In October 2021, WSDOT hosted two workshops with RTPOs/MPOs. In the first workshop, WSDOT outlined how it submitted budget requests to the Governor, including context for how it shaped and articulated priorities. WSDOT also shared how it raised more informal requests for unfunded needs.

In the second workshop, WSDOT and the participating RTPOs/MPOs identified places in the budget process that result in less transparency, lack of coordination and insufficient information. Then they prioritized possible approaches for resolving these gaps. These approaches will guide future work within the Investment Strategy Committee and the Strategy A, B and C subgroups.

This work took place over the 2021-23 biennium, mostly between October 2021 and January 2022. View the outcomes of these workshops here.

The Strategy B subgroup identified these next steps towards improving communication and collaboration:

• Develop, maintain, and distribute a biennial budget process calendar.
• Have the Secretary of Transportation share the State of Transportation presentation directly with the RTPO/MPOs on an annual basis moving forward.
• Hold annual budget de-brief meetings between WSDOT and the MPO/RTPOs to share information about the legislative budget and how it affects WSDOT’s budget.
• Determine how RAs can share information from their discussions with RTPOs/MPOs with WSDOT headquarters.
• Develop and distribute an MPO/RTPO Informational Paper that shares information about MPO/RTPOs and their role in informing transportation investments.

View the current biennial budget process calendar here.