The atmosphere was upbeat and the mood collaborative Friday as Edmonds city councilmembers, city department directors and Mayor Mike Rosen completed day one of a two-day Edmonds City Council retreat in the Edmonds Library Plaza Room.
The retreat will continue for councilmembers only at 1 p.m. Saturday as they discuss their takeaways and action items from Friday’s session. This will include a focus on 2024 council priorities.
During Friday’s session, attorney P. Stephen DiJulio of law firm Foster Garvey gave an overview of what he described as “the legal lanes” of a healthy functioning government.
He went over the basic actions of legislative authority, including motions, resolutions and ordinances, noting that a policy only becomes a law if it’s adopted by ordinance. DiJulio said that the city’s chief law enforcement officer isn’t the police chief but the mayor, who decides how business will be conducted and whether something is enforceable.
The city council “acts as a whole” and “none of you have any authority as a councilmember independently,” he said. “You speak as one despite the fact that one of you may have a dissenting view or say other things.”
“An individual councilmember’s position does not control the City of Edmonds,” he added.
The mayor is responsible for personnel management, with authority for appointment and removal of staff. If a councilmember has a problem with how an employee is doing their job, “talk to the mayor,” DiJulio said.
Answering a question from a councilmember about addressing constituents’ concerns via social media, DiJulio said that under state law, councilmembers are required to maintain records of social media communication when it involves city business. He said that some cities discourages councilmembers from communicating through social media “for that very reason.”
“If you are using social networks for city business, direct as much of it as you can to city email along the way,” he advised.
DiJulio said that when councilmembers get requests from the public to add a project or program, they should be looking at:
- Is it in the city’s capital facilities plan?
- Is it in the city’s annual work plan or program?
- Is there an approved budget for it?
- If city resources otherwise support it (what other priorities are going to be shifted if the item is adopted).
He also addressed a range of other issues, including:
Management of legal services: For day-to-day administration of the city, the city attorney reports to the mayor. Councilmembers also have access to city attorney services but some cities restrict that access to minimize expenses. Collaboration between the mayor and council is important when it comes to coordinating use of legal services, he said.
Public meetings and public comment: “Open public meetings are the rule but there are exceptions to that rule,” DiJulio said. Meetings of informal groups of citizen advisers can be exempt from Open Public Meetings Act rules. Yet, there are certain conditions when the activities of a committee or task force may need to be made public, he added.
He also asked councilmembers to keep two pieces of advice in mind during their work: “You can agree without being disagreeable” and WAIT — Why Am I Talking.
As for public comment, while meetings (other than executive sessions) are open to public, public comment can be limited to public comment periods and public hearings. This ensures meetings are more efficient. “You were elected to do the city’s business and other people weren’t. So you have to get your business done,” he said.
He concluded by sharing these Guiding Principles from the Sound Cities Association:
– Assume that others are acting with good intent
– No surprises!
– Have each other’s backs
– Think about who is not at the table
– Be candid, but kind
– Once a decision is made, work together to make it work
– Show up to meetings prepared
– Be fully present and engaged during meetings
– Extend grace to others – cut them some slack
– Remain open-minded
– Respect differing views
Next, Mayor Rosen led a discussion on increasing council meeting efficiency. Those in the room took turns offering ideas, which Rosen wrote on flip charts, and everyone was then asked to place dots on the highest-priority items. The top six were:
– Having a readerboard in the council chambers to capture council motions as they are made, in real time.
– Having councilmembers ask questions of staff ahead of time to save time during meetings.
– Changing the council agenda format so that agenda memos list the alternatives, budget impact and pros and cons.
– Creating a yearlong council legislative agenda laid out by priorities.
– Making sure that councilmembers have the background materials they need prior to considering an issue.
Council President Vivian Olson followed Rosen with a discussion on “identifying the critical few.” Those in the room were asked to list top priorities the city must fund, especially given the city’s recent budget challenges.
The list quickly grew very long, with items ranging from public safety to sewer and water, to roads, to maintenance, to financial management, to debt service, to planning, to climate response, to human services, to city codes.
Some expressed frustration that it was difficult to narrow the field to what is most important, and Rosen noted that the discussion “forces the question” about what getting “back to basics” really means.
The final presentation of the day was from Edmonds Police Chief Michelle Bennett, who briefed the council regarding the city’s emergency management planning efforts. The city has been working with a consultant to ensure that the city is complying with local and federal requirements.
