I'd like to call to order the city council study session of November 4th, 2025.

Clark, will you please call the role?

Councilmember Bushnell Present.

Deputy Mayor Daniels.

Absent Councilmember Diaz.

She's here.

She's there.

Okay.

Councilmember Hines.

Here.

Councilmember Rumba.

Councilmember Sidalgay.

Here.

Councilmember Scott.

Here.

Councilmember Walker.

Here.

Mayor Woodards.

Here.

The study session material is sent to you at 11.

All right, great.

We um don't have any presentation items today.

We have one other item of interest.

Um, and I it's around public utility board stipends.

I'm gonna call on council member Bushnell to begin the presentation.

Thank you, Mayor, and uh I appreciate um uh Linda uh help me work through this as well as uh folks on GPFC.

Um I brought this up before uh for consideration.

Thank you.

Um so the public utility board fills a unique role here in the city of Tacoma and holds a tremendous responsibility.

Uh the utility board holds um oversees essential services that impact nearly every household and business in the region, including the management and strategic direction of Tacoma Power, Tacoma Water, and Tacoma Rail.

And it's not just within the City of Tacoma limits, but also regionally beyond the City of Tacoma limits.

Um a lot of folks don't know, but our service territory, um, nearly 40% of our uh ratepayers are actually outside the city of Tacoma limits.

So it's a pretty big task.

Um, and the board members are tasked with making complex high stakes decisions about multi-million dollar budgets, infrastructure investments, environmental stewardship, rate structures, and long-term planning that directly affect the well-being and economic stability of not just Tacoma but our region.

Um TPU does not uh just provide utilities, it is also a federally regulated balancing authority which manages the operation of our electric system within a specific geographic area, and that's a really huge responsibility.

Um I really appreciate the skill, commitment, and generosity of our current board members and of the past.

And at the same time, uh, because of my own experiences on the public utility board, I I want to recognize that there are barriers to equitable access uh to and representation in these roles.

Um recruitment efforts to bring volunteers of different backgrounds to the public utility board have daylighted uh different barriers to volunteering.

Uh people who would have been valuable qualified applicants uh have informed me and and maybe some other of my colleagues that they'd be able to take unable to take on such a time consuming role without any additional support.

Um there's a lot of responsibility and extra curriculars that come with being on the utility board.

Um and to ensure that the board reflects the full diversity and the lived experiences of Tacoma's ratepayers.

I really think it's important that we create equitable pathways for participation uh by offering stipends that honors the seriousness of this role, reduces economic barriers to service, and helps build a more inclusive representative board that is capable of stewarding our public utilities with accountability, transparency, and fairness.

There are a lot of folks out there that everyone here uh that lives within our uh Tacoma in Tacoma, but then also in our regional area that um that pay into uh our rates, uh, but is not necessarily getting um the full uh the full uh opportunity to express uh their concerns or issues with how those rates are done.

Um it's a big big part of being on the utility board process is the rate making process.

Um and not saying that uh our current board members and past board members they've they've all taken that uh responsibility very seriously, but I think uh there's always opportunity for improvement uh and always opportunity for different voices to be heard um and uh be represented on this body.

Um so the details of my proposal uh bring forward a monthly stipend of about sixteen hundred dollars, determined by averaging comparable boards and commission stipends.

The TPU public utility board's body of work is very similar to public utility utility district scope of work, and a POD member receives uh around eighteen hundred dollars per month.

The anticipated cost of direct stipend would be 95,760 per year, and that's included of the entire utility board.

Uh funding for this proposal would come from the TPU budget, so it's not something that comes out of the City of Tacoma's general fund.

Um, and this expense is also already accounted for in TPU's current budget, so there wouldn't need to be any uh rate modifications.

Uh public utility board members uh will not be entitled to city provided health care and disability benefits, vacation leave, paid um sick uh time off leave accrual, nor shall they be entitled to membership in the Tacoma Employment Retirement System by virtue of the position as a public utility board member.

I really want to appreciate uh Mayor Woodards and Councilmember Walker for helping co-sponsor for this.

Um I did send an FAQ um to everybody.

Um, and that is what I have.

Thank you so much, Mayor.

Thank you very much, Councilmember Bush.

Now, Councilmember Walker.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, thank you, Councilmember Bushnell, for bringing this forward.

I'm happy to um co-sponsor with you.

Um I wanted to highlight a couple things.

