skip navigation
Share this:


MRSC Insight Blog


Posts for Paul Sullivan

Legal Consultant Paul Sullivan Retires

Legal Consultant Paul Sullivan Retires

Legal Consultant Paul Sullivan is retiring after more than 30 years at MRSC. 

Read more

More Employees Will Soon Be Eligible for Overtime Pay

More Employees Will Soon Be Eligible for Overtime Pay

There have been changes at both the federal and the state level to determine when workers are eligible for overtime pay. As a result, employers may find many more employees eligible for overtime once these changes go into effect. 

Read more

Please Stop: Handling Public Requests

Please Stop: Handling Public Requests

Municipal employees sometimes must deal with a variety of requests, and some can be quite challenging. This article looks at what local governments can and cannot broadly do in terms of responding to large public records requests and complaints.  

Read more

Long-Term Care Trust Act Brings Services and Support to Washington Residents

Long-Term Care Trust Act Brings Services and Support to Washington Residents

The newly created Long-Term Care Trust Act will offer an employee-financed program to provide payment or partial payment for long-term services and support to qualified Washington residents who have paid into the program and need assistance. 

Read more

Warning: Summer Heat, Enclosed Pets, and Animal Fighting

Warning: Summer Heat, Enclosed Pets, and Animal Fighting

With its long days and hot temperatures, summer is a great time to remember that pets should not be left unattended in enclosed vehicles. This blog post also reviews 2019 legislation prohibiting animal fighting.

Read more

Conflict of Interest and the Spouse

Conflict of Interest and the Spouse

Contractual situations involving spouses of local government officials can present complications that are not immediately apparent. This blog post delves into the issue. 

Read more

Pop Quiz: Family Leave and Sick Leave Edition

Pop Quiz: Family Leave and Sick Leave Edition

Take a short quiz to test your understanding of the Paid Family Leave and Sick Leave for employees.

Read more

Oh Boy! A Gift!

Oh Boy! A Gift!

With the holidays just around the corner, Legal Consultant Paul Sullivan explores the rules surrounding municipal gift "giving" and "receiving." 

Read more

An Inquiry Response Sampler

An Inquiry Response Sampler

This blog post is a grab bag of questions posed to MRSC's consultants through our Ask MRSC service. Covering broad but common local government concerns, the questions (and answers) should interest all our readers.

Read more

New Legislation Targeting Firearms

New Legislation Targeting Firearms

In this blog post, MRSC Legal Consultant Paul Sullivan offers an overview of a number of bills the 2018 Washington State Legislature adopted relating to firearms regulation. 

Read more

Answers to Common Election Season Questions

Answers to Common Election Season Questions

This blog post addresses election-related questions MRSC consultants often field from elected officials and local government employees — such as use of public facilities for political campaigns — and offers additional resources. 

Read more

Action Outside a Public Meeting, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Action Outside a Public Meeting, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

This blog reviews some of the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and what can go wrong if those requirements are not met (Hint:a lot). 

Read more

A Grab Bag of Ask MRSC Questions

A Grab Bag of Ask MRSC Questions

This blog post offers several examples of questions MRSC's legal and policy experts get from local government staff and elected officials. 

Read more

My Can of Coke Costs What?!!!

My Can of Coke Costs What?!!!

Since January 1, 2018, Seattle residents and visitors have found that drinking sweetened drinks cost a little bit more. Legal Consultant Paul Sullivan looks at the city's new sweetened beverage tax, one that is projected to raise almost $15 million in 2018. 

Read more

Year-End Personnel Topics Pop Quiz

Year-End Personnel Topics Pop Quiz

Take a short quiz to test your memory of some common, personnel-related legal issues as well as new employment laws that came in to or remained in effect in 2017.

Read more

Contracting – Some General Principles for Counties

Contracting – Some General Principles for Counties

This blog article discusses how counties can contract for goods and services, including the role that elected officials other than county commissioners may play in the process.

Read more

Municipal Giving and Receiving

Municipal Giving and Receiving

The holiday season is approaching. What are the rules surrounding municipal gift "giving" and "receiving?" Consultant Paul Sullivan explores the rules and offers some advice. 

Read more

Legislature Enacts Paid Family Leave

Legislature Enacts Paid Family Leave

The state legislature has adopted a bill that provides most employees in Washington State with paid leave to care for their health conditions, the health condition of a family member, or for the birth or placement of an adopted or foster child. This post summarizes the new legislation and some of the differences between it and the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Read more

Paid Sick Leave Starts January 1

Paid Sick Leave Starts January 1

Starting January 1, 2018, all employers in the state, including all local government agencies, must provide paid sick leave for their employees. In this blog post, MRSC Legal Consultant Paul Sullivan responds to some possible questions about the new paid sick leave requirements.

