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Record of Proceedings

Redmond FAC Committee of the Whole – Feb 10, 2026: Workplan, Rules, Grants, Contracts, Budget, REDI

City Council — Tuesday, February 10, 2026
BodyRedmond, Washington
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, February 10, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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0:13

I'm calling to order the February 10th Finance Administration and Communications Committee of the Whole on February 10th, 2026.

0:24

All council members are in attendance.

0:26

We have six items on our agenda.

0:28

And the first item on our agenda is the Finance Administration and Communications Committee of the Whole 2026 Work Plan.

0:37

And so we'll we'll just talk through this.

0:39

I'm not gonna screen share unless council members feel that it's necessary.

0:43

But I'll talk through some of the items that we see on here and then and then take any comments or questions from council members.

0:52

Under the executive area, we see that a couple things are on here.

0:57

First of all, we'll have monthly ready updates that's respect equity, diversity, and inclusion.

1:02

Um, so that way we can really track the work.

1:04

Council's been very interested in that, um, and especially the hiring for the positions that we budgeted for that work.

1:09

So we'll be getting those updates, including one at today's meeting.

1:13

Um of the items that I suggested that we put in this area is to um just have an item since this is the communications committee.

1:21

We often have items that come up with council about how we're engaging with the public, um planning for things like council conversations or other types of um uh efforts that we might do to be able to communicate with the public from council.

1:34

So just put that on as a quarterly touch base with our communications staff for the council to be able to provide ideas and feedback, especially since quarterly we have our council conversations as well.

1:45

Um, and then some other items that you'll see just in there that I'll just note is um is that we'll hear some other updates on city communication strategies and investments in the last budget.

1:54

We invested um significant new dollars into additional communications resources.

2:00

So we'll be seeing some updates on that in the first quarter, and then some follow-up on how we are strategically looking forward on how we improve on communication.

2:10

So just want to kind of highlight that because we I think haven't seen those items as much in this committee, but I'm hoping we'll see more.

2:15

There's some other items that fall under executive as well that you all can review.

2:20

Um, I think generally we'll summarize this as budget.

2:25

It's a budget year for us, so we'll be using this committee to be doing some prep on budget items, um, and then uh and then other um financial items as needed.

2:36

Um we'll also hear TIS updates, our technology and information service updates, um, and you'll see there's especially some of the big updates on investments that we make into our enterprise technologies.

2:49

Um, we'll also be seeing our data governance policy come back in this committee as well, which has been an area of interest for the council.

2:57

Um, and I've also asked that that come back as as uh both in uh in the first quarter as well as that we see it again in the third quarter because um there's been a lot of interest from council on that.

3:08

And then last I'll I'll note on um HR, there's several union agreements that'll that'll come through that that we'll have discussion on.

3:15

Um, and that this is this year is the year for the salary commission to be able to look at at um their decisions.

3:22

So we'll hear updates on that.

3:24

And actually, when we established um a salary commission that's ongoing, we established that members would serve terms.

3:30

So you'll see later that we are gonna have some items that come up in the second half of the year for us to choose new uh uh candidates potentially for vacancies on our salary commission.

3:41

Um those are a couple things and some mostly on HR.

3:45

A lot of the things will go along with our budget that we'll also see pay-benefit um changes near the end of year.

3:51

Um that's just a general summary of what we see on the agenda for this committee.

3:55

Happy to open up if there are questions or any items that we should add to this um work plan before we're approve it.

4:05

Council member Forsyth.

4:07

Thank you, and thank you for the touch on the salary commission.

4:10

I was that was one of my notes of like, didn't we just do that?

4:13

And forgot that the we have the ongoing process now.

4:16

So thanks for that information.

4:18

Um I did have one note about um the comms team and that work.

4:24

I noticed in one of the recent um police postings where we had made the decision to have this uh the school zone cameras when we had that conversation.

4:35

We framed it and we really wanted the social media to go out with um information about how that money would be used back into education programs for like the the ticketing funds.

4:48

And a lot of the feedback that's um noticing on those posts are about this is just a money grab.

5:02

So I just wonder if there's um a gap we can fill potentially within this committee.

5:08

Great, thank you.

