Good morning.

We are calling this special meeting of the Edmund City Council to order.

We aren't going to start our business till 8 45, so we will mute audio and uh close the camera until 845.

See you then.

All right, welcome back.

Uh we did call the meeting to order.

This is the May 30th special meeting for the Edmonds City Council.

It is a budget retreat.

Um Richard and Todd, who would normally be here are not Richard is on personal leave, and Todd had hoped to be here, but had an unexpected need to also be on personal leave and to send his regret.

Mike Cluxton is participating remotely.

You can see him in the square in the middle.

Um there to remind us that he is there.

Uh there are breaks scheduled uh throughout the meeting, but should you need a personal break, please take it.

Um please can leave your blood sugar up.

Um these retreats tend to be more casual.

So please take advantage of it.

Uh for those participating remotely when we do take breaks, we will announce the duration of it, and then we will um cut the camera and the audio during those levels, but we will announce the duration time.

We'll also use as we have in the past the name tags if people want to talk, and I apologize in advance that some of you are really fast and I don't necessarily always get the order right.

Um, but I'll I'll best uh so with that.

I think we're gonna get started and um open comments from council president.

Thank you.

Everybody hear me okay.

Good morning, everyone.

Thank you all for being here and giving up your Saturday.

Um I really appreciate time and attention you're giving to this conversation today, because the budget is one of the most important things we do as council.

It's how we turn our priorities and our community's priorities into action, and it reflects the kind of city we want to be now and in the years ahead for the people we serve.

We're here today because this is the beginning of that process for our 2027-2028 biennial budget.

Before we get into the details, this retreat gives us a chance to step back, look at the bigger picture, and talk honestly about what matters most.

It's a chance to lean into the council priorities we set earlier this year, talk through the challenges ahead, and give staff clear direction as they prepare the proposed budget.

As council, our role is to provide leadership and set policy direction.

We help by listening, defining our community's priorities, asking the right questions, weighing the trade-offs, and ultimately approving a budget that reflects both our values and our responsibility to the public.

So they are foundational to our success.

It's about the services people rely on, the investments we make for the future, and the decisions that shape how the city functions every day.

So today I'm looking forward to a grounded, productive conversation about what we want to protect, where we may need to adjust and innovate, and what direction we want to give staff as we move into the formal budget process.

It's part of the broader work we began earlier this year to help guide us into the next two years and beyond.

There will be more layers to this conversation, including the Baker Tilly parallel track, which will come together with this process later this year and into next year.

Today is really the beginning of mapping out a plan for now and for the future.

One of my priorities as council president this year is to establish a budget calendar earlier in the year so we can move through the year with a clearer and less active plan.

That gives us space to make thoughtful decisions along the way rather than letting hard choices pile up at the end when there is little time to fully consider them.

It also gives our community a better opportunity to be a partner in these conversations and decisions because they know the schedule and can engage as priorities are being shaped throughout the year, not just at the end of the process.

My hope is that we leave this retreat with a shared understanding of our priorities, a clear sense of the financial landscape, and a strong foundation for the months ahead.

If we do that well, we'll be better prepared to make thoughtful decisions and serve our community well.

Thank you.

I'm gonna go up there because I will be using sharing our screen.

Using you as the test, can you see that on your screen?

Perfect.

So welcome.

Um and see screens.

So this is the agenda.

We've got the first two items already done.

Um we're gonna talk the first thing.

Um I'll talk about these first four things.

Um of these were uh, as I shared what Todd had originally been slated to do.

Um, but uh we're gonna talk a bit about the budget foundation, uh, you know, on which everything else is built, then about how are we going to go about starting our path and creating that vision, then what do we how do we go about counting and what do we count to make sure that we're gonna get from hitherto yon um before it's too late?

Uh as I we've got, as I mentioned, these breaks built in.

Then the budget, as we've done in the past, there are all these assumptions that we make in the budget.

So sales tax, right?

Um, we have to pick a number for that.

So all of all of these assumptions we're going to put in front of you as well.

And then in the past, the city has suffered, I believe, from being um optimistic in terms of saying, yeah, you know, costs won't go up that much, or we aren't going to spend that much.