SEATTLE -- All three Franklin County commissioners and one Benton County commissioner are attending a state conference this week at their counties' expense.
The annual conference for the Washington Association of Counties, also called WSAC, started Tuesday in the Seattle area and ends Friday. All 39 counties in the state belong to the association.
The association serves as a representative of the counties to the state Legislature, said Benton County Commissioner Leo Bowman, who is attending the conference. Decisions made in the Legislature affect counties, he said.
"We are trying to protect ourselves," he said.
Attending the conference allows the commissioners to learn from each other, said Rick Miller, Franklin County commissioner. And the organization has a lot of clout in the Legislature, he said.
Registration fees for the conference for association members cost $375 to $425, depending on when the official registered, according to the WSAC Web site.
Miller estimated the county will spend about $850 per commissioner for registration fees, mileage and lodging.
For three commissioners, that would be about $2,550.
Bowman did not have an estimate on his cost to attend the conference.
Many counties sent representatives to the annual conference, said Michelle Nelson, WSAC member services director. In the past, counties may have sent two to three representatives each. This year, many sent one.
The conference has about 20 percent less attendance this year than it did in 2008, she said. The decrease was predicted because of the state of the economy.
All three commissioners have attended the conference before, Miller said. Commissioners Bob Koch and Brad Peck already are at the conference, and Miller will attend Thursday through Friday.
Miller said he initially did not plan to go. However, when one of the association's administrators asked him to attend, he changed his mind.
The association will work on its bylaws and resolutions this week, Miller said. King County, which represents a large chunk of the association's budget, has discussed possibly resigning from the organization.
On Friday, part of the conference includes a discussion of the Columbia River and well issues, Bowman said. On Tuesday, Bowman met with the state Secretary of Transportation to discuss the county's future transportation needs.
Some travel expenses are necessary, said Franklin County Administrator Fred Bowen.
In 2005, Franklin County received a $2.7 million grant that the county learned of because it sent someone to the WSAC conference, Bowen said.
The grant went toward the $11.2 million restoration of the county's courthouse, finished in 2006.
* Kristi Pihl: 509-582-1512; kpihl@tricityherald.com
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