We thank the King County Council staff for providing this official summary.

On March 7, 2018, the King County Council’s Committee of the Whole considered Proposed Ordinance 2018-0086. As originally drafted, this proposed ordinance would make a number of changes to oversight of 4Culture, a cultural development authority formed by King County in 2003 to steward public art, the arts, heritage, and historic preservation funding and programs:

• 4Culture budget. The proposed ordinance would require that the Council accept by motion 4Culture’s board-adopted budget, prior to transferring funding to 4Culture in the next fiscal year.
• 4Culture Board appointment process. The proposed ordinance would modify the process to include one board appointment each by County Councilmembers by district and six appointments by the County Executive. The requirements for a specific balance of expertise on the board would be eliminated.
• 4Culture Executive Director. The proposed ordinance would provide for the County Executive to appoint and the Council to confirm the 4Culture Executive Director recommended by the 4Culture Board. Provide for the County to remove the Executive Director by ordinance.

The Committee of the Whole approved the proposed ordinance as amended, and forwarded the proposed ordinance to the full Council. The amendments approved by the Committee of the Whole were:

• Striking amendment S1.2 was approved. It would make a number of changes to the proposed ordinance:
  • 4Culture budget. The striking amendment would stipulate that the 4Culture budget be transmitted to the Executive 125 days before the end of each fiscal year and then to the Council, rather than directly to the Council 95 days before the end of each fiscal year. It would require the 4Culture budget review and acceptance process to begin in 2020, rather than on the effective date of the proposed ordinance. It would allow transfers to continue in the next fiscal year if the Council did not act on the motion by November 30; transfers would only discontinue if the Council rejected the 4Culture budget by motion by November 30.
  • 4Culture Board appointment process. The striking amendment would provide for a process for notification and input from the 4Culture Governance/Nominating Committee on board vacancies, and also require that the current 4Culture process for nominating vacancies to the Board occur only by request of the Executive or Councilmember making the appointment.
  • 4Culture Executive Director. The striking amendment would eliminate the ability of the County to remove the 4Culture Executive Director.
• Amendment 1 was approved. It would establish a task force to conduct a community stakeholder process to be staffed by an independent consultant funded by King County and 4Culture. The task force report would be transmitted to the county by February 1, 2019. If the Council passes a motion acknowledging receipt of the report by April 1, 2019, then the 4Culture budget transmittal/ review process would begin in 2019. If the Council does not pass the motion by April 1, 2019, the 4Culture budget transmittal/ review process would begin in 2020.
• Amendment 2 was approved. It would add policy language to the King County Code stating that, “King County recognizes that meeting its goals for regional distribution of cultural activities requires regional planning, outreach to cities and communities throughout the county, and a regional investment strategy.”

Next Steps
The proposed ordinance as amended has been forwarded to the full Council for further deliberation and possible action. Following the regular calendar would bring the proposed ordinance to the Council meeting on Monday, March 19, 2018.