Edmonds currently contracts with the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management for emegency preparedness services, at a cost $59,000 annually. The city council will need to decide in March whether to renew that contract or consider other options, including bringing those functions in-house, Bennett said.
To end the meeting, Rosen again went around the room, asking department heads and councilmembers to name a main takeaway from the meeting or their biggest hope for 2024.
Among them:
“Increased collaboration and communication amongst ourselves and also with the public and the region.” — Community, Culture and Economic Development Director Todd Tatum
“Identifying and implementing sustainable revenue streams that can fund our city operations so that we can provide service (that is) sustainable.” — Councilmember Will Chen
“That we can as different branches of government continue to build trust in each other and hopefully that will inspire our community to trust their government.” — Councilmember Jenna Nand
“More robust financial reporting.” — Deputy Administrative Services Director Kim Dunscombe
“It’s really nice to see everybody talking in a friendly way, that’s super collaborative, and I really, really, really appreciate that.” — Police Chief Michelle Bennett
‘This makes me very hopeful for today that we are valuing everyone’s expertise, everyone’s voices and that this open dialogue can continue.” — Councilmember Chris Eck
“If the vibes of today can carry through for the remainder of the year, I think we can get a lot done.” — City Attorney Jeff Taraday
“I’m very much filled with hope because of certainly the energy, collaboration and respect,” Rosen said of Friday’s retreat. He added those same qualities have been on display during individual and group meetings he has had with city staff since starting his job as mayor a month ago.
“The universal truth is, these people love this city,” Rosen said. “My experience, when things get hard people tend to go one direction or the other: They become survivalists or they come together and fix it.”
“We have a very engaged residency and they do pay attention,” Rosen added. “But I also believe that the vast majority…in my heart I believe they are filled with hope as well and they want to help.”
Saturday’s council retreat will begin at 1 p.m. in the Edmonds Library Plaza Room, 650 Main St. The meeting will not be broadcast remotely. The agenda includes:
1. Call to Order
2. Land Acknowledgement
3. Roll Call
4. Council Business
A. Takeaways/Action Items from Feb. 2 Council/Administration Retreat – Facilitated Council Discussion–CP Olson (40 minutes)
B. 2024 Council Priority Planning Exercise – CM Tibbott (1 hour, 15 minutes)
C. What is first thing that comes to your mind? Facilitated Council Discussion–Council Executive Assistant Peterson (45 minutes)
i. Public Engagement
ii. Work Meetings vs Business Meetings
iii. Skill Building
iv. Council Comments
5. Closing Remarks – CP Pro Tem Chen (5 minutes)
Adjournment 4 p.m.
— By Teresa Wippel
Just basing my comments on reading this article as I did not attend or observe the meeting in person, I have a couple concerned citizen comments to express. It is troubling that there was, apparently, such difficulty in determining what the basics and priorities of just running a city are. This should not be that difficult and suggests that pet projects and partisan politics will continue to play perhaps too big a roll in our municipal government; which shouldn’t be overly concerned about things like women’s health care or saving the planet from ourselves, for example. If that is what our elected folks are dwelling on, to any extent at all, they are in the wrong elected position. I think the attorney made great and useful recommendations, especially, “Wait, why am I talking.” Too much meeting time gets wasted on fawning over and thanking people who are just doing their jobs that they are usually pretty well paid for. Mr. Chen’s comments about identifying and maintaining reliable revenue streams to pay for what must get done was a high point too. Good luck to each of you that wants to; and has to; try to make this system work for everyone in town.
I’m pleased to see that the new administration and council are making a deliberate effort to come together and heal the divisiveness that has characterized City government recently. A day like this won’t solve all of the city’s problems but it will certainly provide a catalyst for change and if the spirit of goodwill engendered by this event is nurtured and maintained it should lead to a strong future for Edmonds. That will take ongoing work from all participants.
Thank you, Niall, I think Mayor Rosen and Carolyn LaFave from the mayor’s office—as well Council President Olson and Beckie Peterson from the council office—did an excellent job in planning and executing both days of our retreat. I know that everyone involved from both the council’s and administration’s side worked extremely hard on the content and exercises and it’s nice to see their hard work applauded by our engaged citizens.
Well done, Mayor Rosen. This is exactly why I voted for you; collaboration, communication, consensus building, and more.
