LFP Council weighs pay adjustments, reclassifications and camera expansion to maintain services

Story & Photos by Nick Ng

The Lake Forest Park City Council at its Monday meeting September 21, 2026 heard the latest update of the City’s 2026-27 budget, including revenue and expenditure from the City’s administration, human resources and police department.

City Clerk Matt McLean told the Council that there will be a 10% increase to the administration department, driven largely by recode corrections rather than new services. He pointed to the 175% increase in professional services because items in the budget were properly coded, such as Internet service. The majority of the spending goes to salaries and benefits.

“[We’re] not adding any new services for 2027-28, but [we’re] retaining services,” he said.

Although the communications budget had increased by nearly 122%, McLean clarified that the biggest driver is the City’s passport operation, not the City newsletter. He added that the total newsletter spending is flat to slightly down because design was brought in-house, which made content “more reader-friendly and better engagement.”

McLean also asked the Council to consider increasing the public records specialist position from 0.8 to 1.0 full-time employee (FTE), saying both the volume and complexity of records requests are rising.

Comparing 2025 and the first two quarters of 2026, he reported 35 public records requests in 2025 and 46 in 2026, with total processing time jumping from about 78 hours to about 132 hours. He added that requests are asking more information at a larger volume.

CM Larry Goldman and Deputy Mayor Tracy Furutani

Councilmember Larry Goldman commented if some of the more complex requests may be written or expanded with AI.

According to McLean, passport applications generated about $276,000 in 2025, higher than his initial projections of $240,000 to $250,000. He now expects about $270,000 this year after a brief slowdown last summer, but said demand has already begun to recover. He said that the City keeps the $35 fee per passport as direct City revenue, while the larger application fee is passed on to the U.S. State Department. McLean said he had not yet fully calculated personnel and other overhead against the gross amount.

Mayor Tom French called the passport operation “a huge success” and said it draws applicants from all over the region, including Seattle, Bothell and beyond.

“People are happy to come in and get their passport application process, and I hope that the program will continue to grow. It’s a win-win for everybody,” French said.

The city administration budget presentation is on the City’s website.

Human resources

Human Resources Director Shannon Moore reported to the Council that HR had processed 518 applications – not including entry-level police officer candidates – and filled 20 openings. Recruitment remains a challenge, particularly in specialized positions, she said.

Moore said the City is currently recruiting for a police commander, two police officers, a support services officer, a stormwater program coordinator, a public court records specialist and a building official.

She said the building official position has been difficult to fill, and HR is looking into contracting that position out, the city toward contracting for plan review and, now, considering a new in-house building inspector position that would focus more on field inspections and public-facing service at a lower salary level than a full building official.

On benefits, Moore said the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) Trust has projected a 10-14% increase for Regents and Kaiser medical plans, a 2-5% increase for dental and no change for vision. She said HR is still waiting on updated rates from the trusts that cover police guild and teamsters-represented employees but assumes those will also rise.

Moore added that wage compression is becoming a hiring and retention issue, particularly for top positions like the city administrator, who typically earns the highest salary in the city. Using proposed wage adjustments tied to 2026 market data, Moore pointed to how closely salaries are converging: about $19,000 a month for city administrator, $18,000 for the police chief, $15,000 for the commander.

Moore explained that outside of the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), two positions would be reallocated to a different step, meaning the actual percentage increase would be lower than what appears in the proposal.

She gave an example with the police commander position, where the salary is currently 6% below the market. She asked the Council to consider making that adjustment for the remainder of 2026 to improve recruitment with a competitive wage.

Regarding the city clerk and permit coordinator positions, Moore said even with an 8% market adjustment, those positions would not see a pay decrease once reallocated to the correct step. The change would amount to only a 2.6% difference from their current fourth-year pay, she said.

CM Paula Goode

When Councilmember Paula Goode asked about the 6% increase for the commander position, Moore said she would ask for a 6% raise for the remainder of 2026, with COLA set to take effect Jan. 1. Combined with the current contract’s 4%, that would total 10% in 2027.

