Committee Report - Finance - 2-8-22 — File 213078

Finance Committee Page 1 of 12 Printed 2/10/2022 February 8, 2022 REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Jake Wilson Chair Present Jefferson Thomas ("J.T.") Scott Vice Chair Present Beatriz GomezMouakad Ward Five City Councilor Present Judy PinedaNeufeld Ward Seven City Councilor Present Charlotte Kelly City Councilor At Large Present Others present: Aneesh Sahni - Mayor’s Office, Christopher Major - Fire Department, Edward Bean - Auditing, Michael Mastrobuoni - Auditing, Alan Inacio - OSPCD, Erik Larson - Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE), Brad Rawson - OSPCD, Justin Kates - Mayor’s Office, Tom Galligani - OSPCD, Charles Femino - SPD, Julie McKenzie - Law Office, Stephanie Widzowski -Assistant Clerk of Committees. This meeting was held via GoToWebinar and was called to order by Chair Wilson at 6:30 pm and adjourned at 9:21 pm. Approval of the January 25, 2022 Minutes Accepted by a unanimous roll call vote. RESULT: ACCEPTED 212883: Requesting the appropriation of $808,639 from the Salary and Wage Stabilization Fund to the Police Department Personal Services, Other Lump Sum Benefits Account to fund retroactive payments for a collective bargaining agreement between the City of Somerville and the Somerville Police Superior Officers Association. This item was kept in committee from the January 25th meeting so that the Committee could hear more details from the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Mr. Sahni explained that for items 212883 and 212884, the Administration is requesting approval of these funds. Last session, the Council approved the initial funding of the settlement. Councilor Kelly noted that the MOU made references to hazardous duty pay and pay increases for the usage of body-worn cameras. She asked if other CBAs in the city have hazardous pay

Finance Committee Page 2 of 12 Printed 2/10/2022 contracts or pay increase for similar technology. Ms. McKenzie replied that the fire suppression contract does have a hazardous duty stipend. With regards to technology, when negotiating agreements, the goal is to look holistically at the costs of all of the city’s proposals. The police union typically looks for funding in various forms, such as stipends, the same with this case. It was expressed as a 2% increase in pay for these superior officers. In 2018 and 2019, all SMEA (Somerville Municipal Employee Association) cases had very broad technology implementation language in their CBAs. Councilor Kelly said that it would be helpful for future cases to have access to those CBAs to become familiar with similar language around implementation. She asked if the Administration was able to determine if there were other perfect attendance bonuses, to which Ms. McKenzie answered that there were in fire suppression and police dispatch, among others. Perfect attendance bonus is a fairly typical stipend. Other than first responder divisions, Ms. McKenzie said she thought that SMEA has one. Councilor Kelly drew attention to the provision for stress support in one of the CBAs, asking if other city departments had similar provisions. Ms. McKenzie said she was unsure. Wellness has come up in the firefighters’ contract - in that case, the city agreed to compensate employees if they participated in peer support trainings. She acknowledged that there are a variety of hard jobs across city departments, but because of their differences it is difficult to come up with one wellness standard. Councilor Kelly commented that people sometimes deal with traumatizing situations at work, and COVID has added to the stress. She stressed the importance of discussing wellness for every department. Councilor Scott asked if the bonus payment for body-worn cameras is added to the officers’ base salary or if it is dependent upon implementation, to which Ms. McKenzie answered that it is dependent. The payment does not start until body cameras are implemented. It is not part of the cost requested in this item because it has not been implemented yet. Councilor Scott asked for clarification on language in the agreement. He asked if 10% of officers were wearing cameras, or only wearing them one day a week, if that would result in a 2% pay increase for the whole unit. Ms. McKenzie answered yes. Councilor Scott asked if the use of body-worn cameras would have to be approved by the City Council as surveillance technology; Ms. McKenzie did not know. He said that funding to obtain cameras could come from a grant and would count as a separate purchase. He said he would look back at the Surveillance Ordinance for guidance. Chair Wilson emphasized that public safety around this technology has come up before. Councilor Kelly commented that in the Technology Annual Report, the SPD submitted other kinds of surveillance technology, but she does not want to assume that body cameras would also be included. Mr. Sahni asked the Committee to keep questions directed to Ms. McKenzie, who is prepared to speak to the CBAs but not necessarily to items not on the agenda. Councilor Scott asked if this item was just to adjust the salary of the officers and not to implement the 2% pay increase for usage of body cameras. Ms. McKenzie answered that it was to make corrections to the previous fiscal year.

