Budget leaders are rolling up their sleeves to begin negotiating what stays and what goes in the final version of the budget.
Last week we reported the details of the newly released budget proposals. Since then, the House and Senate have adopted amendments to the proposals and passed them out of their respective bodies. Now the budget leaders sit down and negotiate what the
final budgets will include.
As is typical, the capital and transportation budget proposals passed with broad bipartisan support. By comparison, the operating budget proposals were passed on partisan lines due to objections to the amounts of proposed spending and the assumption of
a capital gains taxes included in the proposals. Once the House and Senate have formally adopted their respective proposals, they will meet to work out and agree upon a final version.
We also reported last week that many city priorities were funded in the various proposals. You can find our updated budget matrix with notes about items that may have been amended since the proposals’ initial released. While cities fared well overall, specific areas of the proposals are preferable to others, and some areas provide
inadequate funding.
AWC has developed a budget comparison hot sheet that highlights where cities prefer one approach over another and where more funding is still needed.
AWC asks city leaders to add your names to our letter to legislative budget leaders, thanking them for supporting cities and asking for full funding of some of the outstanding needs. If you would like to add your name as an individual city leader, please follow this
link and complete the form. No need to send an electronic signature: by filling out the form, you give us permission to add your name to the letter. The deadline
to sign on is midnight on Thursday, April 8. The letter will be sent Friday, April 9.
You can also share the following key messages about the budget with your local legislators and urge them to talk to the leadership about city funding priorities.
- Recognize the impact of new legislative mandates and support the city assistance fund of $58 million identified in the House budget. This will help cover the costs of new GMA planning requirements and new law enforcement responsibilities related to
police reforms.
- Fully fund necessary law enforcement training by providing for 15 Basic Law Enforcement Academy (BLEA) classes per year.
- Support investments in housing and rental assistance to reduce housing instability. Additionally, support funding for utility assistance to address the unpaid utility accounts that have accumulated during the emergency shutoff moratorium.
- Retain key funding for the PWTF to support local infrastructure needs. Infrastructure is an eligible use of federal relief funds and helps with economic recovery while providing long-term economic and environmental benefits.
- Include the necessary state and local funding for new GMA planning requirements.
- Increase funding to the Criminal Justice Training Commission to fully fund the cost of new police reform policies and training.
- Maintain transportation funding for local communities by supporting key city funding sources like the Transportation Improvement Board.
AWC will continue to advocate for cities in the final budget proposals and we encourage you to weigh in too. City leaders can make a big impact when speaking with one voice.