The City of Kirkland, like most municipalities, has dealt with the economic downturn by slashing its budget.
But the housing market is now catching up with the city.
The Kirkland City Council approved a provision agreed to last June to give new City Manager Kurt Triplett up to $29,000 during the next year for residency expenses during Tuesday’s council meeting. The agreement is thanks to a state law that essentially mandates that a city manager must live within the city limits.
“It (the agreement) was put into effect before Dave Ramsay (Triplett’s predecessor) was city manager,” said Kirkland Mayor Joan McBride. “There is more invested and they are more accountable if they live within the city. Plus, they should be close to City Hall if they are needed in an emergency.”
The expenditure is a part of the 2010 budget, as it was a provision that was added during contract negotiations in June.
“While it is a requirement, everyone is aware of the housing market,” said McBride. “It is a financial difficulty for a lot of people.”
Triplett is currently in an unspecified grace period that allows for the sale of the home and his move to Kirkland.
With small kids in school, Triplett said he didn’t want to put his house up for sale until he knew he had a place to move to in Kirkland. Triplett’s goal was to buy a house in Kirkland contingent on selling his Seattle-area home.
“Unfortunately in this market people aren’t willing to take that risk,” said Triplett. “The agreement with the Council provides me a temporary home in Kirkland so that we can sell our house and then buy one in Kirkland.”
McBride said that there was talk of suspending the city-residency requirement at the time of the contract negotiations but the idea was eventually dropped.
“What we tried to do was come up with a pragmatic option and I appreciate the council’s cooperation,” said Triplett, whose wife is a part-time real estate agent. “Both the council and I were concerned about the budget implications.”
The Kirkland City Council enacted the amendment to Triplett’s employment agreement to provide housing assistance of up to $1,995 a month to establish residency within the city limits. That monthly stipend is good for up to one year and counts as taxable income for Triplett in addition to his $174,000 per year salary.
The amendment also allows the city manager and his family to rent a city-owned home at the current market rate and afford Triplett a one-time moving expense of $5,000.
“Both the council and I want me to be in Kirkland,” said Triplett. “I like the job and want to be here. My family wants to be here.”
The agreement states that a city-owned home at the address of 10824 N.E. 116th Street in the current South Juanita neighborhood near MacAuliffe Park, is available to the city manager at the rate offered. The home is not available until June 1, 2011.
Triplett pointed out that most executive city employees are afforded some sort of stipend to move to the city they work in. Triplett is in an unusual situation as these types of moving expenses are more typical for new employees moving from further away.
He was quick to point out that a new Issaquah city administrator in the same position was recently given $15,000.
The amendment also states that after the one-year period the city manager must pay the rental expenses out of his own pocket with no supplemental housing expense provided by the city.
At the time of his hire there was some public outcry at Triplett’s salary. Kirkland Reporter research showed that his salary reflected market value for the city’s size in the Puget Sound area.
