It’s a day late this week because the team took Monday off, but here we go: 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 council will likely allocate $400,000 for new legal costs associated with two prominent ongoing lawsuits and legal representation for labor negotiations.
- The Spokane City Council is still asking the public for feedback on its proposed budget for 2027 and 2028.
- The Board of County Commissioners will schedule a public hearing for December 1, when it will consider new county rules for public defenders to comply with new state caseload standards.
- The Spokane Regional Transportation Council will likely adopt a new fee schedule for public records.
- The Spokane Valley City Council will likely approve $1.4 million in tourism promotion to boost its sporting events in 2027.
Spokane City Council
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Budget hearing
Last week, the council heard from the public about its two-year budget, which will cover 2027 and 2028. It’ll hold another public hearing this Wednesday, November 11, and another November 18. Its vote will be scheduled soon after that.
If you have opinions on what the city should spend its money on, this is the meeting for you. The council will take commentary on the city budget. It’s going to be a tight year with cuts likely, so if you have programs you want to make sure are prioritized, now is the time to tell your local government!
$400K in new legal costs for existing cases
The council is set to approve $400,000 in new legal spending for two lawsuits and for labor negotiations. It will allocate $100,000 to a case brought by Spokane firefighters who sued after the fire department fired them when they refused to be vaccinated for COVID-19, bringing the full cost to $1,250,000. Next, it will add $150,000 to defend against a lawsuit against the city filed by the ACLU of Washington and Jewels Helping Hands over the city’s homeless camping and rights-of-way restrictions. The total cost would come to $400,000. Finally, it will allocate another $150,000 to legal costs associated with labor negotiations, bringing those costs to $750,000.
Legislative agenda
The city will enshrine its asks to the state and federal governments for funding and policy support. The top item is a request to the Trump administration to declare a disaster in the recovery from the Spokane Complex fires, which would free up response money. On the state level, the city wants funding to secure the transfer of the Thorpe Property to the City of Spokane and to pass the Vibrant Cities Act, which would allow the city to exempt new buildings and building improvements from local property taxes in order to encourage denser development and prevent land speculation, or holding land without developing it in hopes it will appreciate.
Agenda
Wednesday, November 11 at 6 pm
Council Chambers
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed .
Spokane City Council Study Sessions
Agenda when available
Thursday, November 12 at 11 am
Council Chambers
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed .
Public Infrastructure, Environment, and Sustainability Committee
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Airport budget
Spokane Airports officials will present their budget for the next year, which covers Spokane International Airport, the Airport Business Park, Felts Field and the Rail-Truck Transload Facility. The overall budget will be 19% smaller than last year’s, likely due to less spending on a suite of expansion projects that have dramatically transformed the SIA campus over the last several years…