Clyde Hill News: Public hearing Monday on proposed record deficit
Also: Middle housing on the agenda
The City of Clyde Hill will hold a public hearing about the proposed budget on Monday, October 7th, at 4:30pm at City Hall and online. Expenditures exceed revenues by a record-setting $828K in the proposed 2025 budget’s General Fund. The city plans to spend existing fund balances, including one-time revenues, to bring the “total deficit” down to $316K, also a record.
The city is now proposing to decrease the “total deficit” by re-deploying one-time revenues “that will not occur again for most likely several decades” (link) to cover recurring operational costs. This proposal appears to contradict the city’s previous “industry Best Management Practices” recommendations:
Mayor Steve Friedman wrote “I am pleased to present my 2025 budget proposal” in his Budget Message to residents (link) before acknowledging that his 2025 budget proposal continues the “ultimately unsustainable” approach of Clyde Hill’s city budgets since 2020.
More details on how residents can participate and offer their feedback, as well as an overview of budget issues, below. Also below, an update on the city’s plans and progress complying with new state laws to enable housing density.
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.
Reconciling budget “hawks and doves”
“Hawk or dove, residents need to know” is how one resident responded to last week’s newsletter about the budget. I think this is an interesting way to distill the situation for residents.
The budget “hawks” among the residents I’ve heard from have very little tolerance for the city’s recurring deficits… after they overcome their surprise that the city has been running deficits. They are clear that recurring budget deficits are untenable. Their sense of urgency is also clear.
The budget “doves” seem more concerned about overcorrecting in a rush to solve the problem. They acknowledge that the current situation is untenable in the long run… and trust there is time to work something out.
I’ve heard from and spoken with more residents over the last two weeks than in the past few months. There is a clear need to improve the city’s communication with busy residents about what’s going on with the city budget.
For all we know, Clyde Hill residents would be delighted with a big tax hike to keep things going exactly as they are. Public feedback can help clarify that.
Public hearings are intended “to obtain public testimony or comment before significant decisions are made.” (link) The adoption of the proposed city budget would be significant in terms of another large deficit with no clear plan for sustainability.
Participating in Monday’s 4:30pm hearing
Here’s what to expect and how to participate. Several residents I spoke with were not aware of the public hearing, or were unclear on what to expect.
First: all the budget materials are available here: link.
There will be a presentation about the budget. You can read it here (link) now. While some numbers have changed, the broader plan is mostly the same since the city first publicly presented it in September (link).
There will be council discussion and “opportunity for Public Input/ Comments.” Typically, “Members of the public will be limited to three minutes for their public comments (not Q&A),” according to the city agenda for regular meetings.
Historically, the city has accepted public comment by email, even the morning of a meeting.
Looking at the city’s website, I could not find official instructions on how to submit public comment by email. Members of the community who would prefer to email their public comment can copy and paste these email addresses and ask their elected officials to pass their public comment on:
"Mayor Friedman" <Mayor@clydehill.org>; "Councilmember Wissner-Slivka" <council1@clydehill.org>; "Councilmember Sinwell" <council2@clydehill.org>; "Councilmember Muromoto" <council3@clydehill.org>; "Councilmember Olson" <council4@clydehill.org>; "Councilmember Hachamovitch" <council5@clydehill.org>
Residents can come to City Hall, or follow the instructions here (link) to participate via computer or phone.
Other than attending the meeting to offer public comment, my recommendation is to reach out to your elected officials (mayor, city council members) and ask them to explain what’s going and what they plan to do about it.
Budget issues
Here are some of the recurring concerns and issues that have come up in conversations with residents about the budget.
Communication
Residents asked why communication is so poor: “Why am I hearing about a public hearing from you, and not the city?”
I agree that this is an issue. Councilmembers Kim Muromoto and Ryan Olson, at September’s council meeting, made their concerns with city communication clear (link).
One resident asked me why residents can’t sign up for email from the city for important information like this.
One time revenues and recurring expenses
Last year was supposed to be the last year for using one-time revenues to pay for recurring expenses. No one claims it’s a good idea or sustainable. The city just can’t seem to quit it.
For example, the city’s 2024 budget used one-time revenue (American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA funds) to pay for the recurring expense of employee salaries and benefits, according to this slide from last year’s “2024 Preliminary Budget & Revenue” presentation:
Let’s stop doing this
The council set a broad policy to end this (and other unsustainable patterns) in May of 2023, agreeing by a 4-0 vote (one abstention) that “it will only consider budget proposals [for 2024] that eliminate the city’s future operating deficit” (link). The council approved the 2024 budget “in the context of the sustainability plan,” a plan that “no longer appears sufficient and feasible.”
Oops!... I Did It Again
The proposed 2025 budget includes an “uncommitting” of $200K of one-time revenues — “that will not occur again for most likely several decades” (link) — from a longer-term plan so they city can spend them on current ongoing operational costs:
In 2021, city staff recommended that the city council commit these funds “in alignment with industry Best Management Practices” to avoid, in the city staff’s words, “kicking the can down the road” in reference to budget shortfalls:
City Administrator Dean Rohla co-authored these recommendations. Then-Councilmember Steve Friedman voted for the measure (“Resolution 663,” link) to commit these funds, which passed unanimously. Both now appear to have reversed their position.
Action and solutions
Residents expressed confusion and frustration about why — with an election, a new mayor, and new council members — things aren’t better. Why hasn’t something been done already?
Last year was also supposed to be the last year for deferring action on the unsustainable budget. Here’s the slide from the 2023 public hearing on the budget calling out the work to follow-up on the “Budget Sustainability Plan” (link):
This year’s public hearing has the same slide; the committee has been renamed:
Some residents have expressed a lack of confidence in the city administration’s ability to get out of this deficit cycle.
Denser housing in Clyde Hill
Also on Monday night’s agenda is a discussion of how Clyde Hill will proceed with the required work involved in complying with new state laws to permit more “dwelling units per lot.” Clyde Hill and other cities and towns face a June 2025 deadline.
For context and background on housing density and new laws, I wrote about them here, link.
The request from staff (link) involves asking the council about referring the issue to the city’s Planning Commission.
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Dean Hachamovitch