Community Finance Committee - Citizen Contributions Moot

On February 22, 2012 Councilmember Mike Courts sent an email with the subject: Thoughts on Finance Committee and Way ahead. Funny...the first meetings didn't start until March 8, 2012, yet the outcome is clearly spelled out by Mr. Courts, below including the action plan for a Levy-Lid Lift. 

This proves that the Community Finance Committee was nothing more than a puppet show, a moot point. The City did not want to hear any thoughts or suggestions from the Community (citizen’s) Finance Committee or others. None of the other options that the Community Finance Committee presented are being voted upon or addressed in the near future. The City just went thru the motions to put a Levy-Lid Lift on the November 2012 ballot

From: Michael Courts Sent: Wed 2/22/2012 12:26 PM To: Michael Grayum Cc: Dawn Masko; Sandi Hines; Penny Coffey; Erin Larsen; Kathleen Trotter; John Ehrenreich; Roger Westman; Larry Wilcox
Subject: Thoughts on Finance Committee and way ahead
Michael,We had a very productive Study Session last night. Good exchange with the 5 members present. I would like to share with you some of what I took from the meeting:

1. Timing: a. 7 August ballot requires any potential ballot measures to be turned in to the Auditor NLT 11 May (means Council vote NLT 8 May) b. 6 November ballot requires any potential ballot measures to be turned in to Auditor NLT 7 Aug (means last meeting in July for council vote)Thoughts: We appreciate the risk of waiting until November ballot, however, the 8 May deadline does not allow sufficient time for a process most likely to result in success at the ballot. We think the November ballot is the most feasible option, but need to look at some potential mitigation measures to address spending and revenues during the interim.

2. The actual process: We discussed several elements to the process for this effort: a. The committee providing an update at every council meeting with a short presentation at the first monthly meeting as part of a public education process to address some key issues; how different city employees are paid (which funds), various sources of revenues and their limitations, etc. b. Once completed with the committee work, we need a campaign to educate/solicit comment from the public. Ideally the committee provides 3-4 options for the council to consider. These need to be presented in multiple forums and modalities to the public. This is going to be the key to any future ballot measure. c. After public comment is considered, the council needs to debate and decide on an appropriate course of action to address the city's financial challenges. d. Assuming the selected course of action requires a ballot initiative, a second public information effort needs to be undertaken to gain public support. The need for two unique public information efforts is the driver for timing of any ballot measure. Early May does NOT provide sufficient time to sufficiently engage the public.

3. Benchmarking: Kathy, Dawn, Sandi, the facilitator and I need to layout some specific benchmarking for each scheduled meeting, clear objectives, deliverables SOON!

4. Facilitator, generally support this, need the right person and need them soonest. The products we need for individual and larger public engagement should be primarily developed by this facilitator.

5. The staff will have to stay well ahead of the committee otherwise the meetings will be wasted. Product should be available to the committee several days prior to each meeting, at the latest.

6. Basic objectives of the committee: a. Review 2012 Budget to identify any obvious areas for cost savings b. Compare DuPont (benchmarking) to other comparable cities: level of budget, total tax burden, services for taxes, level of public service, salary levels of city employees, quality of life, etc. c. Layout the mandated/must do elements of our budget and draw a cutline based on no change to revenues. Discuss public tolerance for this level of services and implications. d. Have a frank discussion about expectations for levels of public service/quality of life and tolerance for current or potentially increased tax burden. Members need to engage neighbors and friends about this. How we see ourselves and what our expectations are is the critical element to this effort.

e. Discuss and evaluate various revenue options; Levy Lid Lift, B&O increase, Car Tab (and implications), Sewer Franchise. Each of these has pros and cons, some are highly problematic and even of questionable legality, but a clear understanding of the potential sources and the downsides is very important.

This is a big effort and will need to be a primary focus of the staff if we are going to turn this in a reasonable time. We need to shape the outcome to posture DuPont for the long term, consistent with public expectations and tolerance. The better informed the public is, the more thoughtful the discussion will be and the more realistic the outcome will be.We believe all council meetings need to remain on the schedule this year. If individual council or staff members desire time off, that can be managed, but shutting down the process for even one meeting could severely impact an already tight schedule.

We look forward to getting this important task moving forward.For fellow council members, please provide any feedback to my comments back to Erin so she can distribute as appropriate.VR Mike Courts City Council Position #6 DuPont, WashingtonDisclaimer: Public documents and records are available to the public as provided under the Washington State Public Records Act (RCW 42.56). This e-mail may be considered subject to the Public Records Act and may be disclosed to a third-party requester.