SPOKANE, Wash. — The City of Spokane’s budget deficit could leave some Spokanites high and dry without a pool to swim in next summer.
City departments across Spokane were asked to do a budget reduction exercise to see how they might help lessen the city’s budget gap.
“We have a structural gap within the City of Spokane, as our expenditures are growing faster than our revenues,” said Garret Jones, Interim Administrator for City of Spokane.
The city’s Aquatic Department drafted four options to consider a potential 5-10% budget decrease in 2025:
- Option 1: keep everything as it is currently, leaving a deficit of $273,000
- Option 2: reduce open swim sessions and increase program fees, leaving a surplus of about $105,000
- Option 3: introduce an annual SplashPass fee, resulting in varying profits
- Option 4: close three to six of the city’s aquatic centers, resulting in a $236,000 surplus
As of now, all of the options are just hypothetical.
“We’re looking at what is that volume, that impact to the general citizen, versus the fiscal impact on the opposite side,” said Jones.