Welcome to CIVICS, where we break down the week’s municipal meetings throughout the Inland Northwest, so you can get involved and speak out about the issues you care about.
Some things that stick out to us this week include:
- The Spokane County Commission is announcing a public hearing on October 13 for a new .1% sales tax to pay for policing and law enforcement costs, which takes up nearly three-quarters of the general fund budget.
- The city of Spokane could pass a special budget ordinance to allow unplanned spending to repair damage at the Northside Landfill caused by the Spokane Complex fires.
- Your waste disposal bill could be going up by about $3 a month as the city’s Waste-to-Energy plant prepares to bid on carbon offset credits under the Climate Commitment Act, up for discussion at the Finance and Administration Committee.
- The Spokane (city) Plan Commission will discuss development in the Wildland-Urban Interface — the areas where the city meets wildland, which often have increased wildfire risk.
- The Spokane Regional Health District board could cut about $1.7 million in planned spending for opioid treatment, after they received $1,600,000 less than expected in Medicare and Medicaid fees this year.
- As the data center conversation heats up at the Spokane County Planning Commission, the Spokane County Commission will appoint a new person to the body.
- Spokane Valley will hold a public hearing on its budget for next year, which emphasizes fiscal responsibility while pushing for $6 million in new cop funding.
Spokane City Council Agenda Review
Every Tuesday, the council meets to finalize the Wednesday agenda, which now includes items that won’t be up for a vote for the next two weeks, giving you more of a chance to comment on things before they’re up for a vote.
Up for a vote next week:
- A resolution to authorize 2027-2028 residential street maintenance projects funded through the Transportation Benefit District fund. Those projects include a slate of chip seal, grind and overlay and sidewalk repairs throughout the city.
- A resolution to officially add the Aurora Center shelter, which serves LGBTQ+ people, to the scatter site shelter network.
- Approval for the police to purchase 18 police vehicles using a Spokane Investment Pool (SIP) loan of about $1.5 million. An amendment filed by Council Member Kate Telis would state the council’s desire for those vehicles to be hybrid and state that pre-purchase approval from the council is necessary.
- Approval of a conditional commercial building conversion contract with Nodo Spokane LLC to create 25 residential units on the property at 126 W Sinto Ave in the Emerson/Garfield neighborhood. At least 10% of these units, which comes out to 2.5 units, will be kept at affordable housing rates for at least 10 years after construction.
- A special budget ordinance to use opioid settlement dollars to pay for a three-month extension to the contract paying Jewels Helping Hands to operate the housing navigation center, which is currently due to expire at the end of March. The contract extension would give the city until the end of June to find new funding.
Up for a vote in two weeks:
- An up to $1 million contract with Catholic Charities and Jewels Helping Hands to operate shelter beds during inclement weather conditions. This will be paid for with 1590 funds. Details on the shelter beds can be found here.
- A resolution to express the city’s support for transit oriented development on the Division Street corridor.
Agenda here…