King County Governance Commission Meeting Minutes December 22, 2003

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DRAFT Meeting Summary
Meeting 20– December 22, 2003

Members:
Richard Bonewits
Richard Derham
Mark Endresen
Dave Gering
Steve Goldblatt
Arun Jhaveri
Sharon Maeda
Jim Montgomery
Bill Ptacek
Kathleen Royer
Steve Williamson

Consulting Team:
Berk & Associates, 206-324-8760
Bonnie Berk, President
Marty Wine, Senior Associate
Cherienne Tibbetts, Associate

Council Staff:
David deCourcy, Council Chief of Staff, 296-0343
Scott White, Council Staff, 296-0324
Gennevie Cook, Committee Assistant, 205-5079

The Commission on Governance meeting was called to order at 8:05 a.m., Southwest Tower, Harbor Steps Terrace Community Room, 1221 First Avenue, Seattle, Washington by Co-Chair Steve Goldblatt.

Commission members present: Richard Bonewits, Richard Derham, Dave Gering, Steve Goldblatt, Arun Jhaveri, Sharon Maeda, Jim Montgomery, Bill Ptacek, Kathleen Royer

Absent: Mark Endresen, Steve Williamson

Audience Members: Charlie Bush, City Manager’s Office, City of Bellevue; Anthony Hemstad, Suburban Cities Association, City of Maple Valley.

1. Welcome and Meeting Overview

2. Approval of December 4 Meeting Summary

Bill Ptacek moved, and Richard Bonewits seconded the approval of the December 4 meeting summary. The motion was unanimously approved.

3. Review, Discuss, Finalize Phase 2 Recommendations

Richard Derham contributed language changes to Phase 2 recommendations previously by e-mail. Substantive changes were made to the following sections: Intergovernmental Relations findings and recommendations; Employment Policy findings and recommendations; and Criminal Justice findings and recommendations. It was debated whether the Human Services findings and recommendations should be included as a separate section and the language was moved to the Criminal Justice sections.

Marty agreed to find out the status and membership of the Health Care Task Force and the annexation ruling at the state level. Some references to other jurisdictions' practices might be referenced as an appendix.

Bill Ptacek moved, and Dave Gering seconded the approval of moving the court consolidation language, with Commission changes, into Phase 2 recommendations. The motion was unanimously approved. Please see accompanying Phase 2 recommendation draft for language changes.

Initiate Phase 4 Governance Discussions

Bonnie Berk presented a proposed policy analysis framework to the Commission.
Policy Analysis Framework for Governance Tasks

Define the issue

Establish evaluation criteria (for example):

Legal feasibility
Political feasibility
Financial feasibility
Technical/operational feasibility
Social justice/equity
Community/societal benefits

Identify alternatives

Analyze alternatives, against criteria - discussion

Decide/choose best alternative

Tell story clearly

5. Review, Discuss, Finalize Phase 3 Recommendations

Wording changes to Phase 3 Recommendations were made. Please see accompanying Phase 3 recommendation draft. The group created a subcommittee to make final language changes to Phase 2 and 3 recommendations, to include Steve Goldblatt, Richard Derham and Sharon Maeda. The group will try to meet between December 22 and January 8 to develop language.

The Commission debated the unincorporated area utility tax and concluded:

The creation of the tax would divert attention from cost management/containment;

Would support a system that is not working and create a disincentive for cities to annex.

Although the Commission was not in favor of the tax, they agreed that King County should have some kind of revenue generating mechanism for unincorporated areas.

6. Next Steps

January 8 meeting: Confirm Phase 1-3 recommendations, begin Phase 4 (governance) recommendations, hear from speakers from the International City-County Management Associationon January 22 and plan public meeting for late January.

January 29 was the date chosen for the next public hearing which will be held in Seattle. A specific location is being researched.

7. Adjourn

The meeting was adjourned at 11:40 a.m.