HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/30/2016 02 2017-2018 State and Federal Legislative Priorities xs 1
s. n.
BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDASTATEMENT
Item No. 2.
For Meeting of: August 30, 2016
ITEM TITLE: Consideration of draft 2017 -2018 State and Federal Legislative
and Administrative Priorities
SUBMITTED BY: Randy Beehler, Communications & Public Affairs Director
SUMMARY EXPLANATION:
Draft 2017 -2018 State and Federal Legislative and Administrative Priorities (attached) have been
developed to reflect recent policy actions taken by the City Council and in order to be consistent
with direction provided by the City Council. Additionally, the draft priorities include a few items
identified by City administration as important to conducting City business as efficiently and
effectively as possible.
Also attached is a memorandum that includes brief descriptions of each of the draft priorities and
whether each draft priority is existing or new on the priorities list.
At its August 30th study session, the City Council will be asked to discuss the draft priorities,
make any revisions to the draft priorities, and adopt final priorities.
ITEM BUDGETED: NA
STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Partnership Development
APPROVED FOR {
SUBMITTAL: City Manager
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Discuss draft 2017 -2018 State and Federal Legislative and Administrative Priorities, make any
revisions to the draft priorities, and adopt final priorities.
BOARD /COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION:
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Upload Date Type
Memorandum - Draft 2017-2018 State and Federal
D 8/24/2016 Cover Memo
Legislative and Administrative Priorities
Draft 2017-2018 State Legislative and Administrative
8/24/2016 Cover Memo
Priorities
Draft 2017-2018 Federal Legislative and Administrative
D 8/24/2016 Cover Memo
Priorities
N DN C DDU LINEN
To: City Council Members
From: Communications & Public Affairs Director Randy Beehler
Subject: Draft State and Federal Legislative and Administrative Priorities
Date: Thursday, August 25 2016
Council members,
A Council study session has been scheduled for Tuesday, August 30 beginning at 10:00 am in the
Council Chambers at Yakima City Hall. During the study session, draft 2017 -2018 State Legislative
and Administrative Priorities and draft 2017 -2018 Federal Legislative and Administrative Priorities (see
attachment) will be presented and discussed. Please contact me individually to provide any feedback
you may have regarding the draft priorities prior to the August 30 study session. I can be contacted
by phone (901- 1142), by e-mail (randy.beehler(a�yakimawa.gov), or in person at City Hall.
The draft priorities have been developed to reflect recent policy actions taken by the City Council and
in order to be consistent with direction provided by the City Council. Additionally, the draft priorities
include a few items identified by City administration as important to conducting City business as
efficiently and effectively as possible.
Following are brief descriptions of the draft priorities. Also denoted is whether the items are or
New on the priorities list.
Draft 2017 -2018 State Legislative and Administrative Priorities
Actively Pursue
- Passage of the Washington Voting Rights Act — Existing - This item was elevated to the
"Actively Pursue" category by the City Council in January 2016. Proposed legislation passed the
House during the 2016 session of the legislature but did not pass out of the Senate. Proposed
legislation will likely be reintroduced in 2017.
- Efforts to address homelessness locally, regionally, and statewide — New - Consistent with
actions taking by the City Council in 2016, this item is proposed to be included in the 2017 -2018
State Legislative and Administrative Priorities. Cities statewide are seeking assistance from the
legislature to effectively address homelessness.
- Reducing barriers to affordable housing and human services programs — New - Consistent
with actions taking by the City Council in 2016, this item is proposed to be included in the 2017-
2018 State Legislative and Administrative Priorities. Cities statewide are seeking assistance from
the legislature to effectively reduce barriers to affordable housing and human services programs.
- Safe Routes to Schools funding — New - The City has regularly and successfully pursued Safe
Routes to Schools funding since the program was established in 2005 by the Washington State
Department of Transportation. This item is proposed to be included in the 2017 -2018 State
Legislative and Administrative Priorities to reflect the City's emphasis on ensuring the safety of
students walking to and from school.
