HomeMy WebLinkAbout1862Resolution No. 1862
(Amending or Repealing Resolutions)
CFN = 198 -City Council
Passed-7/31/2012
City Efficiencies Resolution
The date ["Begmnmg July 1, 1998"] has led to confus1on Th1s date Will be deleted from cover sheets of
ordmance/resolut1on rev1s1on pages Th1s cover sheet w1ll be deleted on electronic pages only, no other
deletions or changes have been made to the document-6/21/2012
RESOLUTION NO. _..:..../....;;f_{p_~_
A RESOLUTION of the City Council of the
City of Kent, Washington, requesting the mayor's
off1ce to take all necessary steps and to allocate
the necessary funds to hire an mdependent
consultant w1th expenence in analyz1ng staffing,
structure and serv1ces prov1ded by city government
in order to prov1de recommendations to generate
further effic1enc1es m governmental operations,
with the goal of reducing the c1ty's annual budget.
RECITALS
A. The city of Kent has experienced significant downturn in
revenues in the past decade. A number of factors have contributed to this
shortfall. Reductions m car tab fees that reduced or eliminated state pass-
through funds for local mfrastructure Improvements, the property tax
limitation to 1% year over year passed by Referendum 47, and the
recess1on, wh1ch began in 2008 and continues to this day, taken together,
have caused the City to cut back 1ts total number of employees, to reduce
costs wherever possible, and to increase product1v1ty while attempting to
mamtam all programs and serv1ces, even m the face of a significant
add1t1on to the c1ty's total population attributable to the Panther Lake
annexation.
B. The
population s1nce
net effect of these cuts on city serv1ces and growth in
2008, excludmg police serv1ces, IS that the rat1o of c1ty
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employees to population dropped from one employee per every 193
res1dents to one employee per every 274 res1dents. The ratio of pol1ce
employees per cap1ta sh1fted from one police department employee per
every 479 res1dents to one per every 607 residents. These statiStiCS are
blunt indicators, and a number of mitigatmg factors reduce the reliability of
these measurements, but they are good 1nd1cators that represent the cuts
and efficiencies that the mayor's off1ce and c1ty departments have
attempted to Implement as income decreased.
C. Nevertheless/ the net revenue reduction to the city has left
the city in a pos1t1on where it has a structural Imbalance. The c1ty no
longer rece1ves enough revenue to fund the total cost of the services it
provides and to fund mamtenance and operation of all City Infrastructure.
The City counc1l has determmed that, 1n order to maintain the qual1ty of
c1ty services and Infrastructure that 1ts Citizens deserve, a number of new
revenue sources need consideration. To that end 1 the counc1l has dec1ded
to cons1der send1ng a property tax levy l1d l1ft to the voters to maintain
parks and transportation infrastructure. The counc1l est1mates that the l1d
lift w1ll generate approximately four to five million dollars per year for the
next s1x years, if passed by the voters. The c1ty counc1l also is cons1denng
a f1rm comm1tment to develop an additional revenue package to mamtain
city streets by requ1nng the busmess commumty to share a port1on of the
burden to pay for ongomg street overlays and maintenance. The council
expects to generate approximately four to six million dollars annually for
overlay revenue.
D. Recognizing that much has already been done to try to
mcrease product1v1ty and find efficiencies m c1ty government/ the city
council bel1eves that1 with the help of an independent analyst/ other
effic1enc1es may yet be available in city hall. Accordingly/ the third aspect
of the city council's approach to recover f1scal balance IS to try to develop
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Resolution
additional efficiencies in the city's budget. To that end, the city council
now asks the mayor's office to hire an outs1de eff1c1ency consultant. This
consultant will analyze the ex1st1ng city staffmg and service structures to
determme whether additional efficiencieS can be recommended.
NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENT,
WASHINGTON, DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
RESOLUTION
SECTION 1. -Recitals Incorporated. The recitals listed above are
incorporated mto th1s resolution as 1f fully stated here.
SECTION 2. -The city council of the city of Kent asks the mayor's
off1ce to take all necessary steps and to allocate the necessary funds to hire
an independent consultant With expenence in analyzing staffmg, structure,
and serv1ces provided by city government in order to prov1de
recommendations to generate further efficiencies in governmental
operations, with the goal of reduc1ng the c1ty's annual budget. Although
the council hopes to find approximately two m1ll1on dollars in effic1enc1es,
the true goal 1s to analyze and streamlme wherever possible, no matter
whether the savings generated exceed or are less than the two million
dollars the council hopes can be saved.
SECTION 3. -Severability. If any section, subsection, paragraph,
sentence, clause or phrase of th1s resolution is declared unconstitutional or
invalid for any reason, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remam1ng port1ons of this resolution.
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Resolution
SECTION 4. -Ratification. Any act consistent with the authority
and prior to the effective date of th1s resolution 1s hereby ratified and
aff1rmed.
SECTION 5. -Corrections by City Clerk or Code Reviser. Upon
approval of the City Attorney, the City Clerk and the code reviser are
authonzed to make necessary corrections to this resolution, mclud1ng the
correction of clerical errors; references to other local, state or federal laws,
codes, rules, or regulations; or resolution numbenng and
section/subsection numbenng.
SECTION 6. -Effect1ve Date. Th1s resolut1on shall take effect and
be in force 1mmed1ately upon 1ts passage.
PASSED at a regular open public meeting by the City Council of the
City of Kent, Washington, this 31 day of ~ , 2012.
CONCURRED in by the Mayor of the City of Kent this 31 day of
~,R,d , 2012.
ATTEST:
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City Efficiencies
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APPROVED AS TO FORM:
TOMd~.~~O~
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of Resolution No.
/fsftXJ.-passed by the City Council of the City of Kent, Washington, the
..:Sf day o?Ju.R.t; , 2012.
P \CIYII\1\tsolutloro\Budget Efflcl•nclts lt.eMiutlon docx
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BRENDAJACOBER, CLERK
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