It’s budget season for cities around the state and for state government. Governor Inslee’s administration is now developing their proposed 2019-2021 biennial budget that will be released in December. Right now, state agencies are submitting their decision packages to the Office of Financial Management (OFM) for consideration – similar to what your city departments may be doing as you are working to develop your budget for the coming year.
AWC has weighed in on the biennial budget with a letter sent to the Governor last week outlining some of cities’ key funding requests, including funding for the Public Works Trust Fund and law enforcement training among others. AWC will continue to reach out to the Governor’s office about the needs of cities throughout the fall, and we will share the Governor’s budget highlights with you when it is released in mid-December.
This week the AWC Board will meet to consider and adopt AWC’s 2019 Priorities. In the August column, we shared with you the five recommendations from the Legislative Priorities Committee that the Board will be considering. After the Board takes action, we will be out talking about our 2019 agenda with cities around the state at AWC’s Regional Meetings. If you haven’t signed up for one near you, do it now!
In addition to fall being budget season, it is also campaign season – many of you may have your own measures or propositions on the November ballot that you are focusing on. It is also a good time for you to look at the statewide initiatives on the ballot – there are some that potentially impact cities like I-1634 Taxation of groceries. AWC does not take positions on ballot measures or initiatives, but we do provide educational information about initiatives for our members. We encourage cities to take a look at all of the initiatives; and, if you choose to take a position, please follow the PDC guidelines for that process.
Finally, we would like to give a shout out to all of the mayors who participated in the AWC Mayors Exchange in beautiful Walla Walla. It was a great opportunity to talk about leadership and the challenging issues and opportunities that our cities face and share solutions. It is always inspiring to listen to city officials talk about how they work to serve their communities.