Edmonds City Council members and staff spent their Sept. 12 mid‑biennial budget retreat reviewing a staff‑draft budget amendment and a proposed $14.5 million levy lid lift that would be split among police, parks, streets/sidewalks, planning and facilities.

City consultant Mike Bailey framed the session as a required review of the city’s biennial budget and said the work performed at the retreat would feed a formal ordinance. “The result of your work will be a budget amendment,” Bailey said. “Won't Will be a new budget because you already have a budget. It's a 2 year budget.”

Why it matters: the council is being asked to set policy on how additional levy revenue would be allocated and to weigh those choices against current projections that show some non‑property revenues, notably sales tax, coming in below the levels used to adopt the current biennial budget.

Staff proposal and priorities

Todd (city staff member) and other department presenters described how staff would allocate the additional $14.5 million levy. Staff said the package assumes $6 million already included in the base and adds roughly $8.5 million in new levy revenue. Staff presented the allocation at a policy level; final line‑item decisions would come through the mayor’s mid‑biennial budget amendment and the legislative process that follows.

The staff allocation shown to council apportions the draft 14.5 million roughly as follows:
- Police/public safety: ~43% (about $6.2 million of the $14.5M package), focused on patrol capacity, investigators, traffic enforcement, support staff and a dedicated emergency manager. Presenters said added officers and support would reduce mandatory overtime and increase the department’s ability to participate in regional task forces.
- Parks and recreation: ~21% (about $3.0 million), targeted at restoring maintenance staffing, irrigation and restroom service levels, deferred‑maintenance project management, environmental stewardship positions and operations at the Francis Anderson Center and Yost Pool.
- Streets and sidewalks (public works): ~14% (about $2.0 million), earmarked to restore pavement overlays, ADA ramps and a concrete/sidewalk crew that had been cut.
- Planning and economic development: smaller share for restoring staff levels, housing‑action work and an economic development program manager to support long‑term planning.
- Building/facilities: about $1.2 million in levy support for custodial services, building maintenance and oversight of aging systems.

Staff emphasized the presentation was a policy discussion, not a final package. “We are hoping to stay at the policy level,” Todd said. The mayor and staff invited input from the council and the public on how to adjust both the proportions and the program content before the formal mid‑biennial ordinance is drafted.

How staff say the city achieved prior savings

Council members heard a staff summary of about $8 million of savings and one‑time actions already taken to rebalance the budget, which staff said came from five approaches: staffing changes, program reductions, delayed purchases, other departmental spending reductions and asset sales/sharing.

The mayor (presenter) told the council the staffing reductions and related personnel actions accounted for the largest share — roughly $7 million — and affected about 130 individual positions in various ways (eliminations, unfundings, furloughs and delayed fills). Other program and purchase savings itemized in the briefing included an $87,000 reduction from program eliminations, $620,000 of delayed or canceled equipment purchases and about $479,000 from vehicle and equipment sales and regional service collaborations. Staff characterized the $8 million as the combined effect of those steps.

Revenue outlook and near‑term risk

Richard (finance staff) led a presentation of preliminary 2025 projections and the near‑term revenue outlook. He told the council staff are taking a conservative approach after reviewing seven months of activity and other indicators. “Sales taxes are looking at about $900,000. They're gonna come in lower than we budgeted this year,” Richard said, adding that red‑light camera and other charges were also expected to come in below the originally adopted budget.

As a result of the revenue and expenditure updates, staff’s current projection for the city’s 2025 year‑end general fund position is a fund balance near $3.0 million on a preliminary basis, after the adjustments shown at the retreat. Staff cautioned those numbers could change before the formal budget amendment, and they said they’ll continue monthly reporting to council as the year progresses.

Formal steps and other fiscal tools

Council members were reminded of the formal steps required by state law and local policy. Bailey noted state law requires a mid‑biennial review following adoption of a binding biennial budget and that the council’s action on any changes will come as an ordinance amending the adopted biennium. Staff also said the city recently adopted a public safety sales tax ordinance (PSST) by council action in August; Todd said that ordinance was adopted Aug. 19 and became effective Aug. 27 and that staff are preparing to route PSST receipts to criminal‑justice purposes as required.

Other fiscal options raised during the retreat included a staff review of a possible municipal business (B&O) tax. Staff told council the B&O option requires detailed outreach and revenue modeling because state reporting does not directly show how much business occurs inside a single city; staff said accurate revenue estimates would require more data and outreach before any proposal could be placed before council or voters.

What council did and next steps

No final budget amendment or levy decision was adopted at the retreat. The retreat produced policy direction for staff work: finalize assumptions and scenario packages, complete outreach and prepare a mayoral mid‑biennial budget update by the end of September, then proceed through the formal ordinance, public hearing and adoption process.

Staff said the mid‑biennial ordinance will be drafted to amend the existing two‑year budget rather than replace it; Bailey reminded the council, “you can always amend the budget again” as circumstances change.

Council members asked staff for additional detail ahead of the formal amendment — specifically: clearer before/after comparisons showing what would be funded at the existing $6 million levy piece versus the additional $8.5 million, more precise estimates of revenue offsets tied to restored programs (parking enforcement, recreation fees), and outcomes/metrics that would let the council track whether added positions and programs achieve the intended results. Several council members asked staff to include risk and claims information from the city’s insurer to help prioritize capital and sidewalk work.

The council directed staff to return with more detailed decision packages, clearer revenue offsets where they exist, and suggestions for near‑term actions that could be scaled if the levy measure receives less than the full proposed amount.

Ending note

Staff stressed the projection work is preliminary and that the mid‑biennial amendment process will include additional public hearings and an ordinance council must adopt to change appropriations. Councilmembers and staff said they would continue the policy discussion and refine package details before the formal mid‑biennial ordinance is introduced to the council.