Finance Committee Page 3 of 12 Printed 2/10/2022 Councilor Gomez Mouakad noted that there will surely be more MOAs in the future, and asked what would happen if the funding for this agreement is not approved. Ms. McKenzie said she would be happy to discuss the risks and liabilities, but it would be more appropriate for an Executive Session because it discusses the city’s legal issues. Councilor Scott said that this legal agreement is signed between the Mayor and the union, and that one potential consequence is that the city might pull from other funds to pay it. This request already addresses out of date contracts. Councilor Kelly asked if a $1 million payout from the Wage Stabilization Fund is typical, to which Mr. Bean answered yes. The salary wage stabilization is for future years. Currently, the balance is $3 million Councilor Kelly noted that almost a third of the Salary Wage Stabilization fund is being appropriated for this case. RESULT: APPROVED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Wilson, Scott, GomezMouakad, PinedaNeufeld, Kelly 212884: Requesting the appropriation of $174,882 from the Salary Contingency Account to the Police Department Personal Services Accounts to fund a collective bargaining agreement between the City of Somerville and the Somerville Police Superior Officers Association. This item was discussed with the item above (212883). RESULT: APPROVED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Wilson, Scott, GomezMouakad, PinedaNeufeld, Kelly 212896: Requesting acceptance of, and approval to expend, a $25,600 grant with no new match required, from MEMA/FEMA's Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) for the purchase of 911 Center planning consultant services. Mr. Kates explained that both the SPD operation staffing analysis and this 911 study are complimentary. The SPD’s analysis will look at interactions between SPD officers and SPD E- 911 operators. The 911 study will look at existing conditions between SPD E-911 alarm operators, fire alarm operators, and first responders to integrate the teams into a single building. Approval of this grant will start the process to request proposals for consultants, examine current workflows, and identify opportunities for changes to plans for a public safety building. Councilor Pineda-Neufeld asked about the current timeline, to which Mr. Kates said they are looking at an end point of August or September. The rise of COVID caused delays, but now their team should be able to get the RFP within a few weeks. Councilor Pineda-Neufeld asked if the $25,600 requested is a piece of the consultant fee or if it covers the entire project. Mr. Kates said he is not sure. They are trying to create a scope of services appropriate for the grant. So far, he has developed a list that is beyond what the budget would allow for. They are looking for creative vendors who can work this problem while leveraging other funding. They

Finance Committee Page 4 of 12 Printed 2/10/2022 might be able to achieve this with an institution of higher learning, for example: the Harvard Kennedy School. Councilor Scott affirmed the streamlining process, and asked if dispatch services are not co- located with the police response, then is it the intention to have city council involvement in those conversations? Mr. Kates said that this RFP is being proposed with integration as an option, but there is no guarantee that new building will be at the planned location. Mr. Kates’ team is looking at existing facilities that may be compatible. They are also identifying stakeholders - the Council would likely fall into that category. He said there would be an opportunity to provide feedback. Councilor Scott expressed his appreciation for the prospect to collaborate, and commented that even though COVID cases are falling, COVID is still rampant, and thirteen residents died of complications recently. Councilor Kelly wanted to discuss the consolidation of EMS call centers in light of alternatives to public safety. She asked if this new plan will look at expanding health/human services and other alternatives. Mr. Kates answered with an emphatic yes. They are developing a learning agenda - types of information that they want to gather. When asking what efforts would play a part in integration of 911 within Somerville, there are both localized and national factors. They would like to work with the RSJ department and find a way to integrate with their studies. Nationally, a lot of work is being done on what resources can be deployed for a call. For example, 988 - which may not be provided by the city, but a nonprofit partner. Kates is involved with this and interested in incorporating it. Councilor Kelly said that grounding the RFP and expanding alternatives is critical, especially for budgeting. The more detailed the preliminary plan, the better the outcomes will be going forward. Chair Wilson expressed his agreement. RESULT: