Odessa Mayor goes to Olympia

Now, before you go grab a rope or a bucket of tar, please let me explain why I should attend the Association of Washington Cities Legislative Conference. AWC is a private, non-partisan corporation that represents us before the state legislature, the state executive branch and with regulatory agencies. All 281 towns and cities in Washington State are volunteer members of this organization.

At this conference, I heard from our lobbyists and listened to the concerns of fellow city officials. So, you may ask, what issues concern us? We are concerned about losing more revenue from state shared-revenue accounts. We continually get percentage cuts from liquor profits and taxes, the criminal justice fund and the city-county assistance fund.

You read last week in The Odessa Record about the potential cuts to Medicaid payments for Critical Access Hospitals. We also heard from GWMA Executive Director Paul Stoker at our town council meeting regarding our water situation and the need to fund further development. These are just a few of the concerns to be brought to our lobbyists and legislators.

There are also many good bills on Odessa’s watch list that could affect the way we operate in the future. To avoid putting you to sleep or having you switch from this article and thumb straight to the Court Report section, I will be brief by just listing the bill number with a short description:

HB2641/SB6372 has to do with cost-cutting and sustainability of a town’s fiscal health.

HB2677/SB6351 deals with public records.

HB176/HB2490 is a bill that could adversely affect Odessa, with major components that include the mandatory issuance and renewal of business licenses through the Department of Revenue.

The best part about this conference is that it takes place while our legislators are in session and that gives city officials a chance to set up appointments to talk one-on-one with our legislators. Sure, I am more comfortable with a fishing pole or in camouflage attire packing a shotgun, and I did feel a little like Jed Clampett looking for the “cee-ment pond,” but I just had to tell myself, “Doug, suck it up and do your job.”

I was able to have great visits with Senator Bob Morton and Representative Joel Kretz of our current 7th District. I was also able to meet with Senator Janea Holmquist Newbry and Representative Judy Warnick of our future 13th District. On the way home through Ellensburg, I had lunch with candidate Matt Manweller, who is campaigning for retiring Rep. Bill Hinkle’s position. What a great week!

I was recently appointed to the AWC Small Cities Advisory Committee which meets throughout the year and which includes this conference. This appointment entitles officials to reimbursements for expenses incurred. These activities are not funded through the Town of Odessa’s budget.