MEDICAL LAKE – Jessica Roberts announced her intentions to resign from city council at council's Nov. 3 meeting. Roberts is moving outside the municipality required for council members to live in after her family purchased property outside city limits.
She said she hopes to make her resignation official by Jan. 1, which would make council's Dec. 15 meeting her last. However, that timing is dependent on whether her current home sells in time or not.
Roberts has been involved with the city in various capacities since 2000. She began as a city employee when the millennium began and worked various roles, including jobs with the fire department, parks and recreation and court administration.
She stopped her work with the city in 2014, but wanted to stay involved, so in 2015 she ran for public office and was elected to council's seventh position.
"It'll be hard to walk away after being with the city for so many years," Roberts said. "We'll still be around; my kids are still in the school district. We're just moving outside the jurisdiction required for a council member."
Roberts' term end year was 2023. City attorney Kendal Froese said she would bring a memo to council's next meeting detailing a process for filling Roberts' position.
In finding a replacement, City Administrator Doug Ross said no more than three senior councilmembers can form an ad hoc committee to interview and screen councilmembers. Mayor Shirley Maike could help facilitate this process with approval or request of council.
All candidates can make an on-the-record statement of their qualifications at a city council meeting. Council then votes to fill the vacant seat, with Maike acting as a tiebreaking vote if a winner isn't clear after council's vote.
Ross said he doesn't expect the replacement process to begin until the new year.
Council hears 2021 preliminary budget
Council held its public hearing for the 2021 preliminary budget, which will be significantly less than the current budget. The current and proposed revenues and expenditures can be viewed in the above graphics.
"Most of that (reduction) has to do with the fact that we won't have the fire department or the EMS department," city administrator Doug Ross said. "(And), we made a $484,000 payment to Fire District No. 3 this year as part of your interim annexation agreement, so that dropped it down pretty significantly."
The street fund nearly doubled, which Ross said is because of grant funding the city received for sidewalk projects on Grace and Hallett roads.
"Our expenditures haven't doubled; I've just included the grant funding in there," Ross said.
He added that revenues are down this year.
"Not to where it's necessarily crushing us, but they are down, and they will be again next year," Ross said. "But still, I'm pretty happy with $820,000 as an ending balance."
Ross noted that the fund council would "have to watch" for the first time since he's been with the city is the water/sewer fund, because the city spent nearly $1 million for the watertie project, which is nearing completion, to provide an emergency water source from Spokane.
"We had enough cash in our fund to pay cash, we didn't have to get any loans for it," Ross said. "But...what I'm going to come to you next meeting with is a budget amendment. I'd like to take $300,000 out of our water/sewer improvement fund and transfer it into our water/sewer fund to help cover the cost of this project."
Such a motion would leave $700,000 in the water/sewer improvement fund.
Council also held its second reading for four ordinances, including setting the property tax levy for 2021, which if approved would be $1.60 per $1,000 assessed property value. Council approved to move the ordinance forward 5-2, with councilmembers Don Kennedy and A.J. Burton voting "nay."
The other ordinances, all of which moved forward unanimously, were to lower the EMS levy to $0.00, repeal the treasurer's suspense fund and repeal the fire equipment reserve fund.
Council next meets Nov. 17.
Drew Lawson can be reached at [email protected].
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