Clyde Hill News: Mayor vetoes measure to eliminate city administrator position
All (financial) bleeding eventually stops
Mayor Steve Friedman vetoed a measure to eliminate the position of city administrator, according to the Administrator’s Weekly Report (link) sent to city staff on Friday. The city council enacted the measure earlier last week (link).
Below, some context to help residents make sense of the news.
Disclaimer: while I am a council member 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.
Recapping the news
Briefly:
The City Administrator is a full-time paid position reporting to the Mayor of Clyde Hill and overseeing all city operations, including the development of the city’s budget and monitoring of the city’s finances.
The city council voted 3-2 to eliminate the position of the City Administrator at its public meeting on Monday, February 10.
Mayor Steve Friedman vetoed the measure on Friday, February 14.
The broader context for these actions hinges on the city’s budget crisis and concerns about the city’s senior executive staff.
At Monday’s meeting, Cm Lisa Wissner-Slivka referred to how residents were “disrespected and ignored” during the budget process in introducing the measure, saying
We believe that the time has come for a change in the city’s senior executive staff… I don’t see any other alternative to getting a change in the senior staff other than eliminating the position of City Administrator, and then regrouping and coming back at a future date to figure out how we want to move forward.
In a message to residents Friday, Mayor Steve Friedman wrote that “we must commit to constructive and active discussions” and warned against a “hasty” approach. (As evidenced by the number of public meetings and lack of progress on these issues over the last three years, “hasty” is a description not consistent with facts.)
It’s worth noting that the actions by both the council and Mayor appear to be within their authority. The city administrator serves “at the pleasure of the mayor,” according to a document in the February 10 meeting packet (link). At the same time, the city administrator job exists because the council authorized and approved funding for it. The city council has the authority to eliminate the position.
All (financial) bleeding eventually stops
The city’s “existential problem” (to use Cm Brad Andonian’s phrase) is its budget.
As medical professionals often observe, all bleeding eventually stops. (link)
The same is true financially: Clyde Hill will either find some combination of increasing revenues and decreasing expenditures or it will merge into a neighboring municipality.
The city has not yet released an official statement of when it expects to run out of money. Residents have asked for this information repeatedly since October 2024. One rough estimate shared by a resident during budget discussion is about four years.
For context:
The city’s most recent budget projections show a $4.3m deficit for 2025-2030. (Link)
The actual deficit could be significantly higher. The projection anticipates revenues from a new “stormwater utility,” effectively a new tax or fee on residents. The administration has not explicitly communicated its plans to residents, or what additional benefits residents can expect. The city council has not yet approved a stormwater utility. Without it, the deficit will likely be larger.
Clyde Hill has spent more than it takes in for some time. A nearly $1m grant from the Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan Act bought the city short-term relief:
Volunteer Task Force
It’s unclear what role the City Administrator and the city’s other full-time paid professionals are playing in fixing the budget problem the city faces.
It’s hard to find evidence of urgency and action from the city’s professional leadership team in addressing the crisis. Residents involved in the “Financial Sustainability Task Force” noted how quiet the city’s full-time professionals were during their meeting in January.
Many of the residents who engaged in public meetings about the budget in the fall of 2024 declined to participate in the “task force” effort after their questions went unanswered by city staff for months.
What’s next for residents
Residents can expect continuity in the short term… Clyde Hill PD will patrol, protect, and serve. The city’s building official will evaluate permits and perform inspections. Consultants, staff, and council will work on bringing the city code into compliance with new state mandates for middle housing, and so on.
Residents can also expect continuity in the communication about the budget from the Mayor. From the Mayor’s budget messages in November 2020 (link) and 2024 (link):
“The use of reserves to balance the budget is not a sustainable long-term strategy.” (Mayor Klaas, 2020)
“Looking ahead, it is important to recognize that balancing our budget using reserves and one-time money is ultimately unsustainable.” (Mayor Friedman, 2024)
“Clyde Hill has consistently been able to provide exceptional public services and facilities to its citizens while maintaining the highest degree of fiscal responsibility.” (Mayor Klaas, 2020)
“Clyde Hill has consistently been able to provide exceptional public services while maintaining a high degree of fiscal responsibility.” (Mayor Friedman, 2024)
It’s not clear what progress residents can expect and in what timeframe.
Mayor silent on “unethical” tax increase proposal
Mayor and administration officials have not yet responded to residents who raised concerns that a city staffer’s tax increase proposal was “dishonest” (link) and “immoral” and “unethical.” (link)
In the remarks, the city’s Assistant City Administrator suggested that the city tell residents that a property tax increase would fund police and then use the tax proceeds on other services.
You can watch the original remarks under discussion here: link.
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Dean Hachamovitch