- Strengthening access to public records by curbing abusive requests — Existing - This item
has been part of the City's State Legislative and Administrative Priorities for several years. Cities
statewide are seeking assistance from the legislature in order to respond to public records
requests as efficiently and effectively as possible. Legislation introduced during the 2016
legislative session regarding certain revisions to the state's Public Records Act did not advance
out of committee, but is likely to be reintroduced during the 2017 session.
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- Ensuring cities have stable, sufficient, and flexible revenue options to provide essential
services — Existing - In recent years, state funding assistance to cities has been dramatically
curtailed. Cities statewide are seeking assistance from the legislature in order to provide greater
ability by local governing bodies to utilize existing and /or new funding options in order to generate
sufficient revenue to meet essential services needs.
- Funding to assist with Mill Site infrastructure and landfill cleanup — Existing — This item has
been part of the City's State Legislative and Administrative Priorities for several years. Funding
requests from appropriate state sources, such as House and Senate capital budgets, the
Washington State Department of Ecology, etc., will likely be made in the next two years.
Support
- Full funding of the Washington State Basic Law Enforcement Academy — New - Cities
statewide are seeking assistance from the legislature to restore full funding of the state's Basic
Law Enforcement Academy in order to reduce wait times for new officers to complete their initial
training. Current funding levels provide for 10 academy classes annually. It is estimated 18 to 20
classes are needed each year to meet existing demand. Long wait times for new officers to
complete academy training create financial burdens for cities.
- Development of a sustainable funding model for gang prevention, intervention, and
suppression programs given current funding will expire in 2017 — Existing — This item has
been part of the City's State Legislative and Administrative Priorities for the past two years.
Existing state funding is scheduled to end in 2017 for gang prevention, intervention, and
suppression programs, so if no action is taken by the legislature in 2017, no further funding will be
available.
- Development of a sustainable funding model to assist in meeting increased indigent
defense costs given current funding will expire in 2017 — Existing — This item has been part of
the City's State Legislative and Administrative Priorities for the past two years. Existing state
funding is scheduled to end in 2017 to assist in meeting increased indigent defense costs, so if no
action is taken by the legislature in 2017, no further funding will be available.
- More equitable allocation of federal Fixing America's Surface Transportation ( "FAST ") Act
funding to local infrastructure requests — - Washington State should receive about
$4 billion in federal FAST funds in 2017. The current allocation model distributes 66% of those
funds to state transportation projects and programs and 34% to local projects and programs.
Cities statewide are asking the legislature to consider allocating a greater percentage of FAST
funds to local projects and programs.
Monitor
- Efforts to amend the Open Public Meetings Act — Existing — Legislation has been introduced
during recent legislative sessions to make public employee collective bargaining sessions open to
the public. Such legislation has not advanced to a floor vote in either the House or the Senate.
Similar legislation is expected to be introduced during the 2017 session.
- Efforts to require Washington State driver's licenses to be REAL ID compliant — New —
Congress adopted the REAL ID Act in 2005 requiring states to adopt minimum standards for
government- issued identification that may be required to be produced in order to enter federal
buildings or board commercial airplanes. The act also requires ID applicants to provide proof of
identity and legal U.S. residency and for states to use counterfeit - resistant security features in IDs
issued by state agencies. Washington State has not yet complied with the REAL ID Act, but must
do so by 2018. Washington State is currently the only state in the country that does not require
proof of legal U.S. residency to get a standard state driver's license or ID. A bill (SB 6678) has
been introduced and will be considered by the legislature during the 2017 session.
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Draft 2017 -2018 Federal Legislative and Administrative Priorities
Actively Pursue
- Efforts to address homelessness locally, regionally, and nationally — - Consistent with
actions taking by the City Council in 2016, this item is proposed to be included in the 2017 -2018
Federal Legislative and Administrative Priorities. Cities across the U.S. are seeking assistance
from Congress to effectively address homelessness.
