Council narrows 'public dollars for public benefit' ordinance and approves amendment 4-2

Council considered ordinance C36723, described in the agenda review as the "public dollars for public benefit" community workforce agreement. Council member Dylan moved an amendment that narrows the ordinance’s scope and reduces prescriptive language.

The adopted amendment deletes a section that staff and the city legal memo said exceeded the city’s authority over parks and libraries and replaces it with nonbinding language encouraging parks and library boards to consider the framework. The amendment also removes much of the prescriptive language about project labor agreements and reframes the policy to focus on a community workforce agreement as the framework. Staff said the changes respond to legal advice and stakeholder feedback from human resources and the Association of General Contractors, and they clarified how the ordinance would work alongside the city’s "ban the address" policy when discussing hiring preferences in distressed ZIP codes.

Council member Cathcart noted that the state has "in effect an active executive order that outlines ... the ways that they would go about a community workforce agreement," saying state action can supersede local code. Staff and council discussed that the proposed ordinance would apply to city public-works projects and that it would be an encouraging, nonbinding framework for other advisory boards (parks, libraries) rather than a mandatory local code applied to those entities.

The Dylan amendment was moved, seconded, and approved by a recorded voice vote of 4 to 2. Council then approved an updated draft agenda reflecting the amendment. The transcript records the amendment passing and the updated agenda approved during the agenda-review meeting. The council did not adopt final ordinance text at this session; the change adopted was an amendment to the draft that will appear on the legislative agenda when posted.