys and is done within
22 the state.
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24 Bill Elfo, Sheriff, stated some training is required by court cases and is not required
25 for certification. Without that training, the County would be exposed to liability.
26
27 Crawford stated he is against the motion. The Council must make cuts where it can,
28 but assure that the workforce is top- notch. The employees need to be the best trained and
29 best educated so they can manage these cuts.
30
31 Brenner amended her motion and moved to reduce expenses for travel and
32 tuition associated with training by 20 percent for all departments except for criminal justice
33 departments.
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35 Motion failed 1 -6 with Brenner in favor.
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37 Caskey- Schreiber moved to cut travel and tuition associated with training by ten
38 percent across the board, and anything above that amount will come back to the Council for
39 approval.
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41 Brad Bennett, Administrative Services Department, stated this item is for registration
42 and travel identified as related to education.
43
44 Nelson stated some companies have the policy to not pay their employees continuing
45 education as required to maintain a license. Employees have the responsibility to maintain
46 their own education to keep their licenses and degrees.
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48 Fleetwood stated he against the motion. They are necessary. This expense is less
49 than one percent of the entire budget gap.
50
51 Weimer stated ten percent would be $48,169 for 2009 and $47,488 in 2010.
52
53 Caskey- Schreiber stated that is correct.
Special Whatcom County Council - 2009/2010 Budget, 11/18/2008, Page 7
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N.F. Jackson, Superior Court, stated this could affect dues for membership in
professional organizations.
Motion carried 4 -3 with Crawford, Kelly, and Fleetwood opposed.
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Communication and Information Coordinator, Item 15
Brenner moved to eliminate the Communication and Information Coordinator. She
gets many complaints from people about the County having a press secretary, even though
the position isn't a press secretary. Also, she assumed this position also required computer
information services skills. However, the person in this position may have said he doesn't
have computer skills. She's in favor of increasing computer information staff, but that's not
what this position is for.
Motion failed 3 -4 with Crawford, Brenner, and Weimer in favor.
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Health Department Fees, Item 16
Regina Delahunt, Health Department Director, explained the basis for the fees.
Crawford stated they should discuss this when they discuss the fee schedule.
Brenner withdrew this item.
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Probation Fees, Item 17
Brenner moved to add $150,000 each year to the Probation Department from the
general fund and create a sliding fee schedule. Some people just don't have the money. It
will cost the County money to keep it on the books.
Bruce Van Glubt, District Court Probation, explained the existing mechanism for
reducing fees. They won't see immediate benefits from a fee increase, because they will
apply only to new cases, and those fines are paid over time.
Motion failed 1 -6 with Brenner in favor.
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Parks Positions 2.0 FrE, Item 18
FFE.
Brenner moved to reduce those two positions to .5 FrE instead of .7 FTE and .8
(Clerk's Note: End of tape three, side 8.)
Motion failed 1 -5 with Brenner in favor and Crawford out of the room,
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Sheriff's Office 2 Deputies, Item 19
Crawford moved to reduce the general fund portion of the Sheriff's budget by
eight- tenths of one percent (.8% or .008) each year, including the combined jail budget and
Sheriff's Office budget, in the amount of about $200,000 per year.
Special Whatcom County Council - 2009/2010 Budget, 11/18/2008, Page 8
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Brenner stated she is against the motion. Few of the Sheriff's Office duties are
discretionary. Most of the duties have to do with public health and safety.
Bill Elfo, Sheriff, stated there is no fluff in the Sheriff's Office budget. Cuts equate to
personnel. The jail budget is, in large part, funded by the corrections tax, which goes into
the general fund. They provide a direct, essential service to the public. Don't vote for the
motion.
Crawford clarified his motion to cut .8 percent of the budgeted expenditures for the
Sheriff, as shown on page 235 of volume 2 plus the budgeted expenditures for the Jail, as
shown on page 251 of volume 2. The combined amounts for 2009 is $25,069,911 and for
2010 is $25,400,845. The cut would be .8 percent of those total amounts for each of those
years.