Uh I I know we have talked over the years that I've been here, and I'm sure before this, um, about how we support people that um provide services to our community, and I think the TPU board is a perfect place to start um and just in recognition of the amount of work that they do and what they're responsible for.

So very excited to support this.

Um you and I talked, and I'm sure it's in the FAQs, um, but just to to ask this question publicly, um, most um public utility boards are paid um across the country, but especially in state of Washington, right?

Correct.

And uh the PUDs, uh, which is the most um equivalent, are are paid.

Okay, great.

And I appreciate um in the CCR that we have that comparison to other um local commissions and boards um to be somewhat comparable to those um somewhat comparable to the amount of work.

Um I think those really make sense as comparables.

So yeah, again, thank you for putting this together.

I'm I'm looking forward to passing this.

I think it's just something we've been talking about for a very long time and appreciate you bringing it forward.

Thanks.

Great.

Thank you very much, Councilmember Walker.

Are there any other council comments?

Councilmember Hines.

Uh thank you, Madam Mayor.

Then Council Bushell, you brought this up, but just to reiterate, and one of the questions I've always had is um, you know the difference of, you know, we have lots of boards and commissions that do a lot of work.

I and the planning commission is by law prevented from being paid to do their work.

But some of the other ones have you know, uh kind of thoughts on how we address maybe do we start paying other boards and commissions how to, you know, where do we draw the lines here?

And I think you've talked a lot about that, but I just wanted to reiterate that for us.

Yeah, uh, so I think that the level of uh complexity as well as uh the overseeing, um, as I had mentioned earlier.

The um, you know, uh the Tacoma Powers a balancing authority.

We have rate payers outside the city of Tacoma.

Um there they are in um they help create the strategic plan.

They they do strategic directives for the director.

Um they there's a significant amount of um uh infrastructure they oversee.

I think that there's a kind of a there's there's a thing that sets them apart that I think from a lot of the other boards and commissions, and certainly I want to make sure that every board and commission has the opportunity for folks to be able to um uh serve on there.

Uh and I I think that there is a difference uh that that does sets the PUBLEC Utility Board uh apart from our other uh commissions.

And I I would actually I would love to see opportunities for the planning commission to potentially receive stipends as well.

Uh unfortunately that is uh um that is uh restricted by state law.

Um other question what and just I think you talked about it before, but one thing I'd asked about is it looks like we're gonna be paying our school our utility board members more than the school board and the park district board, um, which are elected positions.

So I have some I have some concerns about that specifically, but um I just love for maybe to chat on how we landed on the number for the utility board.

Yeah, we we took a look at um public utility districts and other um roles of similar um workload and capacity, and uh this is the number that we we landed on.

I'm happy I'm happy to talk more about the number specifically if you'd like.

I I do think that our school board members and our parks commissioners are are woefully underpaid for the work that they do personally.

Um, and so I think that's something that I hope that they will take up on their own.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Um Councilmember Diaz.

And then while I'm while Councilmember Diaz is oh, she disappeared.

Um no no no no no no no.

I know council member Diaz is here.

I I can see her right there.

Um I was trying to say that Deputy Mayor Daniels had her hand raised.

She was in the attendees room, and I was gonna ask you to promote her, but um who um whoever's managing our online today, if you see Deputy Mayor Daniels in the come back in the participants move, you would please promote her um to the presenter's room, that would be great.

And Councilmember Diaz, I'll turn it over to you while they're figuring that out.

Thank you.

Maybe she's stuck in the vortex.

Sometimes it takes a minute.

Um thank you, Councilmember Bushnell, for putting this together and bringing it forward.

I cannot support it as it's currently written, but I do have a couple of questions for you.

Um is I'm wondering if any of the other PUDs that are paid are elected position or non-elected positions like TPU, or if all the paid ones, PUDs are elected positions.

I will have to phone a friend on that.

Um I don't know if we have a current answer on that.

So we'll we'll have to get that answer to you.

Great.

Um, because I think I share some concerns with Councilmember Heinz around paying them not only more than Parks Tacoma and school board members, but just paying them as appointed individuals instead of elected individuals.

I think that's a big difference, and I would welcome if somebody's interested in putting forward a charter amendment or something to publicly elect them, but I think there's a certain amount of duty that comes with being elected versus being an appointed person.

Um and then I don't like the disparity it would create between the planning commission and the TPU board, because I think they do take a considerable amount of time if the planning commission doesn't do more work, quite frankly, some parts of the year.

