LEOFF Disability Board Meeting – September 16, 2025
LEOFF Disability Board Meeting – September 16, 2025
The City of Puyallup LEOFF Disability Board convened on September 16, 2025, at 4:00 PM in Council Chambers. The board handled an election of officers, considered a member reimbursement claim, and approved previous meeting minutes. No public comments were received. The meeting adjourned at 4:24 PM.
Election of Chair and Vice Chair
- A key discussion centered on the term length for the Chair and Vice Chair. Staff clarified that city code (established in 2012) requires annual election of officers, superseding the board’s own 2011 rules that called for two-year terms. The board acknowledged that it had not elected officers in March 2025 as required.
- Councilmember Adler moved to affirm the current Chair (Curt Vandver) and Vice Chair (Chris Taylor) through the first Tuesday in March 2026. The motion was seconded and passed 5‑0.
- A separate motion was made and seconded to hold a meeting before the end of March 2026 for the purpose of electing new officers. That motion also passed unanimously.
Approval of Minutes
- The minutes of the March 18, 2025 meeting were considered. Councilmember Adler noted a typographical error in her name (corrected from “Alder” to “Adler”). With that correction, the minutes were approved unanimously (5‑0).
New Business – Claim Payment for LEOFF Member #32030
- Human Resources Coordinator Dayna Schaller presented a reimbursement request for a LEOFF member who needed an emergency dental crown and other dental work. The member had exceeded their annual dental benefit allowance, but the procedure was deemed medically necessary to prevent infection prior to an upcoming surgery. All required documentation was reviewed and found complete.
- A motion to approve the claim was made, seconded, and passed 4‑0 (Board Member Hillius abstained).
Public Comments
- No public comments were submitted by email or offered in person.
Staff Report / Board Member Comments
- Staff noted that the city attorney’s formal position on the officer‑term discrepancy is still under research and will be provided in writing before the next meeting. The board agreed to schedule a future briefing on the matter.
Key Outcomes
- Chair/Vice Chair affirmed for a term ending the first Tuesday in March 2026 (motion passed 5‑0).
- Future election meeting scheduled for a date before the end of March 2026 (motion passed 5‑0).
- Minutes of March 18, 2025 approved with a name correction (motion passed 5‑0).
- Claim reimbursement for Member #32030 approved (motion passed 4‑0, one abstention).
Meeting Transcript
Okay, I'll go ahead and call the city of Pial up Left Disability Board meeting for September to order. Uh first item on the chair on the first item on the agenda is the pledge of allegiance. If you join me the pledge of allegiance, hear the flag of the United States of America. And two three public for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Next we'll have the roll call of board members, Chair Kurt Vanderbert. Present. Vice Chair Ken Hillis. Present. There should be a correction on that. I'm not vice chair. I'm sorry, at large. At large, Ken Hillis, correct? And then Vice Chair Chris Taylor. Present. Councilmember Lauren Adler present. Councilmember Renee Gilliam present. Thank you. We have a quorum. Okay. The next item on the agenda is an election of a chair. And then does somebody want to explain, or we uh we according to the my what I'm reading, we aren't up for chair vote, but is this just going to be it to fill in until next January, or is this going to be for another full two years or a full year? Somebody needs to so there was a discrepancy between the left approved uh like rules, but the council in so the left rules were approved in 2011, and the council made a change in 2012, shortening the chair and vice chair elections to a one-year term. So while you are on the board for two years, the chair and vice chair terms are voted on annually at the first meeting uh of the year. So that is why um this is coming about was because we had not been following the city code appropriately. Okay, and you and I have had considerable conversations. I know that our rules that we wrote say that we're gonna have an election, the first meeting in January for a two-year period. And do you want us to are you asking us to change our rules so that the chair is for one year? And is this if we vote today, is that going to be we're gonna be voting again next September? So city code trumps the left boards, just our discussion of rules and regulations. So we are we are going off of what city council in 2012 has requested of us as a board. Um, and unfortunately, up until now that has not been put into place, and so we're just trying to be consistent across all boards and having that be in place for this board as well. So while um we are in compliance with the RCW that pertains to the less left disability board, we are not in compliance with the city code, and the city or the excuse me, the left disability RCW does not specifically state the length of the vice chair and the chair term. It only places you as a board member for two years. And I'm changing it, I don't have a problem. I'm just asking the question. Do you want to change it to so this is temporary until January of next year, or is this going to be a full year? So we're gonna be off because last time we did this, we've had this argument about four times now as to what rules, and we've always stayed with the two-year terms. So what I want to know is, and we changed the date of the appointments to January so that the people from the council that are sitting on the board could run for chair or vice chair if they so moved. So what I'm trying to get out of the city staff is do you want us to change our rules? Do you want us to vote for a full year till next year? What are you asking us to do? So the election per city code is the first meeting prior to March, I believe, annually. So we have until March of every year to elect a new chair or vice chair, if that's so what the board is wanting. Um so that is in compliance with the city code. Um and then just the rules and guidelines of the left board do not over or suit, they don't the city code supersedes the left's rules and guidelines. So while we have just generic rules and guidelines, um the city code was voted on by council and is in application to all city, any city ran board um that is under the jurisdiction of the city. So while we are still in compliance with the RCW, because the RCW does not state that we as a left disability board um have it actually doesn't say anything about having a chair or vice chair election, it is only to be appointed to the board in terms of two years. So we are in compliance with the RCW per our uh legal department.
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