It appears state funding from Olympia for proposed local public projects will be slim.

Rep. Glenn Anderson, R-North Bend said in a phone interview, “this is one of those situations that everything is being held close to the chest. All local projects are at risk.”

This is an opinion shared by Sen. Cheryl Pflug, R-Maple Valley who stated the situation in Olympia doesn’t appear promising. She said that unless the project is currently underway, it’s unlikely new or proposed ones will receive state funding.

“The challenge is that there are significant areas where local government can be impacted,” he said. “It’s very tough to say what’s going to stay there or not. There has been a bipartisan perception that while things are uncertain as they are, certain things should be very high priority. Now what ultimately those things are remains to be seen.”

Pflug stated Friday she does not intend to vote for the budget due to the way K-12 education would be funded.

“I think that the education budget and the approach to funding it is a great disservice to our constituents.” Pflug said.

The state’s budget deficit, as well as the state debt, is also one of the big concerns for the three 5th District legislators.

Rep. Jay Rodne, R-North Bend, as well as Anderson, stated lowering the deficit needs to be a top priority for the state.

“We need to reduce the state’s debt load,” Rodne said. “If we didn’t have to pay so much out of the general fund we could free up a billion and a half dollars to go for education to go for other projects in the state.”