Um and I really am appreciative of our TPU board members.

I think we always have really high caliber, really great professionals, but the big gap that I actually see on that board is anybody from a lower income background or anybody who has actually used the BICAP program or any of these things, and I don't know that paying them actually solves for that problem.

So I'm wondering if you would consider a proposal that would instead just create a position or two that are um income capped so that folks couldn't make over a certain amount to have those positions or would have to have some experience with our safety net programs that utilities actually you have.

Uh I'm certainly open to exploring it.

Um I do feel that um one of the biggest barriers to be able to and the flip one of the biggest barriers for folks that are on BCAP are is flexibility in their work schedule to be able to do this because if they take time off of work, they're not getting paid to do it.

Um and so I think that that could I'm certainly open to discussing that, but I I think I think monetary compensation or stipends is really gonna be beneficial to open up the board to a lot more folks that could potentially utilize or or we want represented on that board as well.

Okay, um, I just I want to reiterate that I don't think that this solves the problem that you've identified.

I think we have a board of very qualified people, but quite frankly, they're all very well off, and I don't think that that is the voice that is unrepresented here that this is gonna solve for.

And we've had frankly outright wealthy people on this board in the past, and so paying that person a thousand dollars a month when we already have huge fiscal issues in the city feels like the wrong solution at the wrong time for me.

Sure, I think I think the board is a reflection of of who's been able to serve on it.

Um, and I think that this changes the calculus for a lot of folks.

I think it would increase our applicant pool uh for folks that might be able to uh see themselves in this position, but might not have been able to uh be on this position because of work requirements and things of that nature in order to sustain themselves and their families.

Um and so uh that were we might have a little bit of a difference there, but I I I hear where you're coming from.

Um, and um thank you for the feedback.

Thank you.

And if you can find the answer to whether or not there are other appointed utility board members who are paid in the state, I think that would be really helpful as well to know if we would be the first in the state doing that.

Got it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Rambach.

Uh thank you, Mayor, and I really appreciate you bringing this forward, Councilmember Bushnell.

I just was curious um of the other appointed boards by the mayor, because this is one that that the mayor is usually supposed to appoint.

So there's like the housing authority and the library.

Are either of them paid?

I just was curious.

No, no.

Okay.

And I do know on the housing authority board, they have one seat for people who live at in the public housing, right?

So I really like the idea of thinking about who serves on the board for um the public utility board.

I also mentioned asked um Councilmember Bushnell about when we talk about like serving people, we serve people outside of Tacoma as well, but then those people can't serve on the they're not, there's no seats for people unless you live in the city of Tacoma, right?

And so what would that take to add a person like that to the public utility board?

Just so there's more diversity when you're talking about diversity.

I'm just curious.

So we can, in fact, we can in fact make that change, and we've had lots of conversations long about about changing this over the years.

There was a point by which I wanted to make sure it was somebody who received funding.

There was also making sure that we had the right representation on the board, like some people would say, well, now we need an attorney.

Right.

So so we talked about that at some point.

I I'm I'm failing to remember how come we didn't move forward.

And so I I can't remember why we stopped heading in that direction, but that is something that I've always been curious about.

Um and think that that would be something great to take up.

Yeah, thank you.

Thank you so much.

And so I just I think it's good to know that information and what um Council Murray Diaz asked about um other utility boards that do appointments.

That's good too.

So thank you.

Great, thank you.

Um just uh just a follow-up on that.

There we, you know, I've had conversations about uh representation for folks that are ratepayers uh because it is beyond the city of Tacoma.

Um one of the challenges uh and one of the pushbacks that I've received on that specifically is that a lot of the the service territory outside of the city of Tacoma is under like a franchise agreement through different jurisdictions, and so they are technically customers of TPU.

Um, and so they would it's kind of a different relationship as opposed to where in the city of Tacoma specifically, it is the ratepayers and you're obligated to use TPU services.

Um and so that if I if I recall that that that's kind of the conversations around that.

Um, and but I I'm I'm happy to further explore opportunity.

I think uh again um 49% of the folks that are using TPU or are outside the city of Tacoma, which is pretty significant number, and I do think that um warrants the opportunity for um different types of representation on the board.

I had talked about expanding the board potentially because of that.

Um it's just it's more than the population of Tacoma that use utility or Tacoma public utility, but um, I think those are conversations that we need to continue to further have, and uh I think that there's some probably some legal things that we need to discuss as well as logistics as well as um you know I I don't know how much the charter uh influences this as well.