Motion carried 5 -2 with Brenner and Caskey- Schreiber opposed.
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Public Works 2 Employees, Item 20
Crawford moved to approve this item and eliminate two Public Works Department
FTE positions in maintenance and operations (M &O).
Motion failed 5 -2 with Crawford and Brenner in favor.
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Inspector /Prevention Coordinator, Item 21
Crawford moved to eliminate two FTE from Health Department.
Regina Delahunt, Health Department Director, stated the Health Department has
already reduced the general fund contribution by $1 million. They were very careful to
minimize the impact to services for the community. If they have to reduce by two more
positions, they will have to choose a program to eliminate. They will also likely lose
matching funds.
Crawford withdrew his motion.
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Planning Department 3 Positions, Item 22
Crawford moved to approve this item and reduce planning staff by 3.0 FTE.
David Stalheim, Planning and Development Services Department, stated they have
already cut seven positions. He referenced his memo in the packet. They are 1.43 percent
of the general fund budget. They are only $60,000 behind in permit revenue, compared to
last year. They are cutting three positions from the building services department. They are
more than offsetting the expenditures for the revenue. If they take three more reductions,
it would be to long range planning. Programs not mandated include the agricultural
program, annexation review, and coordinated water system reviews. He would probably
also cut back on code enforcement staff. They would also have to cut programs. During
the recession, they see fewer bigger projects, but there is more home remodeling going on.
Motion failed 1 -6 with Crawford in favor,
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Courthouse Security, Item 23
Special Whatcom County Council - 2009/2010 Budget, 11/18/2008, Page 9
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Crawford withdrew this item.
(Clerk's Note: This item continued, below.)
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Whatcom Symphony and Mt. Baker Theater, Items 24
and 25
Crawford moved to approve these items and eliminate funding for these programs.
Motion failed 2 -5 with Crawford and Weimer in favor.
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Courthouse Security, Item 23
Kelly moved to approve this item and eliminate the Olympic Security contract.
Desler described the security measures that have been in place the last few years.
N.F. Jackson, Superior Court, stated the purposes of the roving deputy and the
weapons screening are different. Violence still happens, even if there isn't a weapon.
Motion failed 2 -5 with Kelly and Brenner in favor.
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Leave Open Four Public Works Positions, Item 26
Weimer moved to approve this item. It will allow them to reduce the road fund and
raise the general fund. Give the Public Works Department the same deal as the Sheriff, a
general reduction instead of a specific reduction.
Motion carried 4 -3 with Crawford, Brenner, and Nelson opposed.
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Leave Open Three Administrative Services Positions, Item
27
Weimer moved to approve this item. He's not concerned about which three
positions would be left open. They can swap three other positions in the Administrative
Services Department throughout the year if necessary.
Motion carried 6 -1 with Nelson opposed.
(Clerk's Note: Discussion of this item continued, below.)
Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Decrease Administrative Cost Allocation by 10 %, Item 28
Weimer moved to approve this item, which would be to move the money from the
administrative services fund and put it into the general fund. The motion does not include
cutting anything.
Desler stated two - thirds will come from the general fund, because it's a split
operation. The present and future capacity of County government is based on their ability
to perform all their functions in the Information Technology (IT) Division. Limiting that
capacity will limit the services that the public expects. Departments would rather cut their
own operations than the IT Division. One reason for those vacancies is finding the technical
Special Whatcom County Council - 2009/2010 Budget, 11/18/2008, Page 10
1 expertise necessary. If systems fail, they will not be able to operate key systems. Be very
2 cautious about approaching this item.
3
4 (Clerk's Note: End of Tape four, side A.)
5
6 Brad Bennett, Administrative Services Division, explained the timing of the fund.
7 The fund holds the health insurance reserves, unemployment insurance, building
8 replacement costs, and technology replacement costs.
9
10 Motion carried 4 -3 with Crawford, Brenner, and Nelson opposed.
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12 Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Executive's Salary Decrease, Item 29
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14 Weimer stated they've already dealt with this item.
