General Local Government

AWC is seeking signatures on the following two bills that will address state Auditor or Attorney General findings.

Filling a Vacancy in the Office of Mayor

This proposal clarifies that incumbent council members in mayor-council cities or towns are eligible to be appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of mayor without having to resign their council seat first. In addition, the bill removes the restriction that second class cities must only choose a mayoral replacement from among the sitting council members. Newly-elected Rep. Deb Eddy (D-Kirkland), the former mayor of Kirkland, has agreed to prime-sponsor this proposal, and the former Mayor of Naches, Rep. Charles Ross (R-Naches), will be the co-sponsor.

Mid-Term Increases in the Cost of Medical Benefits

The Attorney General, in a recent memorandum, determined that a mid-term increase in the cost of medical benefits provided to council members or mayors would constitute a prohibited increase in compensation. Research into current state statute reveals that for other local governments, such as county elected officials, fire protection districts and utility commissioners, there is an exemption to the compensation issue for costs associated with medical benefits. The AWC proposal is to add cities to the current local government exemption. Rep. Jim Moeller (D-Vancouver), former councilmember in the City of Vancouver, has agreed to sponsor a House bill to address this issue for cities.

Performance Audits

The Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government & Audit Review will hold a work session on Thursday, January 18 at 1:30 pm regarding the performance audits currently being conducted by the State Auditors Office (SAO) due to the implementation of I-900. As mentioned in previous Bulletins, the SAO is currently conducting performance audits of local government in the following areas: compliance with the public records requirements of the Public Disclosure Act; use policies regarding assigned public vehicles; and overtime provisions. For more about the SAO implementation of I-900, please see our factsheet.

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