Cowlitz County, Longview, Castle Rock leaders explain how Olympia affects them
Nine state and local elected officials joined a panel discussion hosted by the Kelso-Longview Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday to review how work in Olympia - including a bill to maintain Cowlitz County's rural designation - helps the area, as well as the work local leaders would like to see the Legislature complete.
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Washington state Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, sponsored the bill to change the state definition of a rural county after Cowlitz County surpassed in 2025 the previous population threshold of 100 people per square mile.
The new definition, which takes effect June 11, allows counties with cities of fewer than 45,000 residents to be considered rural.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the population of the county's largest city, Longview, was 38,294 as of July 2024.
Longview Mayor Erik Halvorson said during the panel that the city is using its sales tax credit under the rural designation to add a new roof, siding, windows and decking to the city-owned Mint Valley Golf Course.
Rural counties in Washington can collect a sales and use tax of up to 0.09% to fund economic development and affordable housing projects. That tax is subtracted from other state sales taxes, so the total tax paid by consumers stays the same.
Halvorson said the designation also helped the city receive a state grant for a stormwater pipe emergency at Cloney Park, which the city is updating with a new accessible playground, picnic pavilion, parking lot and more for about $4.37 million.
The county's designation helped the city avoid a battle with larger cities like Seattle and Olympia for the funds to fix the pipe, he said.
Castle Rock Mayor Paul Helenburg said the designation helped the city secure a county grant to install a water line on Powell Road, which he said hasn't had water in years after residents drilled wells to no avail.
The designation also helped run a water line to the southwest of town to Sound Placement Services, which plans to double or triple the size of its precast manufacturing facility, Helenburg said.
Panel
Longview City Manager Jen Wills watches the Kelso-Longview Chamber of Commerce panel discussion from a table on Tuesday, April 14, in Kelso.
Struggles of local governments
While maintaining the rural designation was a win, local elected officials listed struggles Olympia hasn't addressed.
Helenburg noted the discrepancy between the state's allowed 1% annual property tax increase and the funds cities like Castle Rock need to function. The 1% cap only brings in about $6,000 for Castle Rock, which doesn't even cover the cost-of-living adjustment for the city's employees for a year, he added.
The result is the council debating even small expenses, like for $100.
"It is very difficult to run a small city in this day and age," he said.
Halvorson noted the struggle to recruit manufacturing companies to the area due to the 2019 Clean Energy Transformation Act, which sets a gradual plan for the state to supply electricity free of emissions by 2045.
He said a manufacturer reviewed locating in Longview with a natural gas plant to supply its energy, but the plan "didn't pencil out" due to the act.
Cowlitz County Commissioner Rick Dahl said the state's newer cap on the number of cases public defenders can cover will cost the county at least $150,000 over the next few years to hire more lawyers. He pleaded that the state stop creating mandates without funding sources.
"I'm not talking about anyone at this table, but the other side up there that votes for this stuff," Dahl said, "they need to find another job, because basically, they suck at this one."
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