Clyde Hill News: Budget deficit, again
Also: an update on candidate endorsements, and an accusation of misogyny
Clyde Hill’s administration published its 2024 Preliminary Budget this week, anticipating an operating deficit of ~$360,000 based on $5.9 million of expenditures and revenues of only $5.5 million.
In her Budget Message to the community announcing her fourth budget deficit in four years, Mayor Marianne Klaas wrote that
Clyde Hill has consistently been able to provide exceptional public services while maintaining a high degree of fiscal responsibility
Below, more information about the budget, an update on candidate endorsements, and an accusation of misogyny.
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Disclaimer: while I am a councilmember on the Clyde Hill City Council, I write this newsletter in my capacity as an individual resident. Any opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily the position of the city. City information and references here are from public sources. I welcome email responses — and if the topic is about city business I will respond from my city email account.
2024 Preliminary Budget
The city is hosting a “study session” on November 2nd at 6pm to provide the community an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback on next year’s budget.
The meeting packet (link) includes information about how to attend the meeting in person or online, as well as detailed information about budget expenditures and revenue sources.
The mayor’s budget message this year (link) is very similar to the one from three years ago (link) in discussing budget challenges. From this year’s memo:
it is important to recognize that balancing our budget using reserves and one-time money is ultimately unsustainable.
And from the November 2020 memo:
The City of Clyde Hill will need to deal with a structural issue revolving around the fact that expenditures are growing faster than revenues over the long term…. The use of reserves to balance the budget is not a sustainable long-term strategy.
The mayor, in this year’s memo, suggests that a property tax hike might be necessary to address the structural budget issue.
Elections: a hiring event, not a horserace
News coverage of a horserace is straightforward: you just say which horse appears to be strongest or in the lead, or (in the case of the election) which of Clyde Hill’s candidates has more or bigger signs, or more residents endorsing them.
Rather than view the election as a horserace, I suggest looking at the election as a hiring event:
By voting in this election, residents of Clyde Hill are choosing who to hire to work together and provide expertise and oversight to the full-time professionals running the city.
Clyde Hill faces many issues. Residents have voiced concerns about a sustainable budget. Other issues the city has stated it needs to address include:
working with state officials on recent and upcoming state laws around housing and zoning codes,
addressing code clarity and enforcement consistency problems,
maintaining public safety as Bellevue and Seattle continue to grow.
As a resident, you may have your own concerns: tree preservation, improving stormwater drainage, better walking paths….
As a resident, who do you want to hire to prioritize and set policy on these issues?
I strongly recommend calling the candidates and talking with them. Their phone numbers are in voters’ pamphlet and on the candidates’ websites.
Whomever you choose, please vote. Ballots are due November 7.
Election update
In last week’s newsletter, I published candidate endorsements in an effort to provide voters and the community with the latest and most up-to-date information.
Endorsements, for me, are a useful timesaver. For example, an endorsement from Planned Parenthood or the NRA or Clyde Hill’s police union or the current mayor tells me a lot about a candidate.
There was a kerfuffle among candidates about what constitutes an endorsement (professional only, or personal too) as well as whether to include statements from the people endorsing candidates. I attempt to respond to that feedback below.
Statements
Some readers argued that not including statements from the people endorsing Steve Sinwell and Mark Kroese while including a long list of statements for Ryan Olson seemed unfair. Thank you for the feedback — I try to address it below.
Steve Sinwell
Steve Friedman – Councilmember and Mayor Pro-Tem
Steve Sinwell is the better choice for City Council; his finance skills & work ethic will be invaluable as we address the deficit and work productively with other Councilmembers and the City Administration.
Brian Ouellette – Chair, Clyde Hill Civil Service Commission
I fully endorse Steve as the right choice to represent Clyde Hill residents. We would be very fortunate to benefit from his world-class finance expertise carved from his many years at Deloitte. From personal experience, I can also attest to Steve’s quick ability to forge meaningful relationships that are based on trust and respect.
Tony & Sonya Prata – Long term Clyde Hill residents along with their dog “Thor”
Steve has a tireless work ethic and brings exceptional integrity to the table. The primary focus of his agenda is to help fix our deficit (without increasing property taxes), keeping our residents safe, restore civility, bring back clarity and consistency to our City Code, and maintain single-family zoning. Lastly, we appreciate how Steve suspends self interest in getting to practical solutions. The choice to vote for Steve was quite clear.
Edwin Tian - Clyde Hill Resident
There is no doubt that Steve is the most qualified candidate in his race for City Council. In addition to being a finance expert & exceptional Certified Public Accountant, Steve is a terrific listener who thoughtfully considers input from all stakeholders. The residents will benefit from his service as Councilmember.
Mark Kroese
Steve Friedman, current Mayor Pro Tem and Clyde Hill’s next Mayor
I need a strong city council beside me, and Mark is the better choice for Position #4.
Katy Harris, Yarrow Point Mayor
Mark knows how to work with neighboring cities to advance shared interests. I’m excited to work with him.
State Senator Reuven Carlyle (retired), 36th Legislative District
Mark is an expert at forging partnerships that make a difference. He’s an effective leader.
Alleged misogyny
In last week’s newsletter, I factually reported that candidate Ashley Eckel withdrew her submission of endorsements while Ryan Olson explained his point of view and argued for a change to the newsletter.
Clyde Hill resident Spencer Nurse (posting as the “Clyde Hill Coalition”) alleged “disturbing anti-woman sentiments” based on the use of the word “reasoned” to describe Ryan Olson’s request.
It’s not clear if Spencer Nurse (and his coalition) are accusing all the councilmembers of bias because none of the councilmembers endorsed Ashley Eckel, the candidate he prefers. For context:
Four male councilmembers (including me) unanimously appointed Ashley Eckel to fill a vacant council seat in May.
After working with her, three male councilmembers chose to endorse her opponent, Steve Sinwell.
Ms Katy Harris, the mayor of Yarrow Point, also chose to endorse Steve Sinwell rather than Ashley Eckel.
We look forward to hearing if Mayor Harris’ endorsement of Eckel’s opponent is also evidence of “disturbing anti-woman sentiments.”
This accusation on Nurse’s part joins his growing list of personal attacks and false accusations. For example, despite Nurse’s claims, Cm Steve Friedman did NOT try “to limit residents’ ability to fly the American Flag.” The city attorney has made clear that he does NOT do personal legal work for any councilmembers. Also, Bellevue’s Fire Department CAN locate all the fire hydrants in Clyde Hill just fine. These are just a few of the unfounded attacks Nurse has made.
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Dean Hachamovitch