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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/23/2012 04 State Legislative & Administrative Priorities; 2013 Congressional & Federal Administrative Priorities �� '„ BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON AGENDA STATEMENT Item No. i l For Meeting of: October 23, 2012 1 ITEM TITLE: Consideration of proposed 2013 state legislative and administrative priorities and proposed 2013 Congressional and federal administrative priorities SUBMITTED BY: Tony O'Rourke, City Manager CONTACT Randy Beehler, Community Relations Manager - 575 -6092 PERSON /TELEPHONE: SUMMARY EXPLANATION: The City of Yakima is finalizing its 2013 strategy regarding state legislative and administrative priorities and Congressional and federal administrative priorities. The City Council plays a key role in establishing the priorities that the City will focus on in order to be as efficient and effective as possible in both Olympia and Washington, D.C. Attached are proposed 2013 state legislative and administrative priorities and proposed 2013 Congressional and federal adminstrative priorities that have been reviewed by the Council Legislative Committee (Cawley, Coffey, Adkison). The City Council as a whole is being asked to endorse the priorities as proposed by the Council Legislative Committee so that efforts can be initiated to actively advance the priorities. Resolution Ordinance Other (specify) Contract: Mail to: Contract Term: Amount: Expiration Date: Insurance Required? No Funding Source: Phone: APPROVED FOR SUBMITTAL: �� City Manager STAFF RECOMMENDATION: n/a BOARD /COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: The Council Legislative Committee recommends endorsement of the proposed priorities. ATTACHMENTS: Click to download ❑ Proposed 2013 state legislative and administrative priorities ❑ Proposed 2013 Congressional and federal administrative priorities City of Yakima t. r` : , Proposed State Legislative /Administrative Priorities • ::7 2013 Actively Pursue - Seek funding for Mill Site infrastructure Identity existing resources and/or encourage the creation of additional resources to facilitate road, utility, and other essential infrastructure improvements to the Mill Site to stimulate economic development of the site - Obtain a time extension for initiation of utilization of Local Infrastructure Financing Tool ( "LIFT ") funds Request the legislature to extend Yakima's current deadline to issue construction bonds for the Mill Site project from 2016 to 2018 - Identify sustainable funding for gang prevention, intervention, and suppression programs Provide support of proposed legislation and/or testimony if needed conceming the need for sustainable sources of state funding to be provided to local government in order to combat gang crime and gang violence - Secure funding for North 1 Street improvement project Identity existing resources and/or encourage the creation of additional resources to assist the City in funding a phased implementation of the North 1S Street improvement project based on existing design criteria - Add "ability to pay" to considerations re: labor union arbitration settlements Provide support of proposed legislation and/or testimony if needed concerning the rationale behind revising existing arbitration criteria to better reflect the economic realities faced by cities Support - Funding new rounds of Local Revitalization Financing projects RCW 39.104.100•1imitations have been reached - Eliminating current requirement for cities to pay medical costs for felons Averse 2005 State Attomey General opinion placed burden on cities - Reaffirming local authority to set public defender standards This authority was impacted by June 2012 State Supreme Court ruling - Allowing cities to use Real Estate Excise Tax ( "REET) 2 funds for capital debt service Counties currently have this capability - Restoring diverted liquor tax revenue to cities and retaining existing state - shared revenues to cities Loss of these revenues negatively affects cities in fiscally challenging times - Strengthening access to public records by curbing abusive requests Misuse of existing public records laws is financially burdensome on cities - Clarifying Total Maximum Daily Load requirements resulting from state Department of Ecology study Lack of clarification may equate to additional unfunded mandate costs - Funding for joint City, County, WSDOT, etc. Gap -to -Gap Levee Setback project To proceed, the project will require outside funding (state, federal, etc.) E ' 4 � City of Yakima �:% '.; Proposed Congressional /Federal Administrative Priorities 2013 Actively Pursue - Increased funding for Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention ( "OJJDP ") and other federal programs designed to combat youth gang crime and violence - 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 - Washington State Congressional delegation support of efforts to secure Brownfields Assessment, Cleanup, and Redevelopment grants from the Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 office - Development of adequate, predictable, and sustainable funding for airport capital projects and airport economic development projects Support - 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 ") - 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.