Medical Lake’s City Council adopted the city’s 2024 budget and approved a contract for providing indigent public defense at its municipal court in meetings at the end of 2023 and beginning of 2024.
Dec. 19 meeting
The City Council unanimously approved adoption of the city’s 2024 operating budget at its final meeting in 2023, Dec. 19. The nearly $11.10 million in expenses were mostly offset by almost $8.34 million in revenues, $1.24 million in transfers in from other funds — including $475,00 from the Parks & Recreation Fund and $250,000 from the Parks Improvement Fund — along with a similar $1.24 million in other transfers. The largest fund transfer was the $1,007,300 transfer out of the General Fund.
The budget includes 15 capital projects for the city, most of which are funded by grants, along with some the use of capital reserves to fund overdue improvements to the wastewater treatment plant.
The three highest revenue accounts expected are the General Fund at $2,548,853, the Street Fund at $1,345,000 and the Wastewater Fund at $1,307,500. According to the budget summary, revenues do not include beginning balances or reserves.
On the expenses side, the three largest are streets at $1,545,500, Water Fund – Restricted at $1,330,000 and the Water Treatment Department at $1,075,236.
Eight funds will receive transfers in: Streets – Restricted, $130,00; Public Safety, $150,000; Parks & Recreation, $475,000; Parks Improvement, $250,000; Water – Restricted, $125,000; Broadband, $100,000 and State Custodials, $12,300. Besides the General Fund, other funds making transfers out are Capital Improvement, $110,000 and Water, $125,000.
Jan. 2 meeting
Council unanimously approved an extension of its lease with the state Department of Social and Health Services for the Waterfront Park property, 45 acres of land on the south end of Medical Lake. The lease, signed in November, 1967, is now set to terminate on June 30,2024, and allows for time to present to the state Legislature an exemption to a recently passed law requiring that state leased land be paid for at current market value. The city is hoping to get a measure before the Legislature allowing an exemption for government-to-government agreements.
Jan. 16 meeting
The council approved a contract with Reid Legal Office, PLLC, for providing indigent defense services. The city agrees to pay Reid $1,300 per month for regular public defense services for violations of city ordinances deemed misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor offense taking place within Medical Lake committed by adults and/or juveniles, along with any appeals to Spokane County Superior Court.
The contract also requires the city to pay Reid for any “non-routine expenses” incurred with their regular scope of work such as medical and psychiatric evaluations, expert witnesses fees and expenses, language interpreters, polygraph, forensic and other scientific tests as well as other non-routine expenses the city of Cheney Municipal Court finds necessary. The non-routine expenses must first be approved by Cheney Municipal Court, the court Medical Lake has a contract with to prosecute the infractions listed above.
Council unanimously agreed to a resolution accepting a fuel tax grant agreement as part of its award in December 2023 of the state Transportation Improvement Board’s 2024 Scrub and Chip Seal project. The city was awarded 95.001 % of approved eligible project costs not to exceed a maximum of $702,129.
Council subsequently unanimously adopted a resolution to use up to $43,560 of this funding for its 2024 Street Maintenance program to repair city streets are various locations. According to TIB award information, the total cost of the project is $45,853, awarding the city 94.9992 % of project costs.
