Association of Washington Cities

In government circles, they call it collaborative action. Before such terminology became commonplace, there was a small but mighty group of mayors who gathered together to discuss issues at the high level. Now, the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) is regarded as a ‘hub of information’ for elected leaders who want a continued education in leadership, access to group health benefits and a means to tackle sticky legislative issues. ABJ’s ANTONIA McGUIRE finds out why a citizen-initiated bill poses a major concern among members.

The Association of Washington Cities is a pri­vate, non-partisan corporation that represents Washington’s cities and towns before the legisla­ture, the state executive branch and with regu­latory agencies. It first started 76 years ago, in 1933, as a pro-abolition in the United States. The federal government at the time was considering the adoption of liquor laws and taxes on alcohol.  “There were a number of city officials concerned about most liquor-selling per capita within cit­ies. They wanted to lobby before the legislature to keep the liquor tax, so cities could help control any defects of what drinking can bring in their town. They came together as a group, formed an association to advocate on behalf of the cit­ies in the state of Washington to get a piece of state’s liquor tax. That would in turn guarantee better enforcement of the liquor establishments. That’s how it all began,” tells Mike McCarty, CEO of the Association of Washington Cities (AWC).

While membership is on a voluntary basis only, the AWC consistently maintains 100 per­cent participation from Washington’s 281 cities and towns, according Glenn Johnson, the mayor of Pullman and president of the organization. “I like to think of the AWC as the one-stop shop­ping center for anyone in city government. If a city just hired a new employee and they need training in being a city clerk or the public records act, AWC has a program for them,” explains Johnson who first joined the organization in 2006 as an elected member-at-large. “If a mem­ber has a local issue that could be addressed at the state capital, then they can call our great legislative staff who walk them through the process or take that issue to our legislative steer­ing committee so all cities and members can be aware of the issue.  If it is affecting many of our cities, it is priority; and the AWC staff to ad­vances process,” explains Johnson. He has since served in various capacities for the organization such as, chairing several committees and search­ing for the new CEO. “I believe that [Mike Mc­Carty] will set this organization on a positive path for many years to come,” says Johnson.

Grassroots-run organization offers a wide range of programs

The 24-member board of directors oversees nu­merous programs ranging from group health benefits for city employees to advocacy and pro­fessional development for its members, as well as overseeing a risk management pool for some of the smaller cities, which allows them liability coverage and training. “We have a team of lob­byists who work 365 days of the year on behalf of cities, to advocate their positions, city issues, bad issues or bills before the legislature, as well as fed­eral government or state cities,” tells McCarty.

Several city leaders interviewed for this ar­ticle believe that AWC plays an integral role facilitating discussion among and network­ing with colleagues to find solutions, develop leadership skills and in some circumstances, fill in the gap of knowledge. “It’s a hub of infor­mation,” explains Johnson. The chief execu­tive officer agrees. “The mayor hit the nail on the head,” says McCarty. “The real strategic objective here is to develop leadership capa­bilities within our communities. That is essen­tial to the future of any city or town in this state. Individuals must step up to the plate and be advocates for their community, to work tireless on behalf of their community.”

Playing an integral role in a city’s success

When asked what it would be like for cities and towns in the state of Washington without this grassroots-run organization, McCarty says the answer depends on the group of cities. “For ex­ample, towns with less than 5,000 people (there are 67 in the state), they really depend on the AWC for our products like the employee ben­efits program in addition to being on the leading edge of what’s education they need to be suc­cessful,” tells McCarty.  “They rely on AWC from A-Z, all points in between,” he says. The situation is a bit different for larger cities that a run with professional staff. “Now, the AWC represents not only their city, but also all other cities across the state in a unified voice, primarily before the legislature,” tells McCarty. “[Big cities] would say we can’t afford to have AWC not at the table when we’re trying to battle an issue of concern. We need that collective voice to give empha­sis to focus on our point of view,” he explains.