- Reducing barriers to affordable housing and human services programs — New - Consistent
with actions taking by the City Council in 2016, this item is proposed to be included in the 2017-
2018 Federal Legislative and Administrative Priorities. Cities across the U.S. are seeking
assistance from Congress to effectively reduce barriers to affordable housing and human services
programs.
- Increased funding for Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention ( "OJJDP ") and
other federal programs designed to combat gang crime and violence — Existing — This item
has been part of the City's Federal Legislative and Administrative Priorities for several years.
Federal funding to assist local governments in combatting gang crime and violence has been
limited in recent years, which has hampered local efforts to address issues related to gang crime
and violence.
- Funding partners to assist with North 1st Street project — existing - This item has been part of
the City's Federal Legislative and Administrative Priorities for the last few years. An application by
the City in 2016 for Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long -term
Achievement of National Efficiencies ( "FASTLANE ") funds was denied. The City intends to
continue to pursue all potential funding sources for the North 1 Street Revitalization project.
- Funding from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act ( "TIFIA ")
program and other available federal sources for critical local transportation projects such
as development of streets serving the Mill Site project and the Yakima East -West Corridor
project — Existing - This item has been part of the City's Federal Legislative and Administrative
Priorities for the last few years. Although specific requests for federal funding for transportation
infrastructure serving the Mill Site project and the Yakima East -West Corridor project are not
imminent, it serves the City well to begin familiarizing potential sources with the projects given
funding requests will be made in the future.
- Support of efforts to secure Brownfields Assessment, Cleanup, and Redevelopment grants
— Existing — This item has been part of the City's Federal Legislative and Administrative Priorities
for several years. The City has regularly and successfully pursued federal funding to assist it in
cleaning up contaminated sites. Specific requests for federal funding to assist in the cleanup of
sites such as the former Mill Site landfill location are likely to be made in the future.
Support
- Efforts by eligible local entities to secure funding through the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development's ( "HUD ") "Choice Neighborhoods" program — New — Interest has
been expressed by some community members for the City to pursue potential partnership
opportunities available through the "Choice Neighborhoods" program, which is designed to assist
local leaders, residents, and stakeholders, such as public housing authorities, cities, schools,
police, business owners, nonprofits, and private developers, to come together to create and
implement a plan that transforms distressed HUD housing and addresses the challenges in the
surrounding neighborhood.
- Ongoing funding assistance provided to local public safety entities through programs such
as Community Oriented Policing Services ( "COPS "), Staffing for Adequate Fire and
Emergency Response ( "SAFER "), and Local Law Enforcement Block Grants ( "LLEBG ") —
Existing — This item has been part of the City's Federal Legislative and Administrative Priorities for
several years. The City has regularly and successfully pursued federal funding from sources such
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as COPS, SAFER, LLEBG, etc. Given ongoing threats to these and other federal funding
sources, it is in the City's best interests to continue to solicit Congressional support for such
funding.
- Yakima Basin Integrated Plan funding requests — New — Formally adopted in 2012, the Yakima
Basin Integrated Plan ( "YBIP ") is a multi- decade effort to address a variety of water resource and
ecosystem problems affecting fish passage and habitat, agricultural, and municipal domestic water
supplies. In recent years, state funding has been provided to implement several early elements of
the YBIP. Requests for federal funding for implementation of additional elements are currently
being made.
- Development of pilot programs (with accompanying funding) to assist cities in the creation
of innovative solutions to combat crime and violence — Existing — This item has been part of
the City's Federal Legislative and Administrative Priorities for the last few years. Several federal
funding sources are available for programs that combat crime and violence, but programs must
meet strict criteria to be eligible for funding. Cities across the U.S. are asking Congress to
approve minimal funding for programs that may not meet existing strict criteria, but do utilize
innovative and inventive approaches toward combatting crime and violence.