Thank you council members and city staff for coming to the table and being open to a fresh start. It’s a new day in Edmonds!
Many thanks to the reporter who covered the meeting and summarized the presentation for those of us who were not there. For any new group it is a good thing to cover the basic ground rules right at the start. This was a primer for the Citizens of Edmond as well and indicates that this mayor/council plans to be transparent.
Great summary!
About time, an attorney defines differences between the separation of authority, processes and “lanes”. Too bad Council couldn’t have completed the RFP process for attorney selection last year as the bizarre statement of “if it’s not broken don’t fix it” was made? Vote – a carte blanche blank check for a five year contract – giving Lighthouse the power in negotiations.
The “eighth” Councilmember, under the past administration” allowed many laws to be broken – especially relating to Executive Sessions! No way would we have the Pruitt lawsuit if he had injected himself (like he has done many times offering his opinions) or listened to two veterans CMs to call for an executive session. Or, would the City continue to spend staff time & money on the expensive $37m off-market negotiated purchase of “Landmark” that City Council NEVER authorized!!! An executive session was never held to give the Admin and attorney the right to negotiate that binding document. The City just spent $100k furthering a commitment with the new agreement and like the first – never discussed beforehand with Council or Attorney!
A City attorney should protect the City from potential lawsuits or liabilities from legal documents poorly written that expose the City to millions of taxpayers’ dollars! Off-market real estate deals in down commercial real estate markets are never good for taxpayers.
For over 30 years prior to my retirement I advised and defended the City of Edmonds and over a hundred different Washington Cities for various legal matters and lawsuits. I have worked with P. Stephen DiJulio when he was the City Attorney for Kent and in his private practice life. I have great respect for him and his opinions. I would echo the advice he gave at the retreat. I also agree with the statement of former Council member Buckshnis that “A City attorney should protect the City from potential lawsuits or liabilities…” The devil is in the details. City Attorneys can be activist or passive. Passive City Attorneys only offer advice when asked by the client. Activist City Attorneys will answer client question but, will also offer unsolicited advise and counsel to their municipal client when they see a legal problem in the making and try to advise the client towards a legally correct course of action. In my opinion and practice for 45 years I thought the latter course of being an activist was in the clients best interest. However the client, be it the City Council, Mayor, Manager or Department head, must be willing for the City Attorney to be a true Counselor at law and must have confidence in the competence of the City Attorney to offer unsolicited advice when necessary.
The statement “if it’s not broken don’t fix it” was rewritten numerous years ago by Stanford Univ to say: “If it’s not broken you haven’t looked hard enough so fix it anyway”.
During my days in the automotive repair field, I often heard that phrase said when people balked at buying preventive service or repairs. That was almost always just a case of pay me now, or pay me lots more later; but many people just don’t know when they are being given good advice and always choose to see themselves as economic victims of some sort, rather than doing the smart thing to do; at the right time.
I’m concerned with a statement made in this article and seek some clarification.
“DiJulio said that the city’s chief law enforcement officer isn’t the police chief but the mayor, who decides how business will be conducted and whether something is enforceable.”
The mayor, any mayor, deciding whether a law is enforceable is problematic for me. Almost sounds like he/she is in a position to be above the law if they so decide. Is this the type of legal advice our mayor’s are being given? It may explain a lot.
Jim, depends on how you interpret RCW 35A.12.100. Specifically: “The mayor shall be the chief executive and administrative officer of the city, in charge of all departments and employees, with authority to designate assistants and department heads…He or she shall see that all laws and ordinances are faithfully enforced and that law and order is maintained in the city, and shall have general supervision of the administration of city government and all city interests.”
Jim, I was there and heard attorney DiJulio’s comment when he made it. I recall it was in the context of City priorities~ the City has limited resources and cannot be expected to enforce every law and regulation to the same maximum intensity, so therefore it’s part of the mayor’s executive responsibilities to establish enforcement priorities. As I heard his comment, he was just stating a truism and not attempting to place the mayor “above the law” as you suggest.
Thank you, Alicia and Roger.
I think the RCW is fairly clear. It doesn’t mention priorities nor mayors deciding on whether something is enforceable. If a sworn officer of the state witnesses an infraction, I believe it’s their duty to “faithfully” intervene. That intervention may just be educational or a warning, or if more serious, a citation or arrest and prosecution. In my opinion, resources only come into play as to how many infractions are actually identified and acted upon.