At its first meeting of the year last night, the City Council selected a new Mayor and Deputy Mayor from among themselves, in a process used by about 50 other cities across Washington State. Learn more about this system of local government here.

Councilmember Debbie Bertlin, who first joined Council in 2011, was chosen as Mayor for a two year term, after having served the prior two years as Deputy Mayor. She is assuming the role from Councilmember Bruce Bassett, who served six years as Mayor -- he will continue as a Councilmember for another two years.

At the same meeting, Council selected Salim Nice as Deputy Mayor for a two year term. He first joined the Council in July 2017 to fill a vacated seat, and then ran uncontested in last November's election for Position No. 2. 

Learn more about the Mercer Island City Council, and watch meetings at: www.mercergov.org/council

Last weekend, 24 Islanders gathered for four hours in an ongoing series of meetings intended to help the City find a way to balance the budget starting in 2019. 

This wide-ranging and diverse Community Advisory Group (CAG), appointed by the City Manager, is volunteering its time through April to review the data, discuss the challenges and solutions, and provide a recommendation to the City Manager on a possible levy lid lift to raise property taxes to maintain City services.

On Saturday, January 6, the group learned more about the City's operating budget, the compensation and benefits allocated to employees, and heard the latest financial forecast from the City's Finance Director.  View the day's materials and Powerpoint presentation here.

 

With two dozen members of the public attending as observers, and all of the City's senior staff available to answer questions, the total group size exceeded 60 people. The next CAG meeting is slated for Monday, February 5, from 6:00-9:00pm at the Community and Event Center. The group will discuss 10-year staffing levels, respond to a service cut scenario, briefly explore alternative service delivery models (e.g. items such as: the Library, Fire Department, Marine Patrol), and learn about mandatory vs. discretionary services.

 

Learn more about this important topic at the City's dedicated webpage: www.mercergov.org/FinancialChallenges or read an extensive FAQ covering many topics in great detail.

 

All residents are invited to attend any of the public meetings running through this spring, including another of the well-received Telephone Town Hall call-in options. We hope you can join us! 

  View the latest meeting schedule

Last week, on Wednesday morning, January 3, the Mercer Island Police Department (MIPD) was notified of a bomb threat note discovered at Islander Middle School, located at 7447 84th Avenue SE.

Police arrived to assist school staff, and helped the School District implement its decision to evacuate the occupants of the building to the Mercer Island Community and Event Center, for safe and orderly reunification with parents and guardians.  A search conducted at the Middle School found no suspicious items. 

Neither the MIPD nor the School District can share specifics about the threat or the students involved due to ongoing investigations and state and federal privacy law.  However, the School District has made explicit to parents and students the possible repercussions of such behaviors - view an update sent to all families on January 5.

The City's Police Department works in close partnership with the School District every day to ensure student safety, and both agencies conduct practice drills frequently to prepare for emergencies such as this incident.