APPROVED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Wilson, Scott, GomezMouakad, PinedaNeufeld, Kelly 212897: Requesting acceptance of, and approval to expend, a $15,000 grant with no new match required, from MA Department of Energy Resources to the Office of Sustainability and Environment for conducting a feasibility study regarding adding battery backup systems to municipal owned buildings. Mr. Larson listed some benefits to battery backup systems: they have reduced carbon emissions, reduce stress on power grid, and increase resiliency through higher reliability. This feasibility study will evaluate if the technology will be a good fit for Somerville’s buildings. Councilor Kelly asked for a copy of the grant, and asked what kinds of buildings are in this study. Mr. Larson said schools and the City Hall are candidates. The most appropriate buildings for the study are ones with high peak demand. The buildings should also have robust electrical systems that do not require upgrades to be compatible with a battery backup. Councilor Kelly asked Mr. Larson to describe “high peak demand”. He replied that at certain times of day, the grid is under more demand - for example, air conditioning in the summer, or gas in the morning for heating. Power stations are built around what that peak is so the grid can

Finance Committee Page 5 of 12 Printed 2/10/2022 support all the need. If Somerville can decrease the usage at peak times, it puts less burden on the power stations so they can run more efficiently. Chair Wilson asked if there was any consideration for integration with rooftop solar. Mr. Larson answered that some of the most promising buildings for this project are ones that can accept solar panels or already have them. He said that batteries and solar panels work well together, something to investigate more in this study. Councilor Gomez Mouakad asked if batteries are lithium, to which Mr. Larson said he was not sure. Councilor Gomez Mouakad said she was part of a recent effort to install battery systems in Boston. She pointed out that lithium has fire hazards, and urged Mr. Larson and his team to consult relevant professionals on the study and implementation. RESULT: APPROVED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Wilson, Scott, GomezMouakad, PinedaNeufeld, Kelly 212935: Requesting approval to amend a contract with Design Consultants for an additional 2 years and $53,146.25, for final work related to the Beacon St. Roadway construction project. Mr. Rawson said this request is only to retroactively extend the timeframe of this project, and that the project budget will cover remaining funds if approved. They have completed all work on this project. They are requesting time extension for administrative tasks that were affected by the start of the pandemic. Councilor Scott asked if this grant would be paid out of the existing bond, to which Mr. Bean answered yes. RESULT: APPROVED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Wilson, Scott, GomezMouakad, PinedaNeufeld, Kelly 212888: Requesting approval to appropriate $591,442 from the Medical Marijuana Stabilization Fund for implementing related priorities. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 212889: Requesting approval to create the Assembly Square Off-Site Infrastructure Stabilization Fund and accept a payment to said Fund of $687,260 from the Alta Xmbly Development project, for off site infrastructure to support and enhance the surrounding neighborhoods. Mr. Inacio said the Alta Xmbly items are routine acceptance items. Mr. Galligani’s team is working to come up with standard development mitigation rates. The amount requested here is for the first three payments for the Alta Xmbly project, given when certain milestones are reached. Councilor Scott asked if this was part of the agreement in which the city forgives half Alta Xmbly’s obligations, to which Mr. Galligani answered yes. Councilor Scott asked if the forbearance of half of their obligations would affect the payment schedule. Mr. Galligani said

Finance Committee Page 6 of 12 Printed 2/10/2022 that the covenant signed with Xmbly development covers the entire 6-building program. In this project, the residential building is under construction, but it should open in a few months. After the developer signed, they sold off a portion of the site to BioMed Realty. The city worked out this RFP with the new owners. Mr. Galligani said that future payments will be less because of credits. RESULT: APPROVED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Wilson, Scott, GomezMouakad, PinedaNeufeld, Kelly 212890: Requesting approval to create the Assembly Square Public Realm and Area Improvements Stabilization Fund and accept a payment to said Fund of $549,808 from the Alta Xmbly Development project, to support and enhance the public realm in the surrounding neighborhoods. Discussed with item 212889. RESULT: APPROVED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Wilson, Scott, GomezMouakad, PinedaNeufeld, Kelly 