- Continued funding of the Community Development Block Grant ( "CDBG ") program at
current or increased levels — Existing — This item has been part of the City's Federal Legislative
and Administrative Priorities for the last few years. The City relies heavily on its CDBG allocation
to fund multiple programs and services through its Office of Neighborhood Development. In
recent years, local CDBG allocations have been unpredictable and, in some instance, decreased.
- Development of adequate, predictable, and sustainable funding for airport capital projects
and airport economic development projects — Existing — The City has benefited from federal
funding, particularly from the Federal Aviation Administration, which has allowed improvements to
be made to the Yakima Air Terminal. Some potential funding sources for airport improvements,
however, are difficult for a facility the size of Yakima's to qualify for. Providing predictable,
sustainable funding sources for airports like Yakima's to access could assist in the City's overall
economic development efforts.
- Efforts to normalize and make consistent regulations and taxing authority applicable to
providers of communication services regardless of delivery method (i.e. wireless, satellite,
cable, telephony, internet, etc.) — Existing — This item has been part of the City's Federal
Legislative and Administrative Priorities for several years. Federal regulation of communications
services has not kept pace with the rapid technological advancements in the industry that have
occurred in recent years, resulting in inconsistent taxing and other authority delegated to local
governments. Greater uniformity in regulating communications providers would provide greater
predictability for local governments.
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City of Yakima
2017 - 2018
State Legislative and Administrative Priorities
Actively Pursue
- Passage of the Washington Voting Rights Act
- Efforts to address homelessness locally, regionally, and statewide
- Reducing barriers to affordable housing and human services programs
- Safe Routes to Schools funding
- Strengthening access to public records by curbing abusive requests
- Ensuring cities have stable, sufficient, and flexible revenue options to utilize to
provide essential services
- Funding partners to assist with Mill Site infrastructure and landfill cleanup
costs
Support
- Full funding of the Washington State Basic Law Enforcement Academy
- Development of a sustainable funding model for gang prevention, intervention, and
suppression programs given current funding will expire in 2017
- Development of a sustainable funding model to assist in meeting increased indigent defense
costs given current funding will expire in 2017
- More equitable allocation of federal Fixing America's Surface Transportation ( "FAST ") Act
funding to local infrastructure projects
Monitor
- Efforts to amend the Open Public Meetings Act
- Efforts to require Washington State driver's licenses to be REAL ID compliant
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(8 -4 -2016)
City of Yakima
2017 -2018
Federal Legislative and Administrative Priorities
Actively Pursue
- Efforts to address homelessness locally, regionally, and nationally
- Reducing barriers to affordable housing and human services programs
- Increased funding for Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention ( "OJJDP ") and other federal programs designed to combat
gang crime and violence
- Funding partners to assist with North 1 Street project costs
- Funding from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation
Act ( "TIFIA ") program and other available federal sources for critical local
transportation projects such as development of streets serving the Mill
Site project and the Yakima East -West Corridor project
- Support of efforts to secure Brownfields Assessment, Cleanup, and
Redevelopment grants
Support
- Efforts by eligible local entities to secure funding through the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development's "Choice Neighborhoods" program
- Ongoing funding assistance provided to local public safety entities through programs
such as Community Oriented Policing Services ( "COPS "), Staffing for Adequate Fire
and Emergency Response ( "SAFER "), and Local Law Enforcement Block Grants
( "LLEBG ")
- Yakima Basin Integrated Plan funding requests
- Development of pilot programs (with accompanying funding) to assist cities in the
creation of innovative solutions to combat crime and violence
- Continued funding of the Community Development Block Grant ( "CDBG ") program at
current or increased levels
- Development of adequate, predictable, and sustainable funding for airport capital
projects and airport economic development projects
- Efforts to normalize and make consistent regulations and taxing authority applicable to
providers of communication services regardless of delivery method (i.e. wireless,
satellite, cable, telephony, internet, etc.)