Councilmember Nehring's August Newsletter

I hope your July went well and you are taking time to enjoy the great Pacific Northwest summer weather we are experiencing. In this month’s newsletter, I will be highlighting the passage of my military differential pay ordinance, a potential broadband expansion project, the Career Link mentor program and my office’s summer intern, and update on the RAP Program’s ongoing funding, the Sheriff’s training presentation, and an opportunity for feedback on ARPA. 

Military Differential Pay Ordinance 

On July 21st, the Snohomish County Council adopted my proposal to provide differential pay to County employees who are reservists in the United States Armed Forces. At the public hearing, the ordinance passed the Council on a unanimous vote. 

When County employees are deployed, often times their military salaries are lower than their County salary which can create financial hardship for their families while they are serving our nation. The changes to County Code adopted in this ordinance will allow reservists to receive the difference between their county salary and their military pay while they are deployed.   

I am thankful to the Council for supporting this proposal and I am extremely thankful to our County employees and all of the men and women who serve in the United States Armed Forces defending our freedoms.  

Potential Broadband Expansion Project 

Expanding reliable broadband access for County residents and businesses has been a priority of mine. We have been working with stakeholders and community partners through the Snohomish County Broadband Action Team (BAT) since early 2021 to organize around this effort. 

Last month, we received exciting news that Comcast is applying for a National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) grant to expand broadband access in the rural areas around Arlington and up the SR 530 corridor to Darrington. Snohomish County is working with them to potentially be an official partner in the grant application. I am excited to see this work continue and will keep you updated on the status of the grant moving forward.  

Career Link Mentor Program 

This summer I had the pleasure of participating in the Everett Career Link Mentorship Program. The program partners a team of juniors of seniors with a mentor to identify a problem and work on creating a solution through collaboration and project management.  

My cohort identified the impacts of COVID-19 on the travel and leisure industry as their problem and worked to identify potential solutions to that issue. As a mentor, I helped them develop important questions that needed to be answered, reviewed their progress, and provided feedback on their work.  

I have been extremely impressed by their work and have enjoyed working with them over the summer. I know they will do great things in their careers in the future.  

Summer Intern 

In addition to the Mentorship Program, my office hosted an intern through Everett Career Link. Yulia Danielyan served as an intern in my office this summer. We have enjoyed working with Yulia and have benefitted from the work she has done for us. She provided the following feedback on her time with our office: 

“Before starting this internship I had only a little bit of knowledge of our county government. I was very pleased and surprised to have learned more about it over the past month and it was a great experience for me. I have learned all of the different sections of the council and what they all do, and I got to experience the meetings that were held each week. As one of the projects I had, I was updating the handbook and names of all the people in charge. And even with that, I got to see and read about all the different people that were part of our county government that I wouldn’t have known about otherwise. This was a big learning experience for me and one that I will remember when continuing my education in college. Additionally, it really helped me figure out my interests in this field and open my eyes to what it really is.” 

Ongoing Funding Discussions for RAP Program 

As I have written before, we secured another two-year funding commitment from the State Legislature for the Regional Apprenticeship Pathways (RAP) Program in North Snohomish County. The RAP Program provides training for students in the building and construction trades in high school and prepares them for a smooth transition into a career in the trades.  

Since the most recent legislative session, I have been participating in conversations with legislators, other pre-apprenticeship programs, and staff with the RAP Program to secure ongoing funding for these important programs moving forward. 

Since the inception of RAP, our hope has been to set an example of how these programs can be effective at providing opportunities for our youth and help develop our future workforce. The goal was to prove the concept and then work to expand the program to other parts of the state for more students to take advantage of.  

Our work during the interim will result in a proposal to the legislature to secure ongoing funding for the RAP Program and opportunities to expand this model to many other students. We will be working to build a strong coalition in the legislature to support expanding career preparation opportunities for students across Washington State.  

Sheriff’s Training Presentation 

Earlier this year, the Washington State Legislature passed several “police reform” bills in response to widespread protests. Unfortunately, many of these new reforms were reactionary and not done in consultation with affected stakeholders such as law enforcement officials.  

The changes to police tactics, use of force regulations, and drug possession laws are new territory for law enforcement throughout the state. Many law enforcement agencies have had to create brand new policies and procedures to ensure compliance with these new laws. 

Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney held a training session with all Sheriff’s Office staff to discuss the new laws and the procedures for moving forward. He provided an opportunity for the public to watch online. I appreciate the Sheriff's proactive approach and transparency with the public on these important issues.

We have recently witnessed an increase in violent crime throughout our state with a simultaneous crisis in law enforcement staffing. It is my hope that we can work to reduce crime and that our state will pass more reasonable public safety policies in the future. 

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funding Priorities 

As I mentioned in my June newsletter, the County is currently deliberating how to allocate approximately $80 million in our first installment of the American Rescue Plan Act funding (we are set to receive the next $80 million installment in 2022). The County Executive has proposed a funding plan which would fund programs for workforce development, business support, housing support, and COVID-19 response. You can read more about his proposal in the press release linked here and the plan which is linked here.  

The County Council is currently considering the proposal and will continue deliberations into August. If you have thoughts about how the County can support residents and businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and economic shutdown, please feel free to reach out to my office.