September 25, 2024

Board of Directors adopts 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 significant issues to cities—in the final adopted 2025 city legislative agenda.

TUFScover2024 2024 Tax and User Fee Survey: Data and new report are now available
Every two years, AWC conducts the Tax and User Fee Survey (TUFS) to collect statewide data on municipal taxes and fees, planning and development fees, and utility rates. Results are in from the 2024 survey, featuring responses from 148 cities and towns in Washington. This valuable tool provides city officials with comparable data as an aid to benchmarking, policy discussions, and rate setting. Thank you to all the cities and towns that participated this year. Read our newly published TUFS overview and access the survey data.

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

EOE webinar series: Tribal government relations 101
October 17 | Online
Join us for the next webinar in our Elected Officials Essentials series to learn about Tribal sovereignty and examine the government-to-government relationships between federal, state, and Tribal governments. Gain a better understanding of how to work effectively with Tribes and Tribal members as a city elected official. Register now.

Three-month budget extension proposed to avoid threat of federal government shutdown
As federal budget negotiations continue and the September 30 deadline looms, Congress is expected to vote on a temporary three-month continuing budget resolution without any ties to other legislation, to avoid shutting down the federal government beginning on October 1. House leadership is expected to introduce the temporary budget extension on September 25. Learn more.

Other news & resources

Municipal Research and Services Center announces its new executive director, Melanie Harding, a former city official with Tacoma and Puyallup. More

Learn how to protect your community’s “naturally occurring affordable housing” for residents who might otherwise be priced out of local housing. More

Could a retail delivery fee be a potential transportation funding tool for cities? Check out our new fact sheet. More

UW Evans School and WCMA are partnering to offer a Building Resilient Local Governments graduate certificate program to train professional staff in organizational resilience. Register for an upcoming info session. More

DES invites city procurement staff to attend the Washington Procurement Connect in Tacoma on October 8, a free, all-day conference offering accredited training and the chance to connect with small, diverse, and certified veteran-owned businesses in Washington. More

Public comment period for Financial Data Transparency Act proposed rules is open through October 21. More

HUD announces Legacy Challenge, a new flexible loan program to leverage Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) resources for affordable housing. The deadline to express interest is November 1. More

The Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) Program’s Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) is open for public comment through November 18. More

$2 billion is available through EPA’s new environmental and climate justice Community Change Grants Program. Apply by November 21. More

The Connecting Housing to Infrastructure Program (CHIP) is currently accepting applications for funding to support utility connections for affordable housing. More

The new AWC grant for energy audits of city-owned buildings is open – Apply now! More

0924ArticleProTested150 Pro tested: Strategies for effective city communications
Every city needs a communications strategy that works in good times and in bad. Jillian Henze—AWC Board member, elected official, and PR professional—knows that rallying public support around a project is key. She shares her ‘secret sauce’ for doing just that—a four-pronged approach she learned while getting her Accreditation in Public Relations—along with how this strategy is helping bring the community together. Read more in this article from Cityvision magazine.

AWC trainings & events

AWC: Elected Officials Essentials webinar series | Multiple dates | Online

October 17: Tribal government relations 101
November 7: Promoting a positive workplace

AWC: Mayors Exchange | October 3-4 | Ellensburg

RMSA: RMSA Annual Meeting | October 8 | Chelan

AWC: Member Expo | October 9-10 | Chelan

AWC: Childcare access listening session (Exclusively for AWC city members) | October 16 | Online

D&A: Supervisor training | Multiple dates | Multiple locations

Trust: Wellness Planning Workshops | Multiple dates | Multiple locations

Other trainings & events

PSRC: Planning for people and amenities in transit-oriented communities | September 27 | Online

IPMA: Accessibility Matters Conference | October 8-9 | Lacey

MRSC: Addressing public health impacts of climate change | October 22 | Online

IACC: Infrastructure Assistance Coordinating Council 2024 Conference | October 22-24 | Wenatchee

MRSC: Public Records Act basics & more—Virtual workshop | November 7 | Online

State Archives: Records management workshops | Multiple dates | Online

NLC: Webinars and events | Multiple dates | Online

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