5:09

Yeah, and my thought was because I think questions like that have come up with council is just use this committee to have a regular touch base with our communication staff so we can ask those types of questions and give feedback because I think all of us do get this um this kind of ongoing feedback from community because that's part of our job is to see what questions are coming up from policies that we've passed.

5:29

Um so but I can pass that back to the staff and see if there's anything that we can kind of add to address that as ongoing.

5:37

Other questions?

5:37

Um, Councilmember Nueva Comina, Council Vice President.

5:40

Thank you.

5:41

Um, one, and and I know typically we don't uh get in the weeds around um operational things, but that that's something that I definitely noticed that we're seeing in our social media.

5:53

Um, however, oftentimes, and and I have heard a couple of local folks saying this, but oftentimes there'll be um people that live outside of our area, including outside of the country, that is posting on um on redmond posts that are not residents, they're not part of our community, they don't work or live here.

6:13

Um, so I don't know if it's something that like within the post that you know, instead of just a general that we get more granular to kind of self-select out of that.

6:24

So I'm not sure what that is, but just noting that for specifically social media, oftentimes it'll be people posting, commenting that are not have nothing to do with our community.

6:36

Thank you.

6:37

And actually, you know, one thing we could put potentially on this um could be a specifically an item on social media strategy and policies.

6:44

I know it's come up with council over the years, for example, at when is there any point in which we wouldn't allow people to comment on our posts um or you know, where are the bounds around freedom of speech?

6:56

Um, and I think there's some boundaries of either we allow comments or we don't allow comments or something like that.

7:01

So it'd be useful to have the staff come and talk us through how they approach that.

7:05

Uh council member Forsyth.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████████22%
Grant Management█████████████████████21%
Budget Equity Analysis████████████████████20%
Public Engagement████████████12%
Technology and Innovation████████8%
Community Engagement██████6%
Racial Equity█████5%
Water And Wastewater Management███3%
Data Governance██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Redmond Finance, Administration, and Communications Committee of the Whole – February 10, 2026

The Finance, Administration, and Communications (FAC) Committee of the Whole met on February 10, 2026, at 4:30 PM to consider six agenda items: approval of the 2026 committee workplan, a draft amendment to the Council Rules of Procedure, a delegated contract authority grant threshold, an annual CUES GraniteNET software contract, the 2027-2028 biennial budget calendar, and an informational update on the Respect, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) program. The meeting extended approximately 10 minutes beyond the scheduled hour to accommodate the REDI update.

2026 Committee Workplan

  • Chair Kritzer presented the draft 2026 workplan, highlighting monthly REDI updates, quarterly communications touchpoints with staff, budget preparation items, technology and information services (TIS) updates, data governance policy review, and human resources items including salary commission appointments.
  • Councilmember Forsyth requested better social media messaging around school zone camera fines, noting public criticism that the program is a "money grab." Council Vice President Nuevacamina observed that non-residents often comment on city posts and suggested exploring social media policies.
  • Council President Stewart asked for a future briefing on items budgeted for the current biennium that were not started or accomplished.
  • Chair Kritzer noted adjustments would be made based on feedback. The workplan was approved for placement on the February 17 business meeting consent agenda.

Council Rules of Procedure Amendment

  • Council President Stewart, Vice President Nuevacamina, and Chair Kritzer presented a comprehensive set of proposed rule amendments developed over the winter recess, covering excused attendance, council vacancy process, remote participation limits, items from the audience, council subcommittees, and a correcting RCW citation from the city attorney.
  • Councilmember Forsyth expressed significant concerns, including the removal of language that committee absences are automatically excused (potentially conflicting with state law), a requirement for candidates to vacate other elected positions (e.g., precinct committee officer), and a proposed limit of two remote participations per quarter without sufficient exceptions for illness. She requested the item be moved to a study session for deeper discussion.
  • Councilmember Soni noted that during the recent vacancy process, applicant identities were hidden and consistent questions were asked—aspects missing from the proposal.
  • Councilmember Parsi raised concerns that an addition on page 24 regarding public participation could reduce public engagement and introduce unintended bias.
  • Council President Stewart acknowledged the feedback and noted that all questions raised had been discussed internally. She proposed developing a matrix of questions to be sent via Logan to avoid serial meetings. The item was moved to a study session, tentatively scheduled for two weeks later.