212891: Requesting approval to create the Assembly Square Transit Area Improvements Stabilization Fund and accept a payment to said Fund of $103,089 from the Alta Xmbly Development project, for transit area improvements to support and enhance the surrounding neighborhoods. Discussed with item 212889. RESULT: APPROVED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Wilson, Scott, GomezMouakad, PinedaNeufeld, Kelly 212895: Requesting acceptance, and approval to expend, a $49,980 grant with no new match required, from MA Office of Public Safety and Security to the Police Department for traffic enforcement programs. Mr. Sahni noted that this grant does not require additional funds from the city. Mr. Femino said that this grant is from the Office of Grants and Research and is concerned with traffic safety. Its purpose is to reduce traffic casualties and accidents, and its main goal is high visibility enforcement. They are also interested in incorporating non-enforcement strategies to change driver behavior. Councilor Kelly noted that there are many opportunities within the grant to engage in bike and pedestrian safety, but called attention to a part that called for at least 3 traffic stops per hour. She cited evidence that Asian-American, Black, and Latinx drivers are more likely to be pulled over, and penalized more when they are. Not only is this a national issue, but a local one as well. When the city expands the role of traffic enforcement, it disparately affects non-white populations. She expressed her concerns that this traffic stop quota is attached to the funding requested here. She asked why is funding going solely to traffic enforcement instead of to a variety of approaches, including more equipment. Mr. Femino responded that this is the first year

Finance Committee Page 7 of 12 Printed 2/10/2022 where the grant money for bike, pedestrian, and vehicle traffic is combined. It used to be separate, about $10,000. Grant writers combined funds to a total of $50,000 so individual municipalities could strategize about their own priorities. He said that officers are doing enforcement, but their main goal is to educate the public on serious violations. Chair Wilson drew attention to item 9 in the grant application, which allowed for funding to be requested for Radar, LiDAR, and traffic data recorders. He asked if the SPD is trying to get funds for that equipment. Mr. Femino answered that they did not apply for equipment with this grant. They have radar, but he is unsure about whether they have LiDAR. They have two speed radar signs from prior grant years and did not ask for more. Councilor Kelly referred to the data on p. 3 and asked to discuss how many of those calls are connected to traffic enforcement. Mr. Femino said that they are not calls for service. Councilor Kelly asked about staffing shortages and crash data. Mr. Femino said if the Committee provided him a request for information, he will provide what they need. Councilor Kelly expressed concern with the increase in traffic stops, asking for the current average number of police stops per day and the demographic breakdowns. Mr. Femino said he would need to consult with the crime analyst. There is a box on each citation for race/ethnicity. Councilor Kelly noted that there is a provision to apply for funding from the state for bicycle safety items, including vests, and asked if there were any plans to provide public with bike safety items. Mr. Femino said that they had done so in past years, but not this one. This time, they opted to focus on enforcement with motorists - the ones that are creating hazardous conditions. Councilor Kelly said that Somerville grapples with role of police and the expansion of police. She is concerned with the notion that a grant with no match required requires a quota for traffic stops. She said that Somerville over-polices certain populations, and that there are clear statistics that Hispanic, Asian and Black residents are pulled over more often and face more severe charges. Councilor Gomez Mouakad asked if bike/pedestrian safety and enforcement referred to stopping pedestrians and cyclists for not following the rules of the road, to which Mr. Femino answered yes. Councilor Gomez Mouakad reiterated the need for statistics on which demographics are getting stopped. She said she wants to make sure the city is not adversely impacting a group in the process of creating safer streets. Mr. Femino replied that the topic came up last year, and statistics were provided. He said that many citations issued were not to residents of Somerville but those passing through. Councilor Scott echoed that it is distressing to see the entire amount requested for this item is tied to quotas. He said that on Monday, a 415-page report with Somerville data from a 10-month period was published. 1359 traffic stops were made. Even though the city has 6.2% population of Black/African-American residents, they made up over 17% of these traffic stops, and that is higher than the state average. He had concerns about backing a grant that explicitly creates those interactions when there is solid evidence that it negatively impacts certain groups. Given these implications, he said he does not see a vote in favor. Mr. Femino acknowledged the concerns. He said that Somerville is a major thoroughfare, and that these people passing through cause accidents and sometimes fatalities. He said the purpose of this item is not to penalize but to educate to reduce hazardous conditions. Officers pull

