Finance staff review FY25 line items as postage, software and part‑time social‑services coverage draw scrutiny

Michael Jones opened the afternoon administrative budget hearing and emphasized that there would be no public comment and no votes in this session. "Just a reminder, these are administrative hearings. There will be no public comment in these hearings. There is no decisions, no votes," he said.

Christy, the finance office lead, walked the group through the finance budget line by line, saying the office did not propose changes to salaries but asked the council and mayor to determine any cost‑of‑living adjustment. She asked the committee to increase the postage line from last year’s $600 budget to $1,000 because spending has already reached about $800 and she expects postage rates to rise: "I'm requesting 1000 dollars for that." She recommended keeping printing and binding at $300 and reducing miscellaneous to $100.

Christy put the office supplies line at $3,000, noting that most of the cost is printer ink and routine printing of checks and payroll reports. She also requested $400 for conference attendance and described plans for two $50 webinars to support staff continuing education.

On technology costs, Christy told members that the finance office had already received an invoice for a data‑processing/software item and proposed charging $9,250 to the finance budget. She and other staff also noted that the tax software and some billing functions are split between the tax collector’s office and finance; county billing arrangements have changed in recent years and some software services are now provided by the county, though outsourcing may still be required for specific tasks.

Discussion of tax‑collector lines included a training grant that covered a staff member’s coursework (leaving previously budgeted training funds unused) and plans to move some dues and training charges into the finance budget. Committee members asked staff to provide exact invoices and to follow up on a pending Edmonds/admin software invoice.

The group also discussed a small capital request for the shared finance/tax office: staff described cramped office conditions (one employee working at a card table when others are present) and requested estimates for new furniture or lateral filing cabinets to improve workspace ergonomics.

Richard Clark identified himself on arrival as "Richard Clark, Senior Tax Assessor, City of Miami Drive," and reviewed assessor budget items. He said his office expects no major personnel changes, that postage costs had been higher than budgeted in prior months, and that a previously requested printer remained outstanding as a capital item.

Members discussed public‑assistance funding and a proposed short extension for the social‑services director. Staff said public assistance would be minimal for the coming year; the council discussed extending the director’s retirement through March with a proposed 16‑hour (two days per week) schedule for three months to maintain a part‑time presence in city hall while transition plans are evaluated.

No motions or final decisions were made during the session; members flagged several items for follow‑up, requested invoices and estimates for software and capital requests, and agreed to revisit some lines when additional documentation is available. The session adjourned after the assessor finished his review.

Quotes used in this article are taken verbatim from the hearing transcript and are attributed to named speakers where the transcript provides names or self‑identification.