Delegated Contract Authority – Grant Threshold

  • Grants Manager Lauren Thompson proposed establishing a $50,000 threshold for low-dollar grant awards to reduce administrative costs and agenda congestion. Under the proposal, grants under $50,000 could be executed by staff without council approval unless they obligate unbudgeted matching funds, create future staffing or operational commitments, or the grantor requires council acceptance. All grants would still be reported quarterly to council.
  • A cost analysis estimated presenting a contract to council costs $3,411.95 and 27.4 hours of combined staff and council time.
  • Data from 13 Puget Sound cities showed thresholds ranging from $30,000 to $350,000. The city’s annual grant revenue averages $7–10 million, with about 25% of new awards under $50,000 and 40% under $100,000.
  • Councilmember Forsyth questioned how grants that involve new policy areas (e.g., ALPR systems) would be handled, and whether a council liaison should be on the new Grant Oversight Committee.
  • Councilmember Parsi requested that the internal grant management policy and procedures be more fully developed before or in parallel with setting a threshold to ensure safeguards against accepting money from undesirable sources.
  • Councilmember Prakriya noted the threshold lacks a time-bound component and that multiple small grants could quickly exceed $50,000 in aggregate.
  • Chair Kritzer suggested adding criteria beyond a dollar amount, such as topic-based restrictions. Staff was directed to bring back a refined proposal to a future committee or study session.

CUES GraniteNET Contract

  • TIS Director Mike Marshan presented a five-year contract for an upgraded version of the public works CUES GraniteNET system, which uses AI to analyze CCTV footage of stormwater and wastewater pipes. The first-year cost is $146,788 (implementation and support); annual support thereafter is $121,550, funded by stormwater and wastewater utility funds.
  • Public Works Director Burt explained the technology can analyze over two million linear feet of pipe and will help move from emergency repairs (costing roughly double) to proactive maintenance. The system may be in use indefinitely, but long-term costs will decrease once baseline data is complete.
  • Councilmember Forsyth asked about diminishing returns; Director Burt noted the initial goal is to establish a comprehensive condition assessment and long-term pipe replacement plan.
  • Councilmember Prakriya praised the smart-city application and requested a report back in one to two years on findings.
  • The committee approved placing the contract on the February 17 consent agenda.

2027-2028 Budget Calendar

  • Deputy Finance Director Haretha Nara presented the proposed budget calendar, emphasizing performance management and reporting. Key changes include moving June and July study sessions to September due to World Cup activities, and adopting the budget on November 10 (with a backup date of December 1) to allow council attendance at the NLC conference.
  • Council President Stewart clarified that departmental budget overviews in March will be baseline-only (current biennium performance) before enhancements and reductions are considered after August.
  • Councilmember Soni asked how community engagement will feed into key decision points; staff will use focus groups and public hearings.
  • Chair Kritzer suggested adding an optional buffer meeting between the final public hearing and adoption. The calendar was approved for placement on the March 3 consent agenda, with staff instructed to incorporate a possible additional meeting.

REDI Program Update

  • Assistant COO Lisa Marr provided the first monthly REDI update. She announced the new Deputy Director of Equity and Strategic Services position, which closed with 49 applicants. Virtual phone screens are underway, followed by broad panel interviews.
  • A seven-member REDI Ambassador program completed a facilitator training pilot with 50 staff members; a mandatory training rollout is planned for late March/early April.
  • Councilmembers discussed the status of the REDI Strategic Plan. Chair Kritzer noted council had intended to formally adopt the plan but never did, and asked whether adoption should be scheduled. Council Vice President Nuevacamina supported adoption after cleanup. Council leadership will follow up to schedule a future discussion.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved the 2026 FAC Committee workplan for the February 17 consent agenda, with adjustments based on council feedback.
  • Moved the Council Rules of Procedure amendment to a study session (tentatively two weeks out); council members will send questions via Logan for a matrix.
  • Directed staff to revise the delegated contract authority grant threshold proposal with additional criteria and safeguards, and bring it back to a future committee or study session.
  • Approved the CUES GraniteNET contract for the February 17 consent agenda.
  • Approved the 2027-2028 biennial budget calendar for the March 3 consent agenda, with a possible buffer meeting to be added.
  • Received the REDI program update; council will explore scheduling formal adoption of the REDI Strategic Plan.

