(The Center Square) – Spokane might end 2025 with a small budget surplus once local officials finalize the city’s books, despite annual sales tax growth falling short of the chief financial officer’s projections.
Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown and CFO Matt Boston meet with the city council Thursday to discuss the inflation-adjusted squeeze ahead of budget discussions later this year for the 2027-28 biennium. They balanced a $25 million deficit heading into 2025, and closed another $13 million gap last fall for 2026.
Boston said 2025 proved to be one of the most volatile years on record for sales-tax growth. Spokane had to pull back on spending to keep everything balanced. Growth fell short of his projections in a few months but exceeded them in others. He says the back-and-forth makes it difficult to issue future projections.…