Kirkland City Council approves 2017-18 biennial budget

The Kirkland City Council unanimously approved the 2017-18 biennial budget of $695.8 million at its special meeting Tuesday night. Following the approval, Mayor Amy Walen thanked City Manager Kurt Triplett and city staff for their work on the budget.

No major changes were made to the preliminary budget, as the council indicated strong support at previous city council meetings for the work done by city staff in developing it. The full 2017-18 preliminary budget, which was initially set at $694.4 million, can be found on the city’s website, kirklandwa.gov, through the Finance and Administration department.

The council held a special meeting on Oct. 27 where the sole topic of conversation was the budget, and public hearings were held at the Nov. 1 and 15 regular council meetings. These meetings can be watched on demand through the city’s website at kirklandwa.gov/depart/council.

The council also unanimously approved the 2017-22 Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which includes $780.4 million in funding for transportation, parks, public safety, surface water and sewer projects. The complete CIP document also can be found on the city’s website.

Searching for a new councilmember

Tuesday’s meeting also marked the last for Councilmember Shelley Kloba, who was elected as the 1st District state representative on Nov. 8 and decided not to continue with the Kirkland City Council following the election.

As a result, the city posted a request for those interested in position 2 to submit applications by 4 p.m. Dec. 8, and 26 people did so: Dianne Bell, Neal Black, Bradley Brown, Carol Buckingham, Barbie Collins-Young, Mia Cooledge, Colleen Cullen, Kevin Cullen, Kristen Dorwin, Braden Fraser, Jory Hamilton, Andy Held, Gerald Hover, Erin Leary, Lou Lucarelli, Paul Lukinich, Larry Miller, Tom Neir, Robert Neville, Judy Nicastro, Charles (Stan) Olson, Jon Pascal, Kathryn Peterson, Vince Petisme, Kevin Quille and Julie Taylor.

“We’re very grateful at the level of interest,” Councilmember Toby Nixon said.

The selection committee, consisting of Councilmembers Nixon, Dave Asher and Penny Sweet, narrowed the pool down to five candidates for the council to interview. They are Bell, Colleen Cullen, Held, Neir and Pascal, and the council unanimously approved the list presented by the committee.

The council will hold a special meeting to conduct the interviews and possibly choose the new councilmember after Deputy City Manager Marilynne Beard takes a look at the councilmembers’ schedules to see when would be convenient (a date had not been set as of press time). Most of the councilmembers indicated a desire to appoint the new councilmember before their next regular meeting on Jan. 3.