“I’m hoping that it might be something to consider for the remainder of 2026,” she said.

Councilmember Larry Goldman asked whether the proposed percentages would bring the City’s salaries to the average of its peer cities. Moore said the City tries to stay comparable, citing Kenmore as an example where she would examine how much its city administrator and police chief are paid.

Other items that Moore addressed include:

Reclassify police support services by splitting the 1.0 FTE to 0.4 for a transport officer and 0.6 to a civilian property and evidence technician. For the support transport position, Moore said HR has heard from retired officers who are interested in returning to work part time. This would not affect their pension.

The K-9 Unit position will be suspended because “it has not seemed to provide the benefits from it that we were hoping for,” Moore said. The K-9 officer would be reassigned to another position.

“I’m sure Bella will still be around, and maybe retiring soon,” she said.

Public safety

With 25 full-time employees, including a domestic violence advocate and an emergency manager, Police Chief Diego Zanella said the LFP police department responded to 11,540 calls in 2025, about 2,000 more than the regional average for a department its size. He attributed the volume to the department’s fast, thorough response to community needs.

However, recruiting and retaining officers remains a major challenge, he said, citing competition from larger agencies, such as the King County Sheriff’s Office and other regional departments that offer signing bonuses and higher salaries. He said he hoped to be fully staffed in 2027.

Police Chief Diego Zanella addressing the committee

Zanella told the Council that basic gear for a single officer — including a uniform, ballistic vest, firearm and magazines, body-worn camera, handcuffs, first aid kit, radio and flashlight — totals $6,500, not including specialized tools, such as tasers or restraint devices.

He added that sending an officer to the police academy cost about $3,100 two years ago; it now costs $8,000. Mandatory training includes basic academy, crisis intervention, firearms and defensive tactics, while non-mandatory training covers areas like traffic accident reconstruction and leadership.

Zanella also cited facility needs, including maxed-out storage, an unfenced patrol vehicle lot, and lack of ventilation in holding cells. He noted the department has lost 40% of the officers (eight) since spring 2025, mostly due to retirement.

On traffic citations, Zanella said that officers issued 2,251 citations in 2025, a jump from 939 in 2024 and 1,248 in 2023. He credited the increase to targeted traffic enforcement and the City’s traffic calming program with the help of community members.

Zanella added that red light violations have dropped since the cameras were installed, which he framed as a positive sign that drivers are changing behavior.

However, behind each citation, he said staff do considerable manual review where every camera-generated ticket must be checked to ensure the plate, vehicle and violation all match. That review work currently falls on the traffic support officer and sworn staff in coordination with the municipal court.

Councilmembers asked if the workload could be allocated to retirees or non-sworn staff. Zanella agreed and said this is what HR Director Moore is pursuing as part of splitting and repurposing the support services position.

Deputy Mayor Tracy Furutani asked if the three existing red-light cameras could be converted to “hybrid” units that would enforce both red-light and speed violations like in Bothell. He added that he had heard of drivers going twice the speed limit between Kenmore and LFP Town Center.

“It will have really an impact on the volume of data,” he said, adding the need for additional staffing because the current team is already stretched.

French noted that speeds on Northeast 178th Street have dropped to under 23 mph on average over 24 hours in the school zone, which he called a sign that “people are behaving themselves,” but he said the City has not yet seen similar reductions during school hours at Lake Forest Park Elementary and Brookside. He suggested the Council consider raising school‑zone fines closer to Seattle’s $237 level.

Lake Forest Park’s current red-camera traffic fine is $145 for first-time offenders. Repeat offenders can have their fines as high as $290.

“We need to get that number down to zero for safety,” French said. “[And] it’s going to have to be self‑funded.”

Looking ahead, Zanella said he is open to discussing traffic cameras, e-bikes for trail patrols, and virtual training options to reduce costs.

“I will do whatever our community wants,” he said.

The police presentation can be seen here.

The full meeting can be watched on the City’s website.