Finance Committee Page 8 of 12 Printed 2/10/2022 vehicles over for behavior, not ethnicity. The purpose of the grant is to reduce hazards to save lives. Councilor Scott cited data from the state that suggests Black drivers are 3x likely than their makeup of the population would suggest to be pulled over, and asked if Mr. Femino’s intent was to imply that Black drivers are pulled over more often because of their behavior. Mr. Femino said that was not his intention and reiterated that he believes it is purely based on behavior, with no influence from race or ethnicity. Mr. Sahni said that Mr. Femino stated his intention to work with RSJ and improve public safety, and that he is mindful of these concerns. He requested that the Committee consider that this grant may not address the deeply seated conversations about race in public policy. Chair Wilson said he thinks that the quota of traffic stops is relevant to this discussion. Councilor Kelly said it was the role of the Finance committee to have discussions about these issues. Residents are looking to have conversations about race and traffic stops, and this agenda has two items that will fund enforcement. She said she thinks that the data Councilor Scott is bringing up is very important, and that she hopes to continue these conversations when discussing financial matters. Councilor Gomez Mouakad said that speeding is a real issue, and that there is a culture in the US of not slowing down in a city. She also acknowledged that racial profiling is known to happen at stops. The city is looking to design streets better to slow down traffic, but cannot put speed humps in every corner, and cannot stop everyone who speeds. She said that in Holland, which is a very different situation, video cameras monitor speed. It is a difficult situation because the city wants to protect lives and not have people targeted. Vests and helmets are a great resource, but do not stop reckless drivers. They are about to implement 20 mph citywide, but will drivers from outside the city understand that? She stated that enforcement changes behavior temporarily. This is a complex issue and the Committee should be careful when citing statistics. She asked to look at statewide numbers. Councilor Pineda-Neufeld echoed Councilor Gomez Mouakad’s concerns, describing her efforts working on a grant to increase traffic safety along Route 16. The city should not wait until a fatality to act. Traffic studies take a long time. Constituents have brought up their concerns with speeding. Chair Wilson said that this conversation would not be necessary with automated enforcement. Councilor Scott said that he understands the concerns for speeding, and commented that enforcement is a bad way to improve speeding behavior. That said, this grant specifically calls for quotas. He said there is nothing that prevents the city from directing resources to problem areas without involving quotas. He moved to recommend against approval of this grant. Mr. Sahni asked for clarification that Councilors would vote on the motion to decline this item, and item that improves traffic safety. Councilor Scott interjected to the Chair to ask if city staff should be allowed to opine on Councilors’ motives. Councilor Kelly said she is not in opposition to safety for residents, or for residents moving with greater ease. She talked about how her mother was struck by a vehicle in Somerville a long time ago, and that she takes this seriously. She wanted to acknowledge that for the 17% of Black drivers who are pulled over here, whether or not they are a resident, the situation can be

Finance Committee Page 9 of 12 Printed 2/10/2022 traumatic. This item is not packaged as protection for residents. She said that they are looking at the strings attached to the item, and that there is no such thing as free money. Councilor Gomez Mouakad said she is wary of citing data without complete analysis, and that regardless of her vote, that she hopes the SPD gives data on who they are stopping so the Committee can understand if Somerville is being equitable. Mr. Femino expressed his appreciation for the comments and concerns. He said that the vast majority of recent stops all resulted in warnings, and that he sees those encounters as opportunities for education. Councilor Scott made a motion to recommend against approving this item. With three votes in favor of this motion and two against, the