LWVSJ Observer Corps | County Council October 28 & 29, 2024

||| FROM NECIA QUAST for LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS |||

The county climate coordinator updated the Council on climate action planning including the newly required climate element for the next comprehensive plan update. The climate element will lay out goals and policies and the Climate Action Plan will have strategies and actions. The goals are resilience and mitigation while equity issues were identified as a gap in the existing plans. A vulnerability assessment that looks at exposure, risks, preparedness and responses is underway. With public input the county has identified water resources, transportation and mobility, and buildings/energy infrastructure as the three focus areas.

The council completed their review of the county code on council procedures and set a public hearing for December 3.

On October 29 on Orcas, the Council recognized November as Native American Heritage Month. During public comment, one Orcas resident spoke in appreciation of council plans for the framework for tribal engagement on the agenda and asked for more time for public input. During discussion Council member Wolf noted that the framework sets policy for intergovernmental engagement as opposed to wider social and cultural engagement. As the framework will set policy to allow county staff to begin discussing with tribal governments how to manage their intergovernmental relationships, they questioned whether it was more appropriate to simply approve the policy or pass a formal resolution. They postponed their decision to November 5 to allow for further consideration.

The county budget analyst did the third quarter budget review. Revenues and expenditures were running very close to target and end year revenue is expected to be at or very slightly above the budget. The real estate excise tax is running significantly behind budget but interest significantly above budget.

The council did a second touch on property tax levies that are scheduled for an upcoming public hearing. The council approved the resolution for a local state of emergency with ferry service. The Department of Health and Community Service is beginning work with the Department of Commerce to

manage the grant for supplemental services from the Governor’s office and had a meeting with stakeholders to understand the challenges facing water taxi services.

The Council toured county facilities on Orcas.

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan organization encourages informed participation in government. The Observer Corps attends and takes notes at government meetings to expand public understanding of public policy and decisions. The notes do not necessarily reflect the views of the League or its members.