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:
- Spokane City Council could approve a $120,000 contract for local Latine and immigrant-serving nonprofit Mujeres in Action to provide SPD with cultural competency training and language access services on domestic violence and sexual assault calls.
- The Finance and Administration Committee will review an audit report on how much the county is charging the city of Spokane for jail services. Spoiler alert: it comes with recommendations for more transparency.
- Public works officials with the county and the city will deliver status updates about the state-mandated PFAS cleanup at Spokane International Airport. See the city’s presentation here and the county’s here.
- The BOCC is hosting a public hearing about charging requesters for redacted body camera footage — which provides crucial evidence for holding police accountable for abuses of power.
Important meetings this week:
- Spokane City Council (and Study Session)
- Finance and Administration Committee
- Spokane Housing Authority Board
- Spokane Plan Commission
- Board of County Commissioners – Briefing Session and Legislative Session
- Spokane County Planning Commission
- Spokane Airport Board
- Spokane Regional Health District Board of Directors
- Mead School District Board of Directors
- Central Valley School District Board of Directors
- West Valley School District Board of Directors
Spokane City
Spokane City Council
🌶️🌶️/5 peppers
Cultural competency and language access at SPD
The council is set to award a $120,000 contract to Mujeres in Action (MiA), a Latine advocacy nonprofit, to create a pilot program with the Spokane Police Department (SPD). The contract was planned for in SPD’s budget, and the agenda item is sponsored by Council Members Michael Cathcart and Kitty Klitzke.
According to the contract, MiA would work to train SPD officers in cultural competency so they can better serve Latine and immigrant communities. MiA, which focuses much of its work on supporting domestic violence and sexual assault survivors, could join SPD on DV or sexual assault calls where survivors have limited English-proficiency. They’re also planning to host collaborative meetings and facilitate community feedback on SPD that could result in recommendations for internal SPD policy changes.
Arts Commission changes
Also up for a vote tonight is an ordinance that would slightly amend the structure of the Arts Commission. The ordinance would codify the addition of a council liaison position on the commission, codify a requirement of an annual work plan from the commission and add a new requirement that the body have two commissioners from each city council district. The ordinance is sponsored by Council Members Sarah Dixit and Paul Dillon.
Agenda hereMonday, March 23 at 6 pmCouncil Chambers 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd, SpokaneThe meeting is also live streamed here.
Spokane City Council Study Sessions
Agenda here when available.Thursday, March 26 at 11 amCouncil Chambers808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd, SpokaneThe meeting is also live streamed here.
Finance and Administration Committee
🌶️🌶️🌶️🫑/5 peppers
PFAS cleanup update from airport
Officials from Spokane’s public works department will deliver a presentation on their progress complying with a state-mandated environmental cleanup of forever chemicals on the West Plains. The effort is intended to address the contamination caused by firefighting compounds used on both the SIA and Fairchild Air Force Base campuses. Specifically, the presentation will describe the plan SIA, Spokane County and the city of Spokane submitted to the Department of Ecology. Ecology must approve the plan before it can be implemented. See more details on the presentation in the Spokane County section of CIVICS.
Jail cost audit
Over the last year, the city of Spokane has wrestled with rising costs at the Spokane County jail. The facility is operated by the county and contracted by the city to provide a certain amount of beds for people arrested in the city. According to reporting from Spokane Public Radio, the city’s costs have risen significantly in the last few years. In 2021, the city paid about $4 million for roughly 10% of the county’s jail beds, while in 2024, the bill jumped to about $7.5 million for 14% of beds. It was a roughly 78% cost jump for the city, while Spokane County’s costs rose only 10%…