Read more

New Law on Restraining Dogs

New Law on Restraining Dogs

In this blog post, Paul Sullivan provides an overview of a new law adopted by the legislature that regulates the tethering of dogs. The new law goes into effect on July 23, 2017. 

Read more

Disqualification: What if a Candidate Doesn’t Meet the Required Qualifications for Office?

Disqualification: What if a Candidate Doesn’t Meet the Required Qualifications for Office?

The candidate filing period for this year's election ended on Friday, May 19. To be qualified for an office, candidates must satisfy certain legal requirements, such as citizenship, residency, and voter registration. But what if they aren't legally qualified?

Read more

Paid Sick Leave and Initiative 1433

Paid Sick Leave and Initiative 1433

Initiative 1433, approved by the voters in November 2016, sets the minimum wage for most employees (currently $11.00 per hour). But the initiative does more than that. Starting January 1, 2018, every employer in the state, including local governments, will be required to provide its employees with paid sick leave. This blog post will explore how this new requirement will affect local governments in Washington State. 

Read more

New Rule Requires Notice When Transporting Oil

New Rule Requires Notice When Transporting Oil

The Department of Ecology (DOE) recently adopted a new regulation, chapter 173-185 WAC, requiring that the DOE receive advance notification when crude oil is moved to certain facilities in the state by railroad car, as well as biannual reports from the owners of certain oil transmission pipelines regarding the volume of crude oil transported through their pipelines. Local governments can, upon request, get this information from the DOE.

Read more

Regulating E-Cigarettes: The Federal Government Steps In

Regulating E-Cigarettes: The Federal Government Steps In

After months of review, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued final regulations governing the manufacture, distribution, and sale of e-cigarettes, vapor liquids, and some tobacco products. The federal regulations come soon after the passage of a new Washington law (ESSB 6328) that, among other things, also regulates the sale of e-cigarettes and vapor products and prohibits their sale to persons under the age of 18. The federal regulations make additional requirements not covered by the state law, but, where both address the same subject, there does not appear to be any conflict.

Read more

New Law Regulates E-Cigarettes and Vapor Products

New Law Regulates E-Cigarettes and Vapor Products

The Legislature adopted new legislation (ESSB 6328) this session to regulate the e-cigarette and vapor product industry in Washington. Here is a summary of some of the key provisions of the new law.

Read more

Three Things You Should Know about FLSA and the MWA (but Maybe You Don’t)

Three Things You Should Know about FLSA and the MWA (but Maybe You Don’t)

Although the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state Minimum Wage Act (MWA) are not new, they still raise questions. Here are a few issues you may not be aware of.

Read more

Pets + Hot Day + Enclosed Vehicle = Trouble

Pets + Hot Day + Enclosed Vehicle = Trouble

With the long daytimes and warm temperatures of summer, it's good to be reminded about the life-threatening hazard of leaving pets in unattended, enclosed vehicles. Animals left in vehicles on a warm day, even for a short time and even with a window slightly open, can quickly suffer heart stroke and die. The 2015 Legislature has recognized this issue and has given law enforcement and animal control clear authority to deal with this situation and has provided a specific penalty to the pet owner who allows it to occur.

Read more

New Amendments to the Public Records Act

New Amendments to the Public Records Act

The 2015 Legislature passed and the Governor signed five bills amending the Public Records Act (PRA) that affect local government public records procedures.

Read more

Contracting – Some General Principles for Cities

Contracting – Some General Principles for Cities

When contracting for services, public works, or purchases, what are the responsibilities of the city council and the mayor/administration? This post addresses a few general situations.

Read more

What if We Accidentally Overpaid an Employee?

What if We Accidentally Overpaid an Employee?

Consider this hypothetical scenario: when I was just starting out as a city employee, I was joined in my office by the city accountant. She informed me that I had been overpaid. (What?! How can that be? If anything, I must have been underpaid!) Sadly, it was true. Due to a mathematical error, my paycheck for the first three months of the year was for an amount greater than it should have been. My first thought likely was “Finders keepers, losers weepers.” Unfortunately for me, that wasn’t the accountant’s first thought; I was expected to repay the amount I was overpaid. Here's why that's the case and how the overpayment should be repaid.

Read more

Residency Requirements for City Employees – Is That OK?

