From the Director: Transportation Funding - Picking Up Steam
By Stan Finkelstein, AWC Executive Director
We are hearing acknowledgment from legislators on both sides of the aisle that the Legislature will have to address transportation funding this session.

Not only has the AWC State of the Cities report highlighted city transportation needs, but there is also recognition that additional funding is needed to address the state’s transportation issues.

To add fuel to the fire, Senator Patty Murray’s recent comments that it would be "impossible" to secure a billion dollars in federal transportation funding for the Seattle viaduct raises the likelihood that the Legislature will have to act.

From the standpoint of AWC, it is critical that we have a state/local partnership in the next transportation funding package. Local governments received no additional funding from the 2003 nickel gas tax increase and have not received any additional funding for transportation since 1990.

For cities, the per capita allocation of gas taxes, adjusted for inflation, have declined by 40 percent since 1991 due to the aggregate growth of city populations. Concurrently, city general fund dollars, normally relied upon to fund transportation, have also shrunk.

The Association believes that a transportation package should include three basic elements for cities:

• First, an increase in the distribution of gas taxes to all cities and towns.
• Second, increased grant funding from our state partners including the Transportation Improvement Board and reestablishment of the Small City Pavement Preservation Program.
• Third, additional local options that cities could implement to address their local transportation needs.

The AWC Board has established transportation funding as a high priority for the 2005 session. In the current environment, a tax increase is a "hard sell" for the Legislature. City officials are strongly urged to communicate their transportation needs to their legislators, seek their commitment to support a funding package, and remind them that highways, roads, and streets are not partisan - both Democrats and Republicans should support a funding package.

Navigating the Olympia "Landmine"

For many first time visitors to the state capital, watching the Legislature in action is an intriguing and eye opening experience. While city officials are familiar with city council legislative procedures, some city officials are not familiar with the state legislative "experience". I encourage city officials who are visiting Olympia for the first time to contact the Association; we would be happy to assist you during your visit.

Furthermore, we encourage those who are here to testify to contact our lobbyists to "get the lay of the land". These meetings are a good opportunity for our staff to get more details about legislative issues in your city, for our lobbyists to provide assistance in preparation for testifying, and to help ensure everyone is aware of city positions being communicated to the Legislature.

In Closing

This session is starting to take hold. We’ve met with the four caucus leaders and have received warm receptions from all. There is a strong recognition of our problems, and I believe a sincere desire to address them. Most importantly, legislators need to be continually reminded from home of those problems and of their responsibility to work together in the state and local government partnership.

 
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