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:
- Tonight, Spokane City Council could pass an emergency ordinance that makes it easier to fire their own staff, putting that power solely in the Council President’s hands, instead of requiring the vote of a supermajority.
- At their Public Safety & Community Health Committee meeting, Spokane City Council will discuss an ordinance to increase the penalties and enforcement for visible homelessness.
- Spokane County is set to vote on next year’s airport budget, which does not mention the expensive state-mandated cleanup of “forever chemicals” it started two years ago.
- The state has started requiring local governments to factor climate change into their long-term planning, and the Department of Commerce has awarded Spokane County $800,000 to accommodate the mandate.
Important meetings this week:
- Spokane City Council (and Study Session)
- Public Safety & Community Health Committee
- Finance and Administration Committee (canceled)
- Spokane Housing Authority Board
- Board of County Commissioners – Briefing Session and Legislative Session
- Spokane Valley City Council
- Spokane Regional Health District Board
- Central Valley School District Board of Directors
- East Valley School District Board of Directors
Spokane City
Spokane City Council
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Long range acoustical devices
It’s a mouthful of a name, but nestled in the consent agenda is an $88,045 contract for the Spokane Police Department to purchase two long range acoustical devices (LRADs). They say it’s to enhance communication at protests, like a really loud bullhorn, allowing police orders to travel long distances and actually communicate dispersal orders (which many members of the community said they couldn’t even hear at the June 11 protests before officers started using less lethal weapons on the crowd.)
However, the specs for the system the city intends to buy also describe it as a “Safer alternative to non-lethal and kinetic measures,” and reports from places it has been used, like Serbia, describe it as “a sound from hell.” The same system has also been used on migrants in Greece to deter border crossings. So while it could be used to more effectively communicate with protesters, it could also be used to cause them extreme pain.
Firing their staff?
Amidst a budget crisis, the Spokane City Council is exploring cutting down on city council staff. Currently, firing a staff member requires a vote of a five-council member super majority, a protection established by former Council President Breean Beggs to ensure council staff had job security and weren’t subject to the political whims of the council…