HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Committee of the Whole - 04 Aug 2025 - Agenda - Pdf
CITY OF RENTON
AGENDA - Special Committee of the Whole Meeting
5:45 PM - Monday, August 4, 2025
7th Floor Conferencing Center
1. REVENUE STRATEGIES FOR PUBLIC SAFETY AND PARKS
a) Presentation
Revenue Strategies to Support
Public Safety and Parks
ERIC PERRY, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS MANAGER
JON SCHULDT, CHIEF OF POLICE
MARYJANE VAN CLEAVE, PARKS & RECREATION ADMINISTRATOR
Committee of the Whole
August 4, 2025 AG
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Presentation Agenda
•Why are we here today?
•Discussion of revenue options
•HB 2015 – Public Safety Sales Tax
•Parks Bond
•The bigger picture
•Timeline
•Questions and discussion
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Revenue Strategies Discussion
Why are we here today?
•Renton has grown significantly in the last 20 years and is anticipating
considerably more in the decades to come
•17,000 new households by 2044
•Despite this, Renton has historically been a low-tax community in
comparison to our neighbors
•As Renton continues to grow, demand for services and amenities will
increase, and the City will need additional resources to meet the
community’s priorities
•Public Safety (#1) and Parks (#2)
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HB 1590 – Public Safety Sales Tax
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Background
What is HB 2015?
•HB 2015 (Entenmann) was passed into law in the 2025 Legislative Session
•Creates a new, local-option public safety sales tax and establishes the Local Law Enforcement Grant Program, both to be overseen by CJTC
•Eligibility requirements are the same for both the local-option sales tax and grant program
•Under the new law, both cities and counties, via councilmanic action, may elect to impose a 0.1% sales tax for broadly defined “criminal justice purposes”
•Must be passed by council
•A city or county must have already imposed a qualifying criminal justice or public safety sales tax (King County)
•Cannot be implemented if voters have rejected the imposition of a qualifying sales tax within the past 12 months
•Many other agencies across the region, including King County, are electing to impose this new sales tax
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Background
HB 2015 Eligibility Criteria
•In order to qualify for both the new sales tax and grant program, a local law enforcement agency must comply with the following:
•Keep Washington Working Act (KWWA) Policy Compliance
•De-Escalation and Duty to Render Air Training Participation
•Model Policy Compliance
•Use of Force Data Reporting
•Firearm Relinquishment & DV Response Policies
•40-Hour Crisis Intervention Training Compliance
•CJTC Leadership Certification
•Volunteer Supervision Policies
•Staffing Plan and Data Reporting
•Local Tax Funding Requirement
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Background
HB 2015 Eligible Usages
•HB 2015 revenues must be used for broadly defined criminal justice purposes
•Meaning activities that substantially assist the criminal justice system
•May include circumstances where ancillary benefits occur
•Ancillary benefits include:
•DV services
•Court staffing
•Diversion programs
•Reentry support
•Local preventative programs
•Juvenile placement programs
•Community outreach and
crisis response
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Background
How HB 2015 Applies to Renton
•City of Renton has and continues to pursue new and innovative public safety
strategies to meet growing community needs and maintain a high-level of service
•Public Safety is consistently a top priority for the Renton community
•Technology improvements to support officer efficiency
•City-led behavioral health and homelessness support initiatives to better address the
needs of individuals in crisis, those experiencing homelessness, and community
safety
•Additionally, there has been a continual need (across budgets) to invest more in
public safety and the justice system
•At the same time, the state has imposed new rules on cities, often without equitable
funding sources to implement
•i.e., State Supreme Court ruling on Public Defense Caseload Standards
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Multi-Year City Parks Bond
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Background
What is a Parks Bond
•General obligation bond to finance large capital assets such as infrastructure,
buildings, and large pieces of equipment
•Can either be a:
•Limited Tax General Obligation (LTGO) Bond
•Councilmanic and cannot provide addition revenue to fund debt service payments
•Unlimited Tax General Obligation (UTGO) Bond
•Voter-approved issuance of bond and levy to cover debt service payments
•In this case, would be a Parks Bond to invest in our city’s park system, meet
changing community needs, and build foundation for the future of Renton
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Background
Why a Parks Bond?
•Investments in parks allow the City to maintain a high-level of service while building
for the future
•The City of Renton’s parks system has faced obstacles due to nature of General Fund
budgeting and diverse citywide needs
•Parks can be hindered by the lack of large-scale and consistent grant programs that
may be available in other spaces
•Challenges and opportunities continue to grow in supporting community well-being
•Strong emphasis from community on maintaining and improving existing assets and
building new assets
•Consistently a high priority in community feedback
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Background
Why a Parks Bond? (cont’d)
•Completion of PROS Plan, informed by community-input, that will include a
20-year roadmap for the City’s park system
•Creating and maintain high-quality assets
•Focused on filling in the gaps within the system
•Dedicated and consistent funding for Renton’s Parks Department to deliver the PROS
Plan and meet community-needs
•Resources to efficiently address operational needs so the city can continue to
provide the community with clean, safe, and accessible parks
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The Bigger Picture
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The Bigger Picture
Investing in the Future of Renton
•Braided and predictable funding sources allow for a comprehensive approach to
community wellbeing and achieving city goals and priorities
•Investments made by the community into the community
•i.e., keeping tax dollars local
•Proactive response to a pivotal moment in time for the City, ensuring the city is
equipped to respond to growth, increased demands, and new state requirements
•Protecting core services while advancing new priorities
•Complementary and braided funding strategy to amplify current investments, such as
co-responders, the upcoming resource center, new community-safety ordinances,
and other upstream investments
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Braided Funding to Meet City Goals
Buckets of Funding
Housing and Human
Services
Affordable Housing
Behavioral and mental
health services
Co-responders
Public Safety and
Criminal Justice
New officers
Technology
improvements
Court and service
staffing
Upstream Investments and First-Class Facilities
Clean, safe, and sustainable parks
Community-based investments
Operations and maintenance for existing assets
HB 1590 HB 2015 Parks Bond
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Timing
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Proposed
Schedule
Public
Safety
Sales Tax
September 15 – Agenda Bill Referral
September 22 – Finance Committee
and First Reading of Ordinance
October 6 or 13* - Second Reading of
Ordinance and Final Passage
October 17 – City Transmittal of
Ordinance to Department of Revenue
January 1 – Ordinance goes into
Effect
*Pending Council Quorum on October 6
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Proposed
Schedule
Parks Bond
October 2025 – Evaluation of initial
PROS Plan feedback and Council
Approval to explore options
October 2025 through January 2026 –
Staff Buildout of Bond Proposals and
Community Input
January 2026 through May 2026 –
Bond Proposal Community Feedback
and Input
August 4, 2026 – Ballot Measure
Resolution Filing Deadline
November 2026 – Proposed Bond
Placed on General Election Ballot
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Questions?
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