Meeting Transcript

I'm calling to order the February 10th Finance Administration and Communications Committee of the Whole on February 10th, 2026. All council members are in attendance. We have six items on our agenda. And the first item on our agenda is the Finance Administration and Communications Committee of the Whole 2026 Work Plan. And so we'll we'll just talk through this. I'm not gonna screen share unless council members feel that it's necessary. But I'll talk through some of the items that we see on here and then and then take any comments or questions from council members. Under the executive area, we see that a couple things are on here. First of all, we'll have monthly ready updates that's respect equity, diversity, and inclusion. Um, so that way we can really track the work. Council's been very interested in that, um, and especially the hiring for the positions that we budgeted for that work. So we'll be getting those updates, including one at today's meeting. Um of the items that I suggested that we put in this area is to um just have an item since this is the communications committee. We often have items that come up with council about how we're engaging with the public, um planning for things like council conversations or other types of um uh efforts that we might do to be able to communicate with the public from council. So just put that on as a quarterly touch base with our communications staff for the council to be able to provide ideas and feedback, especially since quarterly we have our council conversations as well. Um, and then some other items that you'll see just in there that I'll just note is um is that we'll hear some other updates on city communication strategies and investments in the last budget. We invested um significant new dollars into additional communications resources. So we'll be seeing some updates on that in the first quarter, and then some follow-up on how we are strategically looking forward on how we improve on communication. So just want to kind of highlight that because we I think haven't seen those items as much in this committee, but I'm hoping we'll see more. There's some other items that fall under executive as well that you all can review. Um, I think generally we'll summarize this as budget. It's a budget year for us, so we'll be using this committee to be doing some prep on budget items, um, and then uh and then other um financial items as needed. Um we'll also hear TIS updates, our technology and information service updates, um, and you'll see there's especially some of the big updates on investments that we make into our enterprise technologies. Um, we'll also be seeing our data governance policy come back in this committee as well, which has been an area of interest for the council. Um, and I've also asked that that come back as as uh both in uh in the first quarter as well as that we see it again in the third quarter because um there's been a lot of interest from council on that. And then last I'll I'll note on um HR, there's several union agreements that'll that'll come through that that we'll have discussion on. Um, and that this is this year is the year for the salary commission to be able to look at at um their decisions. So we'll hear updates on that. And actually, when we established um a salary commission that's ongoing, we established that members would serve terms. So you'll see later that we are gonna have some items that come up in the second half of the year for us to choose new uh uh candidates potentially for vacancies on our salary commission. Um those are a couple things and some mostly on HR. A lot of the things will go along with our budget that we'll also see pay-benefit um changes near the end of year. Um that's just a general summary of what we see on the agenda for this committee. Happy to open up if there are questions or any items that we should add to this um work plan before we're approve it. Council member Forsyth. Thank you, and thank you for the touch on the salary commission. I was that was one of my notes of like, didn't we just do that? And forgot that the we have the ongoing process now. So thanks for that information. Um I did have one note about um the comms team and that work. I noticed in one of the recent um police postings where we had made the decision to have this uh the school zone cameras when we had that conversation. We framed it and we really wanted the social media to go out with um information about how that money would be used back into education programs for like the the ticketing funds. And a lot of the feedback that's um noticing on those posts are about this is just a money grab. So I just wonder if there's um a gap we can fill potentially within this committee. Great, thank you. Yeah, and my thought was because I think questions like that have come up with council is just use this committee to have a regular touch base with our communication staff so we can ask those types of questions and give feedback because I think all of us do get this um this kind of ongoing feedback from community because that's part of our job is to see what questions are coming up from policies that we've passed. Um so but I can pass that back to the staff and see if there's anything that we can kind of add to address that as ongoing. Other questions? Um, Councilmember Nueva Comina, Council Vice President. Thank you.

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