At the May 15 Mountlake Terrace City Council meeting, lobbyists from Gordon Thomas Honeywell briefed the council on outcomes from the 2025 Washington legislative session and what the results mean for the city’s priorities.

Amina, a lobbyist with Gordon Thomas Honeywell, and Shelley, a colleague from the same firm, told the council that the state’s 2025‑27 budgets were adopted April 27 and that Mountlake Terrace secured a $500,000 capital appropriation — down from the city’s $800,000 request — for roof and HVAC replacement at the Mountlake Terrace Library. Amina said the allocation was the result of coordinated advocacy with the city’s 32nd legislative delegation and described the funding as included in the final budget.

Lobbyists also said previously awarded capital funds for the Main Street revitalization project were at risk under a new budget policy that can rescind unspent projects after four years. The city submitted a scope change to make a smaller, standalone phase of Main Street ready to expend state funds; budget writers lifted the hold, reappropriated the funds and approved the revised scope. Lobbyists warned the funding will be rescinded if the city does not expend it by the end of the next biennium, making timely project delivery essential.

Shelley summarized several bills of statewide significance that the city monitored. She highlighted Senate Bill 5184, which establishes statewide limits on minimum parking requirements (noting that the bill applies only to cities with populations above 30,000 and therefore does not apply to Mountlake Terrace). She also described House Bill 1491 (supporting transit‑oriented development by requiring multifamily housing near major transit stations and establishing a grant program) and House Bill 1096 (creating an administrative process for lot splits across the state).

Shelley said the bill that promotes development near transit includes a grant program to help cities prepare for higher‑density station areas but that the 2025 budget did not include funding for that new grant program. She also told the council that the legislature added roughly $2.7 million in one‑time public‑defense grants for cities pending a state Supreme Court decision on caseload standards.

The lobbyists walked through the state budgets they described as the product of a difficult session: a $77.8 billion operating budget for 2025‑27, a roughly $7.5 billion capital budget and a $15.5 billion transportation budget. Amina and Shelley said the legislature balanced the operating budget in part by enacting about $4.3 billion in new taxes and fees over four years and left about $2.3 billion in reserves. They said the capital budget’s community project pool totaled approximately $201.3 million in 2025 and that the average award for local community projects was about $604,000.

Council members thanked the lobbyists and asked staff to begin planning to spend the capital allocations. Council Member Murray asked whether the budgets were final; lobbyists said the governor had until May 20 to sign them and that the capital budget is rarely changed at signature stage, indicating that the city’s allocations were likely secure. Council members asked staff to return with plans for timely delivery of the Main Street phase and to address any remaining funding gap for the library project.

The presentation also covered parks grants: the state’s Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program will fund a $500,000 grant for the city’s Veterans Memorial Park revitalization project, and the city’s recreation and parks director had been credited for identifying and pursuing eligible grants.

The lobbyists urged continued advocacy and asked the council to consider showing appreciation to legislators; they said planning for the 2026 short session should begin in the fall.