I think that there might be some charter things that would have to be considered as well.

So thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

Um are there any other comments?

All right, I just just a few from uh from me that that I that that I want to share.

I I am in full support of this.

Um and I I too am sorry that the park commissioners and the school board members don't receive what they deserve.

I've been a parks commissioner, um, but I don't think that should be why we don't move forward with with what we can do.

The other thing I would say that makes this different than the planning commission or then any of the other commissions is that that TP the TPU board would be paid out of TPU funds, which is a different makeup than our general fund dollars, and so they have the ability to um to pay that way easier than the general fund does at this time, and so um and and not that not that we shouldn't, I I I planning commission deserves to be paid, and I totally agree with you all.

I I don't I don't think that is a reason though to not pay those who are on the public utility board and council member Diaz, I completely agree with you trying to find a way to make sure that the representation on the board um by putting a position on the board but making sure that that if if we think this will change it, making sure that we're putting everything in place that could change it.

But I also think that it's not about the people who serve on the board, it's about what serving on the board is worth.

And so um, because one day it could be five people, all who are users are all who are not well off.

And and and so I and I don't know that everybody who sits on the current board is well off either.

I couldn't make that determination, but I do think that it should be based on the work and not based on the person who's doing the work at the time.

Um raises should never or not raises, but payment should never be based on the person should be paced on the based on the work that's being done.

So so I would just add add this.

Um I do think I do think that there's a technical piece of of this job.

Um that um that requires a different level of expertise.

Um and and and I and I think I think they should be paid for their expertise.

I think everyone who serves on our boards and commissions should be paid.

We just can't get there with everyone.

So for me, it's about the position, not about any of the people, and it's about the body of work and the ability to have funding to actually pay for um pay for those who serve on that board.

So yeah, I wish we could pay the library board.

I wish, yeah, I don't need to start naming them off because I'm gonna forget some.

Um so I I I am I am glad to be um sponsoring this along with council member um um council member walker and council member bushnell.

Thank you so much for bringing in this forward and council member Hines, thank you for allowing us to pull this out of GPFC um so that we could potentially get this done before the end of the year so that this could start in January for those public utility board members.

We've been talking about this since the charter amendment suggestion, and so it's nice to be able to be able to potentially get this done if if if the votes are there to do it.

So if there aren't any further comments or questions, we will get answers to the questions that were asked, and um we'll continue this conversation.

All right, Councilmember Bushnell, anything extra?

That's it for me.

Thank you, Mary.

Thank you guys for the um conversation.

Appreciate it.

Great, thank you.

All right.

Um, um, I'd like to remind everyone that today is uh general election day and encourage every all residents to exercise that their right to vote if you have not done so already.

Ballot drop ballot drop boxes will close at 8 p.m.

tonight.

Um there is there is no uh council meeting this evening, so that everybody can go out and participate and vote.

I also want to remind everybody that next week's study session, so no council meeting tonight.

Um next week's study session and council meeting will be held on Wednesday due to the veterans holiday.

The study session next week will begin at noon and the council meeting will begin at 3 p.m.

on Wednesday, November 12th, so that the council members may attend so that we all may attend um the 150th anniversary of the city of Tacoma.

Um and so we can all be there to support that.

And then there will also be uh oh, and then I I'm gonna turn to Deputy Mayor for a motion about the meeting on the 12th.

Thank you, ma'am, me, but thank you for the promotion.

What did I call you?

Deputy Mayor.

Oh, goodness, sorry.

Councilmember Walker.

Um I move to remove the community forum from the November 12th agenda.

Second.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

All those opposed, the ayes have it.

Okay, so the there will be no, there will the next community forum will be on December 9th.

Um, and then there will also be no study session or council meeting, council meeting um on the 25th of this month, and that's for the Thanksgiving holiday week.

So with that, um, I think I've made all of the announcements I need to make, and I will call on acting city manager Alison Griffith to uh begin agenda review and city manager's weekly report.

Thank you, Mayor.

As you just mentioned, there is no council meeting this evening, so there is no agenda to review for you this evening.

Uh for your review attached to the study session agenda is the city manager's weekly report to council.

Thank you.

Thank you, uh Alison.

Are there any questions for Alison or any other additional comments?

Seeing none, I will enter I will entertain the final motion.

Move to adjourn.

Second.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed.

The ayes have it.

We stand adjourned.