Every month, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce invites a local elected official (LEO) in for a brown-bag “Lunch with LEO”; today City Councilmember Jean Godden came to the WSCC’s office for a turn at the table (at left, with Chamber Board president Jerome O. Cohen, one of the half-dozen people who also joined in. The topics usually range far and wide for these roundtables; since Godden chairs the Budget Committee, money talk dominated this hourlong session. This year’s the city’s “big budget year,” as she put it, working toward a 2-year budget, and that’s why the Citizens’ Budget Conference is being held later this month (January 31; here’s the invitation again). She expects the mayor and most if not all councilmembers to be there, and says those who show up will get a chance to have their budget concerns heard long before the actual plan is assembled. She also talked about the council’s reaction to Mayor Mike McGinn‘s proposal for a special election in May on a property tax to fix the Alaskan Way seawall; she was one of 8 councilmembers (all but Mike O’Brien) who sent the mayor a letter this week voicing skepticism about the proposal. She said the measure seemed “premature,” while also stressing she is not questioning the need for the seawall to be replaced. Also discussed: With the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project soon to close off direct access to the West Seattle Bridge from SODO, Chas Redmond pitched for the city to again try to get the Coast Guard to agree to limit openings of the low bridge during rush hours (a previous attempt was rejected in October 2008). Godden, vice chair of the Transportation Committee, said she’d look into it. The topic of White Center annexation came up as well; we’ve reported that discussion on partner site White Center Now.