The City of Auburn, like most communities, faces a number of issues that impact our community negatively. What is becoming very clear, we cannot treat each issue as separate. Instead, the City is committed to continue efforts that look at solving our challenges in a comprehensive manner. Our belief is that the following problems can only be solved with an interconnected strategy for success.

PUBLIC SAFETY

ISSUE: The City of Auburn supports the continued reforms to policing and community caretaking in our State and wishes to continue working in concert with legislators, police officers, our communities and others to continue this effort.

• REQUEST: Work with cities to make technical fixes those bills in which language is vague, conflicting or confusing.

ISSUE: Police agencies are currently in a staffing crisis. As we seek to fill vacated positions, we will need tools to ensure our departments are fully staffed and able to effectively respond to local public safety needs.

• REQUEST: Additional funding for officer wellness and DEI staffing within police agencies.
• REQUEST: Additional funding sources for officer recruitment and retention. Possibly through a councilmanic public safety sales tax, impact fees or direct funding from the state.

ISSUE: Impacts to towing companies from the Seattle v. Long decision force cities to expend more sums for towing services.

• REQUEST: Additional dedicated funding to cities for towing services, or an increase in funding to the State reimbursement account under RCW 46.53.010

ISSUE: Ongoing public safety issues related to illegal drug use.

• REQUEST: Restore drug free school zones and expand to community parks
• REQUEST: Additional funding to implement new law (Blake fix)
• REQUEST: Ongoing funding for therapeutic courts, recovery programs in jails and after treatment supports

ISSUE: Affordable housing needs are deeper than 60% AMI–more like 50% or 40%. Washington State Housing Finance Commission programs are providing great support for projects that hit the 60% AMI mark.

• REQUEST: Create incentives to hit the deeper marks since that is where the greatest need exists.
• REQUEST: Future legislation related to affordable housing, missing middle housing or other land use laws must provide safe harbor for those cities that are creating or in the process of creating their Housing Action Plan (HAP) in line with previous legislative actions that included grant funding provided by the State Legislature.

ISSUE: Rehabilitate existing affordable housing. There are very few programs that help maintain older homes and multifamily complexes which results in one of two outcomes (1) older properties are maintained appropriately, but the investment is reflected in increasing rental costs, or (2) older properties are not maintained which helps keep rental costs down but at the sake of declining health and safety for tenants.

• REQUEST: Create dedicated funds to put towards the rehabilitation of single or multifamily units because it is far less expensive and environmentally sustainable to preserve existing housing stock instead of building new units and will ensure housing stock is readily available in the market.

• REQUEST: Allow procedural relief for any mandates that the State Legislature imparts upon cities. Work with cities to make it easier for us to update our local laws if or when it is in response to a State mandate rather than having to go through all of the obligations related to the planning commission, SEPA, public notice, etc.

ISSUE: The 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions introduced a high volume of planning and zoning changes centered around affordable housing. The City of Auburn supports efforts to address the current housing crisis in Washington, and in King County specifically, and want to part of the solution.

• REQUEST: Allow cities time to respond to the recent changes in planning and zoning laws from 2023 and 2024 and also to ensure the changes are accomplishing the desired results.
• REQUEST: Remedy conflicting or vague language in the multitude of planning and zoning bills passed in recent years. For example, the definition of a transit stop varies widely between bills.

PUBLIC WORKS, TRANSPORTATION, INFRASTRUCTURE

ISSUE: It is critical to protect all of the State funds that support local transportation projects. The cities cannot do this on their own given the amount of growth and commerce in the region. This includes maintained or increased funding for Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) and Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board (FMSIB) along with state grant programs managed by the WSDOT for local agency projects.

• REQUEST: Fund a $2.5M Implementation Plan for the SR167 Master Plan that was completed in 2023. The Master Plan was an important first step in meeting the needs of the underserved communities along the SR167 corridor and the legislature needs to support the next step of creating the implementation plan so that the projects envisioned collaboratively in the Master Plan have the potential to be completed and provide the benefit to the region that was identified in the plan and is needed in the region.
• REQUEST: Increase the councilmanic ability to levy sales taxes for infrastructure.
• REQUEST: Make changes to appropriate RCWs to allow Municipalities to charge properties for street lighting. Current RCW 54.16.120 allows Utility Districts to charge properties for providing street lighting, but the law does not allow Municipalities to do this. Current revenues for general fund use cannot meet the needs and charging for street lighting would be an appropriate way to address a specific service being provided to residents and businesses within a jurisdiction.
• REQUEST: Retain or increase the Public Works Trust Fund amount. The legislature continues to raid this fund to fix structural budget issues and it must stop. The PWTF it is key to providing funding for local agency projects.
• REQUEST: Retain and increase the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. This fund is key for local water purveyors to cost effectively fund needed infrastructure projects.
• REQUEST: Support allocating 1% of the existing aviation fuel tax to WSDOT’s Aviation account to fund airport projects. Current levels of funding cannot meet the growing need to maintain and improve this important infrastructure that provides a significant benefit to commerce and the State’s economy.
• REQUEST: Support the industry and federal efforts to develop a replacement fuel to 100 Low-Lead for aviation uses that works for all aircraft without adding additional time constraints for Washington State only that will only negatively impact these industries and users within Washington.

SOCIAL SERVICES

ISSUE: Cities throughout the state do not have the local resources available to adequately address homelessness, substance abuse disorders and untreated mental illness.

• REQUEST: Support greater funding for behavioral health programs and incentivize workers to pursue careers in behavioral health
• REQUEST: Support and fund programs that will alleviate the need for police response to quality-of-life issues such as mental distress or illness, substance abuse and persons experiencing homelessness
• REQUEST: Make any necessary changes to State laws that prohibit cities from hiring Mental Health Professionals or Designated Crisis Responders
• REQUEST: Provide clarification on the qualified use of Trueblood dollars to ensure the continuum of care in local communities
• REQUEST: Support the construction and operation of tiny home villages that provide permanent supportive housing using a community living concept.

ISSUE: South King County is facing a growing affordable housing crisis. As a member of the South King Housing and Homelessness Partners (SKHHP), we pool funds with other cities to support the production and preservation of affordable housing in South King County, but we need more help.

• REQUEST: In order to address this crisis, we need to fund all aspects of affordable housing, including:
  
  • Homeownership for moderate income households and below
  • Preservation of naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH)
  • Land acquisition to secure permanent affordability
  • Permanent supportive housing (PSH)
  • Infrastructure around affordable housing developments
  • Workforce housing

PARKS AND OPEN SPACES

ISSUE: Help cities protect and maintain parks and open spaces

• REQUEST: Maintain funding for the Washington Recreation & Conservation Office and Land/Water Conservation Fund so residents have increased access to existing and new public spaces
• REQUEST: Support Washington State Historical Society’s (WSHS) capital budget request and the Heritage Capital Projects in the 2025-2027 funding biennium which includes the transformation of Auburn’s Historic Post office building into an Arts & Culture Center
• REQUEST: Support Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) request for municipal parks deferred maintenance grant funding program in the 2025-27 Operating Budget

BUDGET & FINANCE

ISSUE: The arbitrary 1% property tax cap is regressive and hinders growth in Washington state. The City of Auburn supports a commonsense reform to this cap.

• REQUEST: Revise the cap by tying it to inflation and population growth with a limit of 3%

ISSUE: The leasehold excise tax can be interpreted in many ways according to the Department of Revenue and causes confusion within local jurisdictions.

• REQUEST: Provide greater clarification on what is considered a benefit and who the beneficiary is to ensure equitable application of the law