The Olympia City Council wants 9 things from the state this session. What are they?
The Olympia City Council typically lists items in their legislative priorities by importance, the most important being on the front page. It’s a way of showing the state legislature where the council needs the legislature’s backing to move forward as a community.
This year, there are four items just on the front page, with nine in total. Here they are, listed in the order they were presented to the 22nd Legislative District delegation — Senator Sam Hunt, Rep. Jessica Bateman and Rep. Beth Doglio.
Deschutes Estuary restoration funding
The city’s support of the state Department of Enterprise Services’ funding request for restoring Capitol Lake to an estuary, reconnecting the Puget Sound to the Deschutes River, took the top spot.
Climate change initiatives
Next is legislative action related to climate change and statewide climate justice initiatives. Susan Grisham, the city’s legislative liaison, said climate program director Pamela Braff helped shape the language around this priority.
The city council wants the state to help them invest in a building electrification program to help people transition their homes and buildings from natural gass to all-electric power. And it wants low- and moderate-income residents to be a priority as well as multi-family houses and small businesses.
The city also wants a point-of-sale vehicle incentive program aimed at curbing emissions through moving to zero-emission vehicles. And it wants funding for cities and counties to address climate change and resiliency.
Housing and homelessness
The city wants more state resources to address homelessness and affordable housing. Council members discussed how more dense urban housing is being created in Olympia, but nearly all is rental property. They want more opportunities for homeownership.
The city council also wants the legislature to support tenant/renter protections, including the idea of rent stabilization and tenant screening. And more funds are needed to keep permanent supportive housing sites running and to get more sites built.
Property tax levy lid lift
The council wants the state to support a property tax levy increase of more than 1% for specific projects or initiatives, as well as raising it based on the rate of inflation, or 1% every year, whichever is higher. That’s because the current 1% levy lid restricts revenue growth in the city, Grisham said.
Mental health
The council is asking the state to step up in expanding and creating better access to mental health and behavioral health resources. The council also wants more state investment in increasing the number of people in the mental and behavioral health fields. Grisham said Gov. Jay Inslee recently toured the University of Washington’s behavioral health teaching hospital that’s under construction, and he has several proposals on the topic already in the works.
Tax reform
The city council wants statewide tax codes to be more fair and transparent, as well as for the tax structure to be more beneficial to those with low income who need it most.
Public safety reform
More funding is needed to keep programs running, such as the implementation of body cameras.
Reducing gun violence
To further prevent gun violence, the council wants the state to expand the prohibition of firearms in publicly owned facilities.
Parks projects
The council wants more legislative support for parks project grants the city has applied for, totaling $4.5 million. Most of the money, $3.5 million, would go toward the Yelm Highway Community Park and making improvements to Kaiser Woods.
The Olympia Armory also was included in a list of projects recommended for a $1 million grant from the Washington State Historical Society to help the city make improvements to the historic building it is converting into an art center.
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