Members hear school levy pitch, receive new email addresses and more
The newly-constituted Medical Lake City Council convened for the first time in 2018 on Jan. 16.
Well, almost that is.
Under the leadership of a familiar face in the mayor’s chair, Shirley Maike, and re-ordered in their seating arrangement in council chambers, the group was brought up to date on a wide variety of topics in their first meeting since last December.
Minus newly-elected member John Merrick, excused for his absence due to training for his day job, Council first heard from Medical Lake Superintendent of Schools, Tim Ames, regarding their upcoming Feb. 13 ballot measures.
The two-part request includes a replacement for the existing maintenance and operations — M&O — levy and the other a capital levy. Now known as an Educational Programs and Operations levy, this measure replaces an existing measure approved three years ago that raises what amounts to about 6 percent of the district’s operating budget at $1.95 per $1,000 of a property’s valuation. A second item on the ballot will request 40-cents per $1,000 for capital improvements.
Ames explained to the council that because of new rules penned by the Washington Legislature, levy monies once available for small projects, what he termed “Home improvement,” are no longer available for use.
Hence the capital levy.
Former Medical Lake school principal Russ Brown took to the microphone after Ames and told the council that in 34 years voters only once said no in a levy vote.
Then it was on to the regular business, which included approval of Maike to the position as a member on the Spokane Transit Authority’s Small Cities Board, with Councilmember John Paikuli serving as alternate. She replaced former Mayor, John Higgins.
The notion of a having a revolving member was suggested, primarily because of the busy schedules outside of government of council members, but City Administrator Doug Ross said that would not be legal because the position votes on matters.
The position of Mayor Pro-Tem, the person who would run council meetings in Maike’s absence, went to Laura Parsons.
Council and others in the chamber were brought up to date on new state policies involving the latest bump in the minimum wage to $11.50 per hour (up from $11 in 2017), plus the introduction of paid sick leave, both approved by voters with Initiative 1433 in the 2016 general election.
Ross informed council that this change will require rewriting city personnel rules to reflect the law which authorizes an employee to earn one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked. Part-time and seasonal workers will also be covered, but on a pro-rated basis.
Along with new faces on council, each member now has an official city email address and will no longer use personal accounts for city business. Councilwoman Jessica Roberts reminded members that all correspondence are public records, one of the reasons originally cited for instituting the new measures.
The addresses can be found on the city’s website and are generic to each member. For instance, Maike can be reached at mayor@medical-lake.org or council members by position — councilmember1@medical-lake.org (John Paikuli). Hint: you’ll have to learn who is in which position.
City attorney Cindy McMullen cautioned members not to delete any emails as they can be part of public records requests. But to keep “In Boxes” neat and clean, she suggested use of an archive file. Should emails be deleted they do remain of city servers which are also backed up.
The council also learned of a new cost formula reimbursement instituted by the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office which provides policing services to Medical Lake. Ross said he received a letter noting the changes, but nothing changes as the city just signed a contract that takes it through 2018.
Council will study the issue further, including the potential of hosting a public meeting — or meetings — to discuss the future of the contract, or other options such as reestablishing a city-provided police department.
Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.
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