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16 Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Chip Seal, Item 30
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18 Brenner moved to approve this item to reduce chip seal activities.
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20 Motion failed 1 -6 Brenner in favor,
21
22 Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Reduce ER &R Budget by .5% for Vehicles, Item 31
23
24 Caskey- Schreiber moved to reduce the ER &R contributions for ER &R vehicles by
25 one percent, not .5 percent. It would reduce the amount of money going from the general
26 fund into the ER &R fund. Departments wouldn't have to pay one percent out of their
27 budgets. They would be charged less for the ER &R.
28
29 Caskey- Schreiber amended her motion and moved to shift 10 percent of the
30 ER &R fund contributions, which are estimated at about $300,000, from the ER &R fund back
31 into the general fund.
32
33 Motion carried 5 -2 with Crawford and Nelson opposed.
34
35 Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Reduce ER &R Budget by .5% for Materials, Item 32
36
37 Caskey- Schreiber withdrew this item.
38
39 Proposed Fund Balance Increase - Leave Open Three Administrative Services Positions, Item
40 27
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42 Brenner moved to reconsider the motion on this item.
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44 Motion to reconsider carried 5 -2 with Kelly and Caskey- Schreiber opposed.
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46 Brenner moved to leave vacant any three positions, except computer technician
47 positions in the Information Technology Division, from the Administrative Services
48 Department.
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50 Motion failed 1 -6 with Brenner in favor.
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52 Caskey- Schreiber moved to leave vacant the three open positions in the
53 Administrative Services Department.
Special Whatcom County Council - 2009/2010 Budget, 11/18/2008, Page 11
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2 Weimer suggested a friendly amendment to leave vacant any three positions in
3 the Administrative Services Department.
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5 Caskey- Schreiber withdrew her motion.
6
7 Other Items
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9 Weimer moved to appropriate $1.1 million for the Conservation Futures.
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11 Desler stated the that if they would like to continue what the Council did this year,
12 for 2009, which is designate 100 percent of the levy, the amount generated in 2009 would
13 be approximately $1 million. Incorporate that into the budget document.
14
15 Weimer amended his motion and moved to designate 100 percent of the levy and
16 to incorporate the Conservation Futures fund revenue appropriation amounts in the budget
17 document, which is $1.1 million.
18
19 Motion carried 5 -2 with Nelson and Crawford opposed,
20
21 (Clerk's Note: End of tape four, side B.)
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23 Desler submitted and described a set of technical corrections.
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25 Nelson moved to accept the technical corrections.
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27 Motion carried unanimously.
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29 Proposed Fund Balance Decrease - Flood Fund Levy Increase, Item 21
30
31 Caskey- Schreiber referenced Councilmember Weimer's flood fee proposal. She
32 moved to increase the flood tax by half of what Councilmember Weimer proposes, in the
33 amount of $.04 per $1,000 of assessed value. This should get them close to a level of
34 service of three and a half.
35
36 Weimer suggested a friendly amendment to also use $500,000 of REET II funds
37 for stormwater projects.
38
39 Caskey- Schreiber accepted the friendly amendment.
40
41 Weimer stated that since they aren't increasing the flood tax as much as they
42 originally proposed, they should take the $300,000 that is missing here out of the increased
43 flood projects in planning, since they aren't increasing the flood fund as much as they
44 thought..
45
46 Motion carried 4 -3 with Crawford, Nelson, and Brenner opposed.
47
48 Desler stated they may need to act as the Flood Control Zone District Board of
49 Supervisors to adjust the flood tax.
50
51 IVelson stated they can do that when the final budget package comes forward. This
52 is just a recommendation.
53
Special Whatcom County Council - 2009/2010 Budget, 11/18/2008, Page 12
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ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at 4:23 p.m.
Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcri tion
The Council approved these minutes on July 7 , 2009.
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WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Carl Weimer, Council Chair
Special Whatcom County Council - 2009/2010 Budget, 11/18/2008, Page 13