(The Center Square) – Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown announced Thursday that the city would not make any further cuts to public safety after floating the idea of cutting police funding by more than $9 million in July.
Brown clarified her intentions during a Thursday budget meeting with the city council, several other Spokane officials and the department heads. The mayor said the city’s $25 million structural deficit now sits at only $10.9 million, a significant difference since taking office .
However, that fails to mention the more than $20 million in depleted reserves that Brown noted back in April. Chief Financial Officer Matt Boston also pointed out during a July budget meeting that, while the city had only reduced the deficit to $14 million at the time, it would increase to $19 million again by the end of 2026; he did not provide an update or address this again during Thursday’s meeting.
“Last month, we talked about a projection of $14 million; we’re now at $10.9 [million],” Brown told the officials. “This is an iterative process, with a lot of different moving parts, but clearly, we’re moving in the right direction.”