When legislative budget leads start talking, here is what cities think of their ideas

Lead House and Senate negotiators have not publicly agreed to talks, but when they start, AWC has shared key items needed to support strong cities and towns across the state. On April 5, we submitted a detailed letter to the 81 legislators who sit on one or more of the budget committees. It communicates our support and appreciation for what we like in operating and capital budgets, as well as concerns and preferences in each approach. At the Direction of AWC’s Board of Directors, we also shared our support for some of the new revenues included in the House adopted budget proposal. We have summarized the letter in this Hot Sheet.

You are encouraged to share this letter or Hot Sheet with your respective House and Senate members – many of whom are not in leadership, nor serve as leads on budget negotiations. Nevertheless, they can be your specific city advocate! If you choose to share, please consider including notations of local impacts – items like your shared revenues (which you can easily find here), or LEOFF 2 pension obligations in the Senate budget, etc.

The clock is ticking down to when they are supposed to be finished with their work on April 23. While chances of that happening do not look promising, their attention is focused on budget issues, and your help reminding them of your needs is most appreciated.

If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact Peter King, Dave Williams, Victoria Lincoln, or any of our team of advocates working to keep cities strong.