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.