At the City of Sammamish annual retreat four months ago, Council member Nancy Whitten suggested that city staff consider combining the celebrations for the city’s upcoming 10th Birthday in August, and the annual Fourth of the Plateau event in July, as a way of cutting expenditure.

During that retreat, the need to trim spending where possible in the face of falling revenues and increasing costs was the theme of much of the discussion.

Seven months earlier, at the city’s 2008 financial retreat in June, the option was presented by city staff to councillors of introducing a utility tax, to better secure the city’s financial future.

It was there that the councillors first discussed in depth the possibility of the city’s expenditure exceeding its revenue in coming years.

The suggestion of a utility tax inspired in Whitten a desire to encourage the city to be more frugal with its resources, and she saw in the upcoming birthday and Independence Day events an opportunity to demonstrate a valuable economy.

“I am looking at the bigger picture financial sustainability of the city,” Whitten said. “Although we are not talking about substantial sums of money (for the birthday celebration), we could be using it is an example. We need to be as mean and as lean as possible, and demonstrate that we are spending wisely.”

Whitten said that with a lot of the city staff on holiday in August, it would also make organizational sense to hold the birthday celebration in July, in conjunction with Fourth on the Plateau.

“But, I got out-voted. And that’s okay,” she said.

Whitten’s idea has gained little favor with her colleagues, and has not been acted upon by the city.

She mentioned the idea in passing at a council meeting earlier this month, but, again, little support was offered from the other councillors or city staff.

According to City of Sammamish Director of Finance, and Assistant City Manager, Lyman Howard, the Fourth on the Plateau event has a budget of $75,000. “This will be offset by donations, as in the past,” he said.

Howard confirmed that Microsoft would be a major contributor, sponsoring the event with $25,000.

“Other sponsors will further reduce the city’s net out of pocket,” Howard said.

The 10th birthday celebration budget is $5,000.

Both events will rely heavily on volunteers.

Council member Jack Barry told The Reporter this week that the 10th Birthday celebration was a significant milestone, and marking it appropriately was important to the city.

“Good cities do certain things, and one of them is to celebrate when someone does something great, or when something exciting happens,” he said. “It is only appropriate that the city celebrate this 10th birthday, and I am very excited that we will be a part of it. We would not be serving our citizens if we didn’t celebrate this event.”

Barry said that the financial savings would be too minimal to warrant a change to the city’s plans.

Mayor Don Gerend echoed Barry’s thoughts, and said that the birthday celebrations had generated a lot of excitement in the city.

“I had to opportunity to make the rounds of the grades schools recently, to talk to the kids about the birthday celebration, and they are really excited about it,” he said. “I don’t think we want to dilute this experience, by having it be overwhelmed by the Fourth of July celebrations. I mean, that’s when we celebrate the nation’s birthday. I wouldn’t want to see our own city’s birthday lost in there.”

City Manager Ben Yazici said that Whitten should be applauded for looking at ways to save money.

“But your birthday is your birthday – you can’t change that,” he said.

Sammamish was officially incorporated on August 31, 1999.

Gerend said that the recording of video messages for the city’s time capsule project was proving to be very popular.

At last week’s opening of the Sammamish Farmers Market, 10-year-old children got the chance to record their message for the time capsule, which will be buried until 2049.

This will continue throughout the summer.