Olympia Finance Committee Meeting – February 24, 2026
Olympia Finance Committee Meeting – February 24, 2026
The Olympia Finance Committee met on February 24, 2026, at 4:30 PM to discuss the Fire Department's capital facilities plan, a quarterly budget spotlight, and proposed updates to the city's investment policy. The committee voted unanimously to forward an updated investment policy to the full City Council.
Consent Calendar
- The agenda was approved.
- Minutes from the November 19, 2025 special meeting and the January 26, 2026 regular meeting were approved.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Michelle Ryder, a noxious weed inspector, urged the City Council to adopt an ethical investment policy. She stressed the moral imperative of aligning public funds with human rights and environmental protection, citing examples from Portland, ME; Alameda County; and St. Louis. She asked Olympia to avoid investing in fossil fuels, tobacco, immigrant detention, mass incarceration, and weapons.
Discussion Items
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6A: Olympia Fire Department Capital Facilities Plan Funding Discussion
- Fire Chief Matt Morris and Fleet Operations Supervisor Adam Cummings presented the department's capital needs. The fleet's average age is 21 years, with two engines on order (delivery expected by end of 2028) and a need for two more apparatus (third and fourth engines). The department currently budgets about $500,000 annually toward engine payments, but an additional $500,000/year would be needed to order the next two. Fire stations are aging: Station 2 (west side) requires relocation or major modernization due to location, capacity, and slow response times; Station 3 lacks sprinklers and has a residential electrical system. Other needs include battalion chief apparatus, SCBA replacements (seven-figure cost within 2–5 years), and facility upgrades like station alerting and exhaust extraction systems. The discussion was informational, and the City Manager noted it will continue at the Council's March study session.
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6B: Budget Spotlight: Quarterly Report Items
- Senior Budget and Finance Manager Joan Lutz outlined the quarterly financial early-warning system used by the City Manager. Key expense items tracked: Nisqually jail costs (budget increased by $900,000 for 2026), Municipal Court contract costs (new contract with Thurston County), public safety overtime (driven by staffing shortages and minimums), and worker's compensation legacy claims. Revenue items: sales tax performance, B&O tax collection after rate changes, Basic Life Support reimbursement, building permit fees (development fee fund currently below 85% cost recovery, with $1.3 million general fund support allocated), and housing sales tax. The City Manager explained that tracking these items led to the 2025 spending freeze and will inform the 2027 budget.
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6C: Approval of City Investment Policy Update Recommendation
- Mitch Henke of Government Portfolio Advisors presented two proposed changes to the City Investment Policy: (1) an ethical investment statement to elevate ESG criteria for corporate bonds, and (2) an increase in the total portfolio weighted average maturity from 2.0 to 2.5 years to allow better alignment with the benchmark during low-cash periods. Currently, the city holds only two corporate bonds (Apple and Walmart, totaling $2 million, maturing July 2026 and August 2027). The change will have minimal impact on earnings. Portfolio value as of January 2026 was $162.8 million, with an average maturity of 1.77 years.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to approve the draft City Investment Policy update recommendation and forward to the full City Council for consideration passed unanimously (3–0: Chair Gilman, Committee member Green, Committee member Vanderpool).
- The Fire Department discussion was completed with no formal action; the conversation will continue at the March 2026 Council study session.
- The budget spotlight discussion was informational.
- Finance Director Mike Githens reported that a recent Department of Revenue audit of city sales tax collection was helpful in guiding staff on state changes; some minor corrections were found, but the audit was productive.
Meeting Transcript
February 23rd, which means it's time for the finance committee council. It's 4 30. It's the 23rd of February, and it's time for the Finance Committee of the Olympia City Council. Call the meeting to order at 4 30 and a roll call. We have Councilmember Kelly Green, myself, Clark Gilman, and Councilmember Robert Vanderpool is excused and hoping to get out of his conflicting meeting in time to join us for the latter part of this meeting. Have you had a chance to consider the agenda proposed for tonight? I've considered it so much that it would be my honor to move to approve it. Great. And I will second that. All in favor. Aye. All right. We have an agenda. And that brings us to public comment. We we have at least one public commenter in person. Do we have any online public commenters this evening? No one online. All right. So, Michelle, if you'd like to come up by the cheese, either the lecture nor the tables fine. That's okay. There you go. So does that mean I have like a half an hour from my public comment since no one else is here? I'm joking. I have two minutes. Yes, that'd be great. Hello. My name is Michelle Ryder, and I'm a weed inspector. No, not that kind of weed. I inspect Pierce County for noxious plants like poison hemlock to keep our community safe. And I am here to support City Council adopting an ethical investment policy. I live in our wonderful city and I value human life in the planet. I know you do too. Considering the state of our world and the direction our country is headed, there is no better time than now to align public funds with human rights and protecting our planet. Socially conscious investing and spending is not just a growing trend, but a moral imperative. I don't want our money damaging the planet, driving severe human rights abuses, harming workers, and deepening injustice at home and abroad. I want to see our city be part of the solution by being socially and environmentally conscious about where we put our money. I would love to see Olympia join cities and counties across the U.S. from Portland, Maine to Alameda County to St. Louis, who have all committed to ethical investment. I'm excited to be up here, optimistic even, knowing that Olympia has the potential to take positive, life-affirming action by declining to favor investments in harmful industries such as fossil fuels, tobacco, immigrant detention, mass incarceration, and weaponry of all kinds, thus moving American dollars away from collective harm and returning power to us ordinary people. If we change the way we do things, the world that we worry about every day will also change. Change brings opportunities and opportunities and alternatives rooted in concern for others are what will pull us out of today's moral morass and help us keep our promise to younger generations that they can look forward to a sustainable, equitable, and flourishing future. We can do this. Thank you. Thank you for your comment, Michelle. Is there anybody else who'd like to make public comment this evening? I'm looking at Bill Dole who just arrived, and he said no. Okay. All right. And nobody online.
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