A question we’re asked fairly often is whether a city may require that its employees reside within its jurisdiction?  The answer is that it depends on the form of government the city has and on which employees the requirement would apply to.

Read more

Quick Questions, Quick Answers

I recently paged through the MRSC database. Some of the questions and answers I found may be of interest to all local governments. I’m setting out a few examples of questions and short answers that may be of useful.
Must sales tax be paid when public records are provided to a requesting party?
No. RCW 82.12.02525 provides in part:

The provisions of this...

Read more

Resolution or Ordinance?

It’s a dilemma. Should a council or board action be taken by ordinance? Or by resolution?Sometimes the answer is easy, as a statute or charter may specify which to use. For example, ordinances must be used to adopt a code city budget (RCW 35A.33.075) and to vacate a county road (RCW 36.87.120). And actions taken initially by ordinance can only be amended or repealed by ordinance.
The answer...

Read more

Roles of the Mayor/Manager and the City or Town Council 101: Acquiring Legal Services

How do local governments obtain legal services? When it comes to cities and towns, the answer is not that easy.

Read more

shredded-paper.jpg

Be Cautious Before Disposing of a Public Record

Recently, a former city official entered a plea for “injuring public records.” Accepting the plea, the judge stated “You will likely never be a city manager again.” What’s that all about?

Read more

Do We Really Need to Pass a Budget by Year’s End?

Do We Really Need to Pass a Budget by Year’s End?

Is it really necessary for our city or county to adopt a budget by December 31? I mean, how bad could it be if we don’t? It could be bad! State law requires that cities and counties adopt a budget for ...

Read more

E-Cigarettes - Can They Be Used in Public Places or Places of Employment?

In 2005, the voters approved Initiative 901, prohibiting smoking in public places and places of employment; that initiative is now codified in chapter 70.160 RCW.  Under RCW 70.160.020(1), the terms “smoke” and “smoking” are...

Read more

PRA Requests for Lists of Individuals “for Commercial Purposes”

A number of jurisdictions across the state recently received a public records request from an “online information service” that was seeking documents detailing all purchases the jurisdictions had made from 2008 to present. The information requested included the name, address, contact person, and email of vendors.  Part of the Public Records Act (PRA), RCW 42.56.070(9), prohibits a public agency...

Read more

Exempting or Redacting a Record? Give a Brief Explanation.

A recent state Court of Appeals decision, City of Lakewood v. Koenig, held the City of Lakewood liable for costs and attorney fees when the city redacted information from a requested public record but failed to provide a "brief explanation" for the redaction.

Read more

Use of Social Networking in Employment Decisions

Legislation has been enacted that will prohibit an employer's ability to require that job applicants and current employees  provide social media passwords or other account information as a condition of employment or continued employment.  The legislation, chapter 330, Laws of 2013, goes into effect July 28, 2013.
Here is an excerpt from the Final Bill Report for the legislation:

Read more

How Is Employee Travel Time Treated Under the Fair Labor Standards Act?

When an employee travels to work in the morning and then travels home at the end of the work day, that travel time is not “work time.” But what if the employee, at home after work, is then called back to work? Or if the employee must travel to another city for training? Does it matter if the employee drives his or her own car to an out-of-town assignment? Or if he or she travels as a passenger...

Read more

Collecting Delinquent Water Bills and Terminating Service

Many cities and towns operate their own public utilities, including water service. Unfortunately, sometimes utility customers do not pay their bills. What can be done to collect unpaid or delinquent accounts, and when can water service be shut off?

Read more

Wearing Uniforms in Political Advertisements

This fall’s election is only a couple of months away, and candidates for office or proponents/opponents of ballot measures may be wondering if their advertisements may make use of photographs showing police officers, deputy sheriffs, firefighters, or other uniformed employees dressed in their agency uniforms. State law, specifically RCW 42.17A.555, prohibits the use of public facilities for the...

Read more

“We’re Going into Executive Session to Discuss Personnel.” Is That Okay?

I've attended several local government meetings where the chair has announced that the board or council will be going into an executive session to “discuss personnel.”  It sounds as if that might be permissible, but it is not necessarily so.  Although governing bodies may conduct executive sessions to discuss some personnel issues, that ability is limited.  The fact that the discussion may touch...

Read more

Roles of the Mayor/Manager and the City or Town Council 101: Hiring

A city  or town government does not run on its own; it requires employees to perform the work the public expects and depends on.  How and by whom are its employees hired?  While the easy answer is that it’s the city or town’s chief executive officer - either the mayor or the city or town manager - who makes the hiring decision, in reality, the answer is more complicated than that. ...

Read more