Thursday, October 1, 2026
The City of Tumwater is working to update and expand the delegated authority given to the mayor and department directors.
Tumwater Budget and Finance Committee reviewed an ordinance on March 28 that would amend Tumwater Municipal Code Chapter 2.14, which deals with the execution of contracts and other legal documents.
The proposed ordinance would allow the mayor to decide on grant acceptances, interlocal agreements, and other contracts of not more than $100,000 in value.
Currently, TMC Chapter 2.14 requires all interlocal agreements to get council approval, while making no mention of grants and how much a grant amount should be before it the approval of the council.
The ordinance also proposes giving department directors the same authority to decide on contracts of less than $100,000 in value, up from their current delegated authority of $50,000.
Another provision is the ordinance grants any department director the authority to approve contract amendments if its dollar impact is not more than 10% of the original contract amount. This authority is only currently provided to the director of the public works department.
City Administrator Lisa Parks told the committee the purpose of the ordinance is to “keep up with (their) organizational growth, as well as economic realities.”
She added the last time the city updated the mayor and department directors’ delegated authority was in 2009.
Parks mentioned that staff often experience delays, as they have to wait for council approval on certain decisions.
She acknowledged it was helpful that the city has committees to review some of the decisions and pass them to the council through the consent agenda, but noted that committees do not meet frequently.
“If we just barely miss, for example, a public health and safety committee meeting, we've got to wait for another month before we can take that,” Parks said.
City staff proposed placing the ordinance on the city council’s agenda for its April 15 meeting, but the committee ultimately decided they wanted to discuss the ordinance further.
Council member Michael Althauser was particularly concerned about delegating interlocal agreements.
When asked which among the city’s current interlocal agreements would not need council approval under the proposed ordinance, City Attorney Karen Kirkpatrick said the ordinance would typically apply to memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and service agreements with other jurisdictions that are considered routine.
Althauser said he understood the need to delegate MOUs given the timing issues that occur if staff have to wait for council approval, but noted he wasn’t comfortable delegating interlocal agreements (ILAs).
“I'm not sure I'm super comfortable with ILAs, because they tend to be weighty and sort of policy heavy, by comparison to MOUs,” Althauser said.
The committee will meet again on April 25 to continue discussing the ordinance.
3 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
RondaLarsonKramer
Thank you, Councilmember Althauser, for your insight on this issue. The City Administrator and City Attorney have provided incorrect information multiple times in the past in matters involving checks and balances, Open Public Meetings Act, Open Public Records Act, and other issues relating to good governance. Their incorrect statements always have the effect of reducing council power and increasing executive power. It’s wise to do your own research.
Friday, April 4, 2025 Report this
OlyBlues
Kudos to Councilmember Althauser for highlighting the need for transparency and to keep council involvement in approving MOU's. Over the past year, the public has had the benefit of seeing the unethical behavior of Mayor Sullivan, Administrator Lisa Parks, and Parks Director Chuck Denney exposed as they attempted to maintain secrecy of the Mayor's plans to destroy the Davis-Meeker Oak tree. They went out of their way to circumvent public process and the council. These bad actors are the EXACT reason why this change should never be adopted and the elected council should remain in full voting authority of any MOU's in Tumwater. The city administration at this point is corrupt and cannot be trusted.
Friday, April 4, 2025 Report this
PamelaJHanson
I agree with the previous two comments. Thank you The Jolt for your excellent news coverage.
Friday, April 4, 2025 Report this