Full Text
December 3, 2019 CITY OF REDMOND 2020 STATE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA Top Priority Issues Affordable Housing Redmond is actively working to increase the level of housing affordability. The City is developing a Housing Action Plan to identify the actions most needed to improve housing affordability in the Redmond community. Meanwhile, the City supports the following legislative proposals: Extend and expand the Multi-Family Property Tax Exemption (MFTE). Allow existing affordable housing funding to be spent on a broader array of income levels, ranging from 0-30% area median income (AMI) to workforce housing. Authorize local option funding tools to address affordability; any county-imposed funding shall be allocated to the communities where funds are generated for investment in affordable housing. Homelessness: Fund Behavioral Health Co-Responder Program The City received a State grant from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs in 2018, and again in 2019, to fund a mental health professional to work with Redmond police and the City’s homeless outreach coordinator responding to persons with mental health issues. Redmond asks that the Legislature authorize ongoing funding to support the continuation of this Behavioral Health Co- Responder Program. Redmond’s Future Transportation Needs Redmond supports increased funding and local options to fund city transportation systems, including pavement preservation. In the “Forward Washington” Transportation Package, Redmond requests the following investments: o $44M for SR 520 and 148th Avenue NE Improvements – to improve the flow of traffic on SR 520 and 148th Avenue NE and increase pedestrian and bicycle safety; cost estimate is 2019 dollars. o $9.5M for Improvements to Benefit SR 520 and SR 202 – to relieve congestion at the end of SR 520 and SR 202 and improve safety and multi-modal access to light rail in Marymoor Village; cost estimate is 2019 dollars. City Fiscal Sustainability and Local Control Honor local control. Fund and safeguard State revenues dedicated to cities. Fully fund Basic Law Enforcement Academy (BLEA) classes. Replace the 1% cap on property tax with inflation and population growth. ---PAGE BREAK--- December 3, 2019 Support/Oppose Issues General Government Public Records Act (PRA): Redmond is committed to public records openness and transparency. Redmond joins the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) and others in monitoring studies and implementation of recent PRA updates. Insurance Reimbursement for Hazardous Waste: Redmond supports allowing cities to recover from insurance companies for fuel spills and other hazardous waste clean ups resulting from auto accidents. Cybersecurity: Redmond supports proposals to help cities prevent and respond to cybersecurity threats and/or attacks. Mental Health and Human Services Mental Health System Funding: Redmond supports increased funding for the State mental health system, including funding to transition to community-based service delivery. Housing Essential Needs: Redmond supports increased funding to the Housing Essential Needs (HEN) program. Eastside Human Services Forum: Redmond supports the Eastside Human Services Forum State Legislative Agenda. Environment Plastic Bag Ban: Redmond supports a statewide plastic bag ban. Climate Change Impacts: Redmond supports the State establishing a reserve for impacts from climate change. State “Product Stewardship” Programs: Redmond supports adding new elements to the State’s product stewardship programs, which use manufacturer-financed initiatives to encourage environmentally responsible recycling of items. Culvert, Fish & Habitat Funding: Redmond encourages the State to invest in State and local culvert, floodplain, and fish habitat projects to open habitat on a watershed basis. Stormwater Funding: Redmond encourages the State to invest in stormwater projects to help jurisdictions meet National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit obligations. ---PAGE BREAK--- December 3, 2019 Infrastructure Infrastructure Funding: Redmond supports funding tools for infrastructure and funding for the Public Works Assistance Account. Park & Recreation Funding: Redmond supports funding programs administered through the Recreation and Conservation Office. ADA Infrastructure: Redmond supports proposals incentivizing ADA-compliant infrastructure; however, any proposal should not include cost-prohibitive mandates or otherwise create undue burden. Transportation “Connecting Washington” Transportation Package Funding: Redmond supports the on-time delivery of the Overlake Access Ramp and SR 520 Regional Trail Grade separation projects funded in “Connecting Washington.” Law Enforcement/Criminal Justice Statewide re-licensing program for Driving While License Suspended (DWLS) offenders: Redmond supports a statewide re-licensing program to enable repeat offenders to pay back their fines over time, while allowing local jurisdictions to maintain existing re-licensing programs. Reforms to the Criminal Justice System: Redmond supports reforms to the criminal justice system that couple penalties with better support services for low-level repeat offenders. Redmond Supports the Association of Washington Cities and Sound Cities Association ---PAGE BREAK--- December 3, 2019 CITY OF REDMOND 2019 STATE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA Guiding Principles: The City has adopted the following principles to guide the City’s Legislative Agenda: Protect home rule and local authority: The Legislature should refrain from pre-empting the authority of local cities and communities which are closest to the citizens they serve. Refrain from imposing unfunded or “under-funded” mandates: It is important that the Legislature refrain from imposing new unfunded or “under-funded” mandates upon local jurisdictions unless there is adequate funding provided to implement them. The State should not erode local revenues and local taxing authority: As “creatures of the State,” cities in Washington have only the taxing and revenue authority directly provided to them by the State Legislature. It is vital that lawmakers refrain from making decisions that erode or eliminate those revenues and the local taxing authority that is given to cities. The State should preserve Operating, Capital, and Transportation budget funding that flows to cities: Redmond urges the Legislature to refrain from cutting or eliminating operational and infrastructure funding for Redmond and other cities, including the Connecting Washington projects and timelines as previously scoped. The Legislature should reward jurisdictions that step up to implement the policy goals developed by the State, as it exercises its decision-making, particularly in grant and loan programs: Redmond is an example of a city doing the right things to implement the Growth Management Act (GMA), accommodate density, ensure the urban centers of downtown and Overlake are conducive to “transit-oriented” and pedestrian-friendly development, embrace “green building”, climate-change and Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) strategies, etc. As it makes funding and policy decisions regarding grant and loan programs, the State should find ways to reward jurisdictions, such as Redmond, that carry out and embrace these policy objectives.