Committee forwards a set of small grants and the May financial report, flags rising electricity and contingency questions

The Federal Way committee forwarded several small grants and routine finance items to the July consent agenda and discussed emerging budget pressures.

Grants and courtrooms: The committee accepted a $30,000 State Office of Public Defense SPAR grant for public-defense-related costs and a $25,000 one-time innovation grant to build private attorney-client meeting rooms in Courtrooms 1 and 2. Staff said the courtroom rooms can be constructed mostly using in-house resources to keep costs within the grant amount; the project will avoid major HVAC or sprinkler upgrades by keeping partitions short of the ceiling.

Vouchers and monthly report: Finance staff presented the voucher register and accounts-payable summary. The presentation noted three large construction draws (an asphalt project, equipment for the maintenance facility and the O&M contractor) and said the city’s total cash balance had inched up slightly in recent months. Sales tax receipts for the four-month period were up about 7% over prior year (staff cautioned the figure arrives with a two-month lag). Finance also reported unrestricted utility tax favorable to budget and said property-tax timing is normal; staff did not yet have a year-over-year electricity comparison but said they will follow up.

Council concerns: Paul McDaniel asked for better transparency on vouchers (e.g., what $529,000 for 9-1-1 covers) and questioned vehicle purchases. Council members raised that 9-1-1 and public-defense voucher rows merit follow-up; finance staff agreed to provide additional detail when bandwidth allows. Council discussed streamlining a utility tax rebate program after seeing only eight applicants this year.

Votes: Motions to forward the vouchers and to forward the May 2026 financial report to the July 7 consent agenda passed unanimously.