October 14, 2024

Happy Halloween! A few tricks for your advocacy treat bag
AWC staff love Halloween, and this is a great time of year to share a few tips and tricks to help strengthen your advocacy efforts. October is the perfect time to build your city or town’s own legislative agenda. AWC has adopted our 2025 agenda, which you can use to help craft your own. You’ll find many other ideas to help you out in our advocacy tools. We just updated our Strong cities advocacy guide, full of tips and tricks, and sent copies to all 281 cities and towns. Let us know if you need more.

October is also a great time to contact your local legislators, share your city’s budget challenges, and invite them to sit in on your budget work sessions. Your legislators need to understand how your budget works and your community priorities and needs so they can best represent you in the upcoming session.

With these kinds of tricks, the legislative session won’t be spooky, and you are sure to be a strong city advocate who’s ready for the 2025 session.

Have a happy and safe Halloween,

Candice Bock
Government Relations Director

AWC 2025 City Legislative Priorities
Fiscal sustainability, public safety, infrastructure investment, housing supply, and behavioral health treatment capacity top the list of priorities adopted by AWC’s Board of Directors for the 2025 legislative session. Read about these priorities—and a host of other issues significant to cities—here. Be sure to check out our fact sheets on each priority for helpful context on the issue and specific requests to meet cities’ needs.

Proposed indigent defense standards would triple the number of public defenders needed
AWC and cities across the state have commented to the state Supreme Court on rulemaking around the Washington State Bar Association’s new proposed indigent defense standards. To help cities with their written comments (due October 31), we provide an overview of the proposed rule. The Court held the first public hearing on the rule on September 25, and a second public hearing has been set for November 13. Learn more.

AWC identifies state budget priorities
Each year, AWC writes to the Governor to express our key city funding priorities. AWC sent a letter to Gov. Inslee in September highlighting a variety of funding requests, including additional support for public safety, indigent defense, and local transportation needs, as well as preserving support for small cities and towns. Gov. Inslee will propose his last biennial budget in mid-December for consideration by the Legislature during the 2025 legislative session, when the Legislature must adopt a 2025-27 biennial budget. As of the most recent revenue forecasts, budget writers are concerned about balancing the budget given slowing revenues and increasing costs.

Apply now: AWC Energy Audit Grant for city-owned buildings
The Legislature recently established a statewide Clean Buildings Performance Standard, which sets energy performance standards for large buildings. City governments own a substantial number of covered buildings, and meeting the new standards will be a challenge. AWC has funding to help: We received $3.8 million to assist cities in conducting energy audits of their qualifying buildings. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis now through January 31, 2025, or until funds run out. Don't miss your chance to access these one-time dollars. Visit the grant program webpage to learn more.

The grant is funded by the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Energy Retrofits and Solar Power for Public Buildings program, which is supported by funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA). The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available at www.climate.wa.gov.

Find climate and clean energy funding through new state portal
Check out FundHubWA, a new resource from the state that aims to connect local governments, public agencies, businesses, and others to state and federal climate and clean energy funding opportunities. The searchable database is designed to make it easier for your city or town to find grants, tax incentives, and other funding opportunities to make Washington cleaner, healthier, and more resilient. Start exploring now.

Get involved! Apply to serve on an AWC committee or state board
AWC is currently recruiting city officials and select staff to serve on several AWC committees, state boards, and advisory committees. View all opportunities and apply by November 4.

Municipal tax and user fee data now available: Find out how to access and use the information
AWC’s Tax and User Fee Survey (TUFS) is the state’s principal source for information on municipal taxes, rates, and fees. The 2024 survey results have been published and are available through our reporting dashboard. We have also published a summary of TUFS, which includes an overview of the survey and guidance on how to navigate the dashboard and use the data to benefit your city. Check out the summary and dive into the dashboard.

Childcare listening session: How can cities improve access?
October 16 | Online
Access to childcare is a major issue for cities and towns across the state. While cities are traditionally not childcare providers themselves, they can help improve access to childcare in their communities. Join a listening session to learn more about what your city or town can do. Hear from childcare advocacy organizations, state policymakers, and cities that have already taken action to improve access to childcare. Register today. Note: This event is exclusively for AWC city members.

Lead and copper rule inventory deadline approaching. All community water systems must provide an initial inventory of lead service lines to their state by October 16, 2024. More

EPA announces final rule for lead pipe replacement. The new regulations require drinking water systems to identify and replace lead pipes within 10 years, conduct more rigorous testing, and use lower thresholds for determining when to act to protect people from lead exposure in water. More

Cities urged to comment on Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA) federal rulemaking. The FDTA will require standard formats for data submitted to federal agencies, such as the SEC’s Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) system for bond issuers. The public comment period is open through October 21. More

State revenue forecast relatively flat again. The September revenue forecast is $49 million lower than last quarter’s as the state prepares for the 2025-27 biennial budget and the Governor’s proposed budget release in December. More

Minimum wage to increase to $16.66 per hour in 2025. The Department of Labor & Industries recently announced increases to the state minimum wage and overtime exemption thresholds. More

It’s budget season: Have you obligated your ARPA funds? The first major deadline for ARPA is December 31, 2024—the date by which cities must have all their ARPA-SLFRF funds obligated. More

Election heats up with focus on initiatives
Four initiatives will appear on the November ballot for voters to consider. All have the potential to impact cities and towns. Some city councils have opted to take a position on one or more of the proposals. Learn more about the initiatives and how they could impact your community.

AWC wants to hear from you: Attend your annual AWC Board district meeting
Multiple dates | Multiple locations
Join AWC and other city leaders in your area for the opportunity to connect over lunch, share your priorities, and hear about AWC’s 2025 legislative agenda, as well as our ongoing work to update our bylaws so our Board remains representative of our diverse membership. We hope to see you there and look forward to hearing how AWC can best serve the needs of your city. Not sure what Board district you’re in? Find out here and register today.

Register for AWC’s 2025 legislative session preview
December 5 | Online
Sign up for a preview of the 2025 legislative session on Thursday, December 5, from noon to 1:15 pm. We will talk about what to expect in the upcoming session, review AWC’s legislative agenda, and share helpful advocacy tools and tips. Register now. This an AWC members-only event.

wacities.org/Advocacy | Legislative issues
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