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Council presses for clearer payroll breakdown after $68,678.74 warrant
Summary
Councilors approved the consent agenda but spent extended time pressing staff for a clearer payroll breakdown after a payroll warrant totaling $68,678.74 raised questions about unexplained deductions and an apparent $25,000 difference; the city attorney cited public-records exemptions for some payroll details.
Councilors approved the consent agenda (items a–d) but paused to question a payroll warrant dated Jan. 20, 2026 that listed a total of $68,678.74.
Council member Olivares pressed staff to show how the numbers added up, asking, "What happened to the other $25,000?" Finance staff explained that the larger figure includes employer- and employee-side federal withholding, Social Security and Medicare, child support and other withholdings, and that the paystub-format lines showing only gross wages appear different from the warrant total.
City attorney Drew cautioned that certain payroll-deduction details are exempt from public disclosure under state law, citing RCW 42.56.250 as a constraint on publishing employee deduction information in a public-facing document. Drew said the city cannot disclose payroll-deduction information if it is attributable to an individual employee and suggested an aggregated total might not be feasible with current systems.
Council members asked staff to explore whether the warrant or packet could show an aggregated "miscellaneous deductions" column that would reconcile totals while protecting exempt employee information. After the discussion, the council voted to approve the consent agenda by voice vote.
