Spokane City Council members will receive substantial pay raises next year unless voters submit a referendum by the end of September to reject them.
The move follows a 3-2 vote last week by the city’s salary review commission.
Starting next year, the salary for council members would increase to nearly $73,000, a roughly 34% increase from this year; the council president’s salary would surge to about $94,500, a roughly 37% increase. The average salary in the Spokane metropolitan area was roughly $68,500 in 2025, according to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median household income in Spokane County in 2025 was north of $92,000, according to Spokane Trends…