Committee decided not to recommend approval of this item to the Council. RESULT: NOT APPROVED. [2 TO 3] AYES: GomezMouakad, PinedaNeufeld NAYS: Wilson, Scott, Kelly 212998: Requesting acceptance of, and approval to expend, a $74,400 grant with no new match required, from the MA Office of Public Safety for Police Department staffing. Mr. Femino said that this grant allows municipalities to maintain emergency services. Last summer when there was an increase in gun activity, they issued more patrols in the Mystic development area. That is an example of a use for this kind of grant. Councilor Kelly asked Mr. Femino to speak to the need for overtime as a form of shift coverage, and said that previous versions of this grant mainly talked about GLX details. Mr. Femino said that there are many threads to this discussion that they may not have time for during this meeting. In the application, it lists 128 officers sworn in for FY22, but they actually only have 117 officers. If the shift runs short, the SPD has forced holdovers. Some overtime is funded through this grant, and the gun violence from last summer was an example. The Administration requested additional patrols through September because of the violence. Data for specific gun calls was produced during the last budget cycle, but Mr. Femino did not have them for the meeting. Councilor Kelly noted that the application focuses on traffic management and support for polling places, not gun violence. She asked about the reference to seven cars to be maintained on patrol. Mr. Femino said he thought that where it says the SPD union contract requires a minimum of 7 cars per shift, that it might be a mistake. He thinks that is not required, and that it calls to a practice going back 20 years. If it is a legal obligation, abruptly changing it might cause a legal issue. Councilor Kelly said that being a past practice does not mean it is required if it is not in the contract. Councilor Scott said that this is not a new grant; it is one the city routinely applies for. He asked if the grant is accepted, does the overtime budget pass into the line item in the general fund? Mr. Bean said that as special revenue, it is charged directly to the grant.

Finance Committee Page 10 of 12 Printed 2/10/2022 Councilor Scott said he will look at general fund documents and municipal reports to track spending, and clarified that this $74,000 would not appear in the EOY municipal report. Mr. Bean answered yes, but they can provide this information. Councilor Scott said that this grant constitutes a 7% increase in city’s allowance for overtime and asked if the city would accept such a wide margin to the city’s allowance based on one grant. Mr. Bean replied that they hope to save money for the overtime budget in charging to the grant and not the general fund. Mr. Femino said that the overtime is supplemental, and that in last year’s budget all the overtime was spent for training. This year, a considerable amount of overtime was used for forced holdovers and shift coverage for special incidents. He hopes the Council finds it appropriate to approve. Councilor Kelly asked about mutual aid. Mr. Femino explained that when there are shootings between agencies, it is considered a mutual aid assistance. Councilor Kelly said that the last budget cycle tells different tale from what Mr. Femino said about overtime and forced holdovers - that last year, overtime was down. Councilor Scott echoed these concerns. Last year, overtime was expected to be fairly low. This grant would be a routine vote in the past, but he is concerned this year with the 6.9% increase in overtime spending. Mr. Femino said he understands how the disparity between spending looks. A lot of the disparity had to do with backfilling. Last summer, officers in East Somerville maintained higher levels of patrols for 13-16 weeks, amassing a large amount of overtime that would normally not be spent. Also, training courses in this year’s budget not from last year also requires some overtime. RESULT: APPROVED. [3 TO 2] AYES: Wilson, GomezMouakad, PinedaNeufeld NAYS: Scott, Kelly 212999: Requesting acceptance of, and approval to expend, a $34,896.32 grant with no new match required, from the MA Executive Office of Public Safety & Security to the Fire Department for the purchase of portable radios. Mr. Major said that they use this grant each year to get equipment. Their current radios are at the end of life. They supplement their budget with grants like these to offset expensive costs. Councilor Kelly asked how frequently the Fire Department updates radios. Mr. Major answered that they replaced a majority of radios in 2018. This one is for the remainder that were purchased 15 years ago. RESULT: APPROVED. [UNANIMOUS] AYES: Wilson, Scott, GomezMouakad, PinedaNeufeld, Kelly 212846: Proposing an ordinance relative to a mid-fiscal year report of municipal finances, with next-fiscal year budget projections. Discussed together with item 213016.