Several items on the meeting agenda

The tough economy has been particularly dif­ficult for many cities and towns suffering from substantial reductions to their tax revenues. Lay­offs, foreclosures and elimination of entire city programs have been worse case scenario for many. For smaller cities, it is an especially difficult time. “The costs of running a city don’t diminish dur­ing a recession,” says Johnson, adding health care costs continue to rise, fuel prices, equipment and additional requirements of storm water manage­ment from the Department of Ecology. “For some jurisdictions, it’s tough to balance your books.

Revenue flexibility

Even still, the AWC is pressing forward with a long list to the state level to address legislative issues of concern as early as January. The first item on the agenda is the issue of revenue flexibility. While the AWC won’t be pleading for money, its members are making a wish over the holidays in hope for a toolkit that would allow the cities decide how to best spend the monies. Similar to how cities have the authority to impose what’s called the Real Estate Excise Tax, tells McCarty. That tax revenue from a property sale is currently restricted to capi­tal purposes. However, it can be used to maintain a park. “What we’re trying to tell the legislature as an example, is to let use that money for a short term so we can afford to maintain the park that you’ve given us money to build,” says McCarty.

Johnson agrees it is important to gain more flexibility in securing revenue to run cities. “One of the ways the AWC can achieve this, he says, is to skip the next round of the Growth Manage­ment Act (GMA) in smaller, slow growth areas,” says Johnson, mayor of Pullman. He argues an­other way is to pursue pro-active public records proposals that address some of the problems for instance, growing numbers of requests for more staff time and budgets. “Limiting liability for local government (reforms needed that limit joint liabil­ity for public entities)” is another on his hit list.

Public Works Trust Fund

Another big concern is the Public Works Trust Fund, which has been a great source for low interest loans to cities to take care of needed infrastructure improvements.  For example, the City of Pullman wants to go forward with a $11-million improvement project for a waste water treatment plant, which would double the size of the city’s aeration and second­ary clarifier.  “We don’t have resources or re­serves at the moment to pay for that but we could get the project underway with a loan and pay it back for the next 10 or 20 years,” explains the mayor. “But our state legislators—trying to patch a $ 9-billion dollar shortfall raided the Public Works Trust Fund to the tune of $368-million dollars,” he adds. That trust fund has been an important funding tool for cities to deal with infrastructure, improv­ing or expanding our water treatment plants. Now, some cities are feeling left out to dry.
 
Perhaps the hottest issue in the state of Washington has to do with the Initiative pro­cess, however. In the western United States, it is fairly typical that citizens have been given the right through their state constitutions to put forth a private bill, otherwise referred to as a citizen initiative. “There is a phased approach and someone will go ahead to write what they think is a good idea for a change to a state law. Instead of that state law going before legisla­tures for ultimate consideration and/or adop­tion, they have the right to collect a certain number of signatures,” explains McCarty. Once the signatures are validated by the state au­thorities, the public decides if it passes or not.

Failed Initiative 1033 raises questions on process

While it is a refreshingly progressive approach to law-making and citizen engagement, the AWC became concerned when Initiative 1033 threatened to limit the cities’ abilities to perform their essential function. “It’s very complicated at the sound bite level; it’s very appealing. But as with many of these initiatives, the devil is in the details,” says McCarty. On November 3, the popularized citizen initiative came close to be­ing a reality. In the end, it failed to pass with the public voting 55 percent (no), 45 (yes).

Community-building is key: CEO

Moving forward and upwards, the grassroots-run organization is setting out to raise awareness. “One strategic goal we have set for ourselves is to create vision on what role AWC would play in the betterment of public understanding of the role of local government in the state of Wash­ington. We’re concerning about the lack of ap­parent knowledge of why cities and towns exist to begin with,” says McCarty. “What is the value to you as a resident of this state, to have vibrant, dynamic cities and what does that mean? Does it mean pot holes in the street in every block or does it mean a tree line in the boulevard? I’m not go­ing to cast judgment here, but we are concerned with people developing a disconnect with what it means to be a part of a community,” tells Mc­Carty. “We’ve been thinking through this very carefully to see how we can change mindset from an educational standpoint, public educa­tion standpoint and every point in between.”