BILL REQ. #:  S-3431.1 

Read first time 01/11/10.   Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Elections.

     AN ACT Relating to population thresholds that determine the number of local councilmembers and receipt of local funds; amending RCW 35A.12.010 and 47.26.345; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec.1   RCW 35A.12.010 and 2009 c 549 s 3005 are each amended to read as follows:
     The government of any noncharter code city or charter code city electing to adopt the mayor-council plan of government authorized by this chapter shall be vested in an elected mayor and an elected council. The council of a noncharter code city having less than twenty-five hundred inhabitants shall consist of five members; when there are twenty-five hundred or more inhabitants, the council shall consist of seven members. A city with a population of less than twenty-five hundred at the time of reclassification as an optional municipal code city may choose to maintain a seven-member council. The decision concerning the number of councilmembers shall be made by the council and be incorporated as a section of the ordinance adopting for the city the classification of noncharter code city. If the population of a city after having become a code city decreases from twenty-five hundred or more to less than twenty-five hundred, it shall continue to have a seven member council. If, after a city has become a mayor-council code city, its population increases to twenty-five hundred or more inhabitants, the number of council offices in such city may increase from five to seven members upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the existing council to increase the number of council offices in the city. When the population of a mayor-council code city having five council offices increases to five thousand or more inhabitants, the number of council offices in the city shall increase from five to seven members. In the event of an increase in the number of council offices, the city council shall, by majority vote, pursuant to RCW 35A.12.050, appoint two persons to serve in these offices until the next municipal general election, at which election one person shall be elected for a two-year term and one person shall be elected for a four-year term. The number of inhabitants shall be determined by the most recent official state or federal census or determination by the state office of financial management. A charter adopted under the provisions of this title, incorporating the mayor-council plan of government set forth in this chapter, may provide for an uneven number of councilmembers not exceeding eleven. For the purposes of determining population under this section, cities and towns may include the population of any state correctional facility located within the city or town.
     A noncharter code city of less than five thousand inhabitants which has elected the mayor-council plan of government and which has seven council offices may establish a five-member council in accordance with the following procedure. At least six months prior to a municipal general election, the city council shall adopt an ordinance providing for reduction in the number of council offices to five. The ordinance shall specify which two council offices, the terms of which expire at the next general election, are to be terminated. The ordinance shall provide for the renumbering of council positions and shall also provide for a two-year extension of the term of office of a retained council office, if necessary, in order to comply with RCW 35A.12.040.
     However, a noncharter code city that has retained its old mayor-council plan of government, as provided in RCW 35A.02.130, is subject to the laws applicable to that old plan of government.

Sec. 2   RCW 47.26.345 and 2005 c 83 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     All cities and towns with a population of less than five thousand are eligible to receive money from the small city pavement and sidewalk account created under RCW 47.26.340 for maintenance, repair, and resurfacing of city and town streets. For the purposes of determining population under this section, cities and towns may include the population of any state correctional facility located within the city or town. The board shall determine the allocation of money based on:
     (1) The amount of available funds within the small city pavement and sidewalk account;
     (2) Whether the city or town meets one or more of the following criteria:
     (a) The city or town has identified a street in a six-year transportation improvement plan, as defined by RCW 35.77.010, or a project identified through the use of a pavement management system;
     (b) The city or town has provided pavement rating information on the proposed street improvement or street network improvement;
     (c) The city or town has provided sidewalk information on the proposed sidewalk system improvement;
     (d) The city or town has provided information, where available, on traffic conditions for truck routes, bus routes, and traffic volumes;
     (e) The city or town has the ability to provide a local match as demonstrated by one or more of the following:
     (i) A funding match based upon a city's assessed valuation;
     (ii) Community involvement and support, including volunteer participation, such as landscaping and maintaining landscaping along the street or sidewalk system; or
     (iii) Partnership efforts with federal or other state programs, including the department of ((community, trade, and economic development)) commerce mainstreet program.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   This act applies to municipal general elections held on or after the effective date of this act.