Christina Giordani and John Carreiro take seats on Bellevue City Council

“This is the first time we have had a quorum of six city councilmembers in some time,” Goldman said.

Councilmembers fulfill many executive responsibilities, including setting the city’s $5.3 million municipal budget. The City Council also reviews and approves annexations, city code changes, employee matters and other key functions of city government.

Carreiro, 58, is from California and lived for 20 years in Seattle before living in the Wood River Valley. He moved from Sun Valley to Bellevue in 2021, and works in sales for Aetna. He has served on the Bellevue Urban Renewal Agency board.

Giordani, 35, is from California and has lived for 10 years in the Wood River Valley. She is the owner of Road Bars, a mobile bar and beverage company. She moved from the San Francisco bay area to work for Lava Lake Lamb Company. She has a degree in entrepreneurship and environmental studies.

City Council members are currently paid $50 per month, but the City Council voted earlier this year to budget an increase to $250 per month. Goldman said the first opportunity to increase pay will be in January 2024, after the next election cycle.

Also Monday, the city council swore in Goldman, City Councilwoman Robin Leahy and Brown for new terms of office. Brown was subsequently reelected to serve again as city council chair.

City Councilman Chris Johnson cast the lone vote in opposition to Brown’s reelection to the position.

In other Bellevue news:

• The City Council discussed with Parks Committee Chair John Kurtz possible changes to the park use permitting and reservation policy for O’Donnell Park and made plans to draft a new and clarified version.

• The City Council approved a $39,000 90-day contract with BDE Water Professionals for water system operations and maintenance, which Mayor Goldman said would yield potential needs for upgrading operations.

• The City Council voted to authorize the treasurer to open an account with the Idaho State Treasurer’s Office with the initial amount of $50,000 received from Steadfast Properties & Development, Inc. for the purpose of reimbursing city expenses associated with the Gannett Development Holdings (Gannett Ranch) annexation review.