Olympia Finance Committee Meeting - May 20, 2026
Olympia Finance Committee Meeting - May 20, 2026
Note: The meeting minutes and transcript indicate the meeting occurred on Monday, May 18, 2026. This summary uses the date provided in the task (May 20, 2026) as requested, noting the discrepancy with the source materials.
The Finance Committee of the Olympia City Council met from 4:31 PM to 6:09 PM to discuss the expenditure approval process, the 2027 budget process, preliminary 2025 year-end estimates, and a proposed new methodology for park impact fees. All three committee members were present: Chair Clark Gilman, Kelly Green, and Robert Vanderpool.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Agenda: Approved unanimously.
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the April 20, 2026 Finance Committee meeting were approved unanimously.
Discussion Items
6.A Budget Spotlight: Expenditure Approval Process
Finance Director Michael Githens presented a detailed overview of the city's expenditure approval process, including the paths invoices and payroll documents follow through internal controls (Workday system, departmental review, finance audit). He highlighted key checks: budget availability flags, payroll reconciliation, and fraud prevention measures. Committee members asked about discrepancy red flags and the balance between automated controls and human oversight. The discussion was informational with no action taken.
6.B 2027 Budget Process and Preparation Update
City Manager Jay Burney outlined significant process changes for the 2027 budget. Instead of a standalone Budget Review Team, the entire Executive Team will collaborate on enhancements and decision-making, aiming for better transparency and earlier involvement. Key dates: enhancements prioritization May 28, council study session June 9, final adoption December 8 and 15. Committee members asked about how priorities are chosen, funding availability, and handling late-emerging needs. Burney noted that all enhancement requests will be reviewed collectively and the full list will be presented to council.
6.C Preliminary 2025 Year-End Estimates Update
Senior Accounting and Budget Manager Joan Lutz presented preliminary 2025 year-end estimates (audit not yet complete). General Fund is estimated to end with $14.6 million balance, $2.49 million above the 10% reserve ($12.1 million). Pending items: carryover requests for first-quarter budget amendments totaling about $2.5 million, including $500,000 for purchase rehearsal. The 900 Plum Street transition costs are higher than initially projected due to increased material costs and tenant improvement assumptions; city staff noted that actual costs may come in lower. Committee members expressed concern about the change from the earlier net-zero projection for Plum Street and requested a full comparison when the issue goes to full council in June. Jay Burney added that leasing some OPD vehicles saved $400,000 this year.
6.D Parks Impact Fee Methodology
FCS Consulting President John Ghilarducci presented a new methodology for park impact fees, required by recent state law to scale fees by square footage (or bedrooms) to produce proportionally lower fees for smaller units. The proposed approach uses dwelling unit square footage at $3.92/sq ft, with a minimum fee of $3,187.93 (for units ≤813 sq ft) and a maximum of $13,720 (for units ≥3,500 sq ft). This is designed to be revenue-neutral compared to the current fee schedule ($6,995 for a single-family home). The committee discussed comparability with other cities, the definition of habitable square footage, and the vested rights for projects already in the pipeline.
Motion: Councilmember Green moved, seconded by Councilmember Vanderpool, to approve the recommended new park impact fee methodology and forward it to the full City Council. Motion carried 3-0.
Reports and Updates
Finance Director Githens reported that the state audit has officially started, including financial and federal grant audits, and a risk assessment call has been conducted. The quarterly financial report will be published monthly on the website and presented to the full council. The next study session on June 9 will focus on preliminary budget estimates and the enhancement picture.
Key Outcomes
- Approved New Park Impact Fee Methodology (vote 3-0) to be forwarded to full Council.
- Staff directed to prepare a detailed comparison of Plum Street transition cost projections vs. current estimates for the June council meeting.
- The committee received updates on the 2027 budget timeline and expenditure controls; no further action taken.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, we're we're good, we're live. Yes, we have good afternoon and welcome to the Monday, May 18th meeting of the Finance Committee of the Olympia City Council. We have one council member Green and myself, Councilmember Gilman here, and Councilmember Vanderpool will be joining us voluntarily. He's in another meeting upstairs. So the first item is to approve the agenda tonight. What do you think? I would move to approve the agenda as published. I'm gonna go ahead and second it. All in favor. Aye. Aye, all right. We've got an agenda. Is there any public comment seems to case? No, there's no one for public comment. Nobody signed up for public comments. Okay. We'll move on to the minutes from last month on the April 20th meeting. Move to approve yes. Second, all in favor. Aye, aye. Okay. That brings us to committee business. And I believe Joan was just gonna know. We're gonna give it up a bit. All right, finance director Michael Gibbons will talk to us about our budget spotlight on the expenditure approval process. Yes, thank you. So as um Chair Gilman and I were talking about some possible budget spotlights. This topic came um to light because I think we haven't talked about it much. And so this is how the documents really end up. What process the documents that end up on the council consent agenda go through that are related to finance. So PowerPoint for you, of course. Share screen green one on the bottom. Bottom in the center, right? Thank you so much. So well, Casey's bringing that up. I think one of the parts of this is I was talking with our accounts payable, which accounts payable is that division for for those maybe non-finance folks that pays the city's bills, so all of the invoices come that come through there, as well as our payroll accounts who also prepare one of the documents that go on the expenditure of the wall report is just the really careful process that all of these items have gone through before they end up there. And so this is my um presentation on really how that happens. So the first slide on the deck. Well, what are you approving? Is essentially what I've talked about. The accounts payable. Um we typically do a weekly check run for the city. Um when we say check run, that's um we print an amazing amount of paper checks or eyes, um, but we also have a number of um electronic fund transfers to some vendors that way they get their money immediately. Um and then, of course, the semi-monthly payroll and all the benefits that are related to that and the monthly five. So we'll talk about that if we care. Next slide. So accounts payable. I took you through the process here. I'll highlight it verbally just for those watching and in the audience. So invoices are received by finance.
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