Welcome to CIVICS, where we break down what’s coming up this week in municipal meetings throughout the Inland Northwest, so you can get involved and speak out about the issues you care about.
We’re back at it with another busy week. Some of the biggest items that stand out to us are:
- Lowering parking regulations for new housing
- The final showdown for the park night ordinances
- A process to deal with racist monuments
- Big changes in how the Office of the Police Ombudsman works
- An increase in school lunch prices at CVSD
This week, these groups are meeting:
- Public Infrastructure, Environment, and Sustainability Committee
- Spokane City Council
- Spokane Housing Authority Board
- Central Valley School Board
- Board of County Commissioners
- Parking Advisory Committee
- Plan Commission
- Spokane Regional Health District Board
The Changing Face of Journalism panel
The Spokane Public Library is hosting a panel discussion all about how journalism has changed throughout the years with perspectives from different generations. RANGE’s audience editor Valerie Osier will be on the panel, along with the Spokesman’s Emma Epperly, the Inlander’s Samantha Wohlfeil, FaVS News’ Tracy Simmons, Amanda Roley from KREM, former journalist Leonard Kransdorf and investigative journalist Karen Dorn Steele. Read more about the panelists and the event here.
Thursday, June 29 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Spokane Central Library, Third floor
906 W Main Ave
Public Infrastructure, Environment, and Sustainability (PIES) Committee
New contract for police union
The Spokane Police Guild and the city have negotiated an agreement through the end of 2026 that includes yearly wage increases. The collective bargaining agreement stipulates a 5% increase in wages for 2023, 7% for 2024, 7% for 2025 and between 3.5% and 7% based on the Consumer Price Index for 2026. The contract also includes increases in pay for different education levels and specific patrols. This amounts to between $33.9 million to $35.9 million just in wage increases over the next four years. Let this be your regular reminder that no, our liberal city council is not, in fact, defunding the police.
The new contract also makes a few changes to how the Office of the Police Ombudsman (OPO), the entity that can investigate the police department, works with the department. The first change allows the Ombudsman and/or Deputy Ombudsman to be the complainant in a situation they are aware of, while dictating that the person filing the complaint would be firewalled from the investigation to avoid a potential conflict of interest.
The new rules also take away the OPO’s ability to make a closing report after an investigation if they decide not to forward a complaint to Internal Affairs (IA). Rather than making a closing report, which are publicly released, the OPO is allowed to give information through IA to the department so the department can make general changes. Neither the determination of the OPO’s investigation or referral are allowed to contain the names of any officers involved.
The contract adds that if a complaint alleges serious misconduct that could result in someone getting fired, the OPO can investigate complaints older than five years old. Otherwise, the OPO can only investigate incidents one year from the date of the complaint.
The contract is long, and you can see all the changes in blue starting on page 16 of the PIES agenda.
Cannabis Special Revenue Fund
The PIES Committee is considering an ordinance that would create a special fund from statewide cannabis revenue that would support drug intervention, education and prevention.
Right now, the money the city gets from cannabis revenue just goes into the general fund and then is allocated to the police department, according to the ordinance. But this new ordinance would enable those funds to go to more city departments that work in drug intervention, including the police department and the Spokane Opioid Abatement Council (which is new!).
Speed radar cameras to a corner near you
Since the state recently expanded where traffic cameras could go, the PIES committee will consider a resolution that would allow these cameras to be put in school walk areas, public park speed zones and hospital speed zones and extend the use of these cameras in the city for another five years.
Lowering parking regulations for housing
The PIES Committee will be discussing an interim zoning ordinance that would take away parking space minimums for new residential construction in an effort to make affordable housing cheaper to build (therefore hopefully getting more affordable housing built built faster). Constructing off-street parking with new housing is a very costly part of development. This ordinance would eliminate off-street parking requirements for new housing construction located within a half-mile of transit stops.
The ordinance would be in effect until July 9, 2024 and the city council would have a public hearing on or around August 28, 2023. The first reading of this ordinance is set for today at city council.
Agenda here.
Monday, June 26 at 1:15 p.m.
Council Chambers in the Lower Level of City Hall.
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA 99201
The meeting is also live streamed.
Spokane City Council
Final park night ordinance showdown
The city council will have final readings on the dueling ordinances that would criminalize being in the park after hours. The ordinance proposed by council members Karen Stratton and Michael Cathcart would make it a misdemeanor to be in a city park after hours (midnight for Riverfront and 10 p.m. for all other parks). Council President Beggs put forward a gentler version of the ordinance that would only make it a misdemeanor only when a person disobeys an order to leave a city park issued by police or park staff.
In the agenda packet, a memo to the Parks Board states that the Stratton/Cathcart version of the ordinance would not be used against people just jogging through a park or walking their dog late at night because people don’t generally call the police for that. Basing public policy on what type of people are likely to get the police called on them is dubious, given the litany of instances where people of color are singled out by people making police reports even when they’re not breaking the law.
