CityVoice - S07E03: State of the Cities - A look at city finances in Washington with Sheila Gall

AWC first released a State of the Cities report back in 2005 with the goal of providing a view of the conditions and issues cities face in Washington. In early 2025, AWC published the most recent edition of the report. In this episode, we sit down with Sheila Gall, AWC’s Legal Counsel, to discuss the state of city finances in Washington. We discuss the 1% property tax cap, the fiscal tools cities have to fund government services, and how cities have weathered the past few years.

• Read AWC's State of the Cities Report here.
• Browse a summary of findings from the City Conditions Survey here.
• View AWC's 1% property tax cap factsheet here.
• See how Washington cities invested ARPA-SLFRF funds here.