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Lobbyist outlines 2025 legislative outcomes; Forest City staff to finalize 2026 agenda this fall
Summary
City lobbyist Shelley Helders reviewed major 2025 state budget outcomes, including operating, capital and transportation budgets, and asked council to identify two to three near‑term priorities for a 2026 supplemental session; staff set a September–October timetable to finalize the city legislative agenda and meet the delegation.
Shelley Helders, the city’s lobbyist with Gordon Thomas Honeywell, briefed the Forest City Council on the outcomes of the 2025 Washington State legislative session and next steps for the city’s 2026 legislative agenda. Helders summarized the budgets passed in 2025, said the session considered 2,387 bills and passed 433, and flagged constrained capital and transportation funding that will shape the second‑year supplemental session in 2026. She urged council to identify the top two or three priorities this fall and to coordinate those with the city’s legislative delegation ahead of the 2026 short session.
Why it matters: the city received $1 million in the new capital budget toward downtown reconstruction, but the capital budget overall was smaller than the previous biennium, and transportation funding remains constrained. Helders said projects already in the pipeline are being delayed statewide and that the city should continue to press for inclusion in any future transportation package while recognizing the limited bonding capacity available in a supplemental year.
Key budget points: Helders said the 2025 operating budget is approximately $77.8 billion with $2.3 billion in reserves; the capital (construction) budget for the biennium is about $7.5 billion with roughly $349 million remaining in bond capacity for supplemental requests; and the transportation budget is about $15.5 billion with a newly adopted 6¢ per gallon gas tax that took effect July 1 and yields some city/county allocation. For local projects, Helders noted the capital budget allocated about $2.001 billion for local and community projects and that Forest City’s $1 million appropriation should be considered a success in a constrained year.
Priorities and next steps: Helders asked council to prioritize a short list of requests for the 2026 supplemental cycle. City staff suggested continuing to press for SR‑16/160 intersection improvements (compact roundabouts were discussed), funding to complete the community event center or the intertie water project, and to keep water‑supply issues visible to legislators. Staff said they will coordinate with Association of Washington Cities (AWC) priorities and meet with the delegation in October; staff recommended a September work session to draft a final legislative agenda for council adoption before the end of the year.
Water and permitting: Helders and council members discussed the city’s water‑rights challenges and the ongoing Foster Pilot Project negotiations; representatives said securing water rights remains time‑consuming and affected by litigation and tribal negotiations, so the city should continue interim outreach and expert briefings to legislators. Helders recommended connecting legislators with technical experts in the interim so session‑time decisions proceed from established background knowledge.
Administration and outreach: Helders reported that AWC is developing its 2026 priorities and that the city’s mayor sits on AWC’s Legislative Priorities Committee. She advised the council to continue tracking bills that did not pass in 2025 — which may reappear in 2026 — and to be ready both to advocate for city priorities and to defend against statewide mandates that would impose new local costs. Staff scheduled follow‑up meetings in September and October to refine the city’s list and to meet the delegation.