Hearing for the Don’t-Be-Homeless-Near-Kids ballot measure on July 10
The city council will set a hearing for the petition for the proposed ballot measure making homeless encampments within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, playgrounds and child care facilities illegal. The petitioner, Brian Hansen, got approximately 7,397 signatures to get the measure on the ballot. Only 2,624 signatures are required, but Hansen’s signatures have not yet been validated. The hearing will be on July 10.
Process for city property concerns
The Spokane Human Rights Commission has created an ordinance that would establish a process for citizens to share their concerns about city-owned property and actually get those concerns acted on. The city council will have the first reading of the ordinance Monday.
This would be the way that community members can ask the city to remove racist monuments, rename streets, and more. Read the full ordinance starting on page 724.
Logan Neighborhood dirt
The city council will have a final reading of a resolution that would move city water department dirt pile operations out of the Logan Neighborhood after complaints that the department was often working at night and creating disturbances.
More money for housing
The city council will consider an ordinance that would enable the city to use more sales tax funding toward affordable housing. This doesn’t raise any taxes for people, it just mandates the city use a minimum of 75% of the money from a 0.1% sales and use tax for housing and housing-related services enacted in 2020. Right now, it’s set at 60%. It also specifies that the money can be used for housing for people with disabilities, veterans, senior citizens, people who are or are at risk of being homeless and domestic abuse survivors. It also adds to what the city can use the money for: acquiring affordable housing, including emergency, transitional and supportive.
Special election incoming
Council member Cathcart is asking the council to consider a resolution that would request the city auditor to hold a special election at the same time as the general election on November 7 for a ballot proposition that would change how the city does redistricting. The change in the law would have seven appointed citizen commissioners do the redistricting rather than having the council president and another council member on the board.
Read more about the controversy that led to this from Rebecca White at Spokane Public Radio here.
Agenda here
Monday, June 26 at 6 p.m.
Council Chambers in the Lower Level of City Hall.
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA 99201
The meeting is also live streamed here.
Central Valley School District Board of Directors
Money talks
A drop in enrollment means the district is receiving about $3.6 million less in state money than projected. This comes at the same time that contracts are being negotiated between the district and unions representing educators and principals. It also comes as $7 million in unexpected compensation costs are leading the district to petition the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) for additional funding for the district.
In addition to these budgeting issues, the board is considering a new contract for Superintendent John Parker that sets his base pay at just under $243,000 a year.
Lunch Money
The district’s Nutrition Services Team has a budget shortfall that needs to be accounted for as food prices go up. In order to make up for their revenue shortfall from lunches they are proposing raising lunch prices by 10 cents each, using non-federal school district funds to make up for the shortfall, or a combination of a price increase and the school district chipping in. Last year, between breakfast and lunch, the district served more than 1.6 million meals.
Many students are eligible for free and reduced price lunches, with 13 of the 27 schools in the district having entirely free meals because they are in a low-income community.
Agenda here
Monday, June 26 at 6:30 p.m.
Learning and Teaching Center (district office)
Board Room at 2218 N Molter Rd, Liberty Lake
Watch via Zoom here.
Board of County Commissioners
Fair fares, behavioral health curriculum
It’s an atypically thin agenda packet for the County Commissioners this week, but there are a couple items of note: The commission will consider a request to approve slightly higher fares for admission to the 2023 Spokane County Interstate Fair: Friday adult tickets bought at the gate would go from $13 to $15 and car parking would increase from $5 to $10 under the proposed plan.
The county is also seeking to extend and expand a current licensing agreement with Portland State University for use of the “Reclaiming Futures” curriculum for school-based mental health and substance disorder programs. This curriculum is used by the Spokane County Community Services Department for behavioral health and substance abuse support in county public schools.
Agenda here
Tuesday, June 27 at 2 p.m.
Public Works Building
1116 W Broadway, Spokane, WA
Commissioner’s Conference Room, First Floor
Spokane Housing Authority Board
Agenda here
Monday, June 26 at 3:30 p.m.
Offices of the SHA
25 W. Nora Ave., Spokane
In the large conference room
Parking Advisory Committee
Agenda here (once posted)
Tuesday, June 27 at 2:30 p.m.
City Hall Lobby, Tribal Council Room
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd
Spokane Plan Commission
Agenda here
Wednesday, June 28 at 2 p.m.
Public Works Building
1026 W Broadway, Spokane, WA
Commissioner’s Hearing Room, Lower Level
Spokane Regional Health District Board
Agenda here
Thursday, June 29 at 12:30 p.m.
Auditorium, First Floor
Spokane Regional Health District
1101 West College Avenue