Finance Committee Page 11 of 12 Printed 2/10/2022 Chair Wilson hopes to put together a consensus for the Council’s priorities on budgeting. Mr. Mastrobuoni said that he and Mr. Bean are prepared to make a mid-fiscal year report in March. For the City Council agenda this week, Councilor Ewen-Campen has been developing budget items for resolutions. Chair Wilson asked if that communication was geared towards individual Councilors’ priorities. He stated that his goals are more collective. Chair Wilson will ask all the other councilors to weigh in on Councilor Ewen-Campen’s priorities, and plan to schedule a Committee of the Whole meeting in March to discuss options. Councilor Kelly expressed a desire for more data. Every time the Council asks a department a question, it gets reported back to the Mayor. She acknowledged the amount of labor in these projects. Chair Wilson compared the process to coarse and fine sandpaper. Consensus does not need to wait for data what he is looking for is big-picture ideas. Once those larger goals fall into place, he will look to dive into the numbers and reality of the budget. Councilor Scott said it would be helpful to get a look at where the money has come from in past years and where it will go in the future. He asked if it was the goal to collect resolutions and discuss as one item, or present everything to the Mayor to decide on. Chair Wilson said the resolutions will be there if the Mayor wants to see individual priorities. Councilor Scott asked whether or not a consensus check could be made for these discussions. How do they interact with state law - something hard to change - or city council rules - something easier to change? He suggested following up with the Rules Committee and City Clerk. Chair Wilson added to consult the City Solicitor. His vision is ranked choice voting in a Committee of the Whole. Councilor Gomez Mouakad said that as they fill out the budget, they will see overlapping ideas. She wants to integrate them for the sake of the city staff. Councilor Pineda-Neufeld asked if the Committee should submit their ideas in the next couple of weeks to discuss with Committee of the Whole in March. Chair Wilson said he hopes to get them in by the City Council meeting on the 24th. He said he would email the Council to ask for resolutions before that meeting. Councilor Kelly said her understanding was that they would have until March for budget priorities. She wanted to talk more to constituents on their priorities, but recognizes the urgency in moving forward. Chair Wilson said that minute details can have more time. Mr. Mastrobuoni is working on drafting a schedule. The Mayor said that the first deadline was Apr 14th, and requested to stick to the April deadline. Councilor Pineda-Neufeld asked about the results of the ARPA survey. It may impact priorities for the Council. Mr. Sahni said he could provide that information. Chair Wilson said he envisions a two-track process: broad priorities in March, then specifics for April.

Finance Committee Page 12 of 12 Printed 2/10/2022 RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 213016: Conveying a request for City Council input on priorities for the Fiscal Year 2023 Budget. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE Reference Material: • Labor Counsel email & attachments (with 212883, 212884)