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.
It may be April Fool’s Day, but we promise there’s no trickery here — most of the government agencies are on a spring break! That means a really short edition of CIVICS, so if you’re looking to occupy the time you normally spend reading this newsletter, check out the stories we published last week on wins for strippers, political policy at Central Valley School District and ARPA fund fights at Spokane City.
Despite the short CIVICS, there are still a few things that stick out to us this week, like:
- Spokane Valley City Council continues to discuss a police staff-up and how to fund it
- The Community, Housing, and Human Services Board IS meeting this week, so it looks like some city staffers don’t get the whole week off.
Important meetings this week:
- Spokane Valley City Council with police services open house
- Community, Housing, and Human Services Board
- Spokane Human Rights Commission (maybe)
Documenters Dispatch
Last week, Documenter Bob West covered the Spokane Valley City Council meeting. Some of the key takeaways from that meeting included:
- The City Council passed the “Commitment to Safe Communities” resolution, proposed by Council Member Jessica Yaeger. The resolution initially aimed at supporting Texas’ border policies, but now just declares, “our commitment to a safe community and the elimination of any and all activities that contribute to the influx of illegal activities.”
- Council Member Al Merkel brought up two issues related to transparency, both of which were voted down. The first proposal, which had the support of two other council members, was to make the council’s public safety and governance manual committee meetings public. He then asked for more timely public posting of council meeting minutes, which city staff said they would need more budget and staff to accomplish.
- City staff presented to the council about the county’s effort to get federal funding to expand the Spokane Regional Stabilization Center, a regional behavioral health crisis stabilization facility that is a pre-booking jail diversion option for people in addiction crisis. The ask is whether the council will send a letter of support for the project, which they agreed to.
To read the full set of notes, which break down the meeting and what decisions were made, click here!
Spokane Valley City Council
Police and how to fund them
Spokane Valley has been discussing how to fund the recommended “right-sizing” of their police department for the better part of a year, and this Tuesday they’ll take the next steps in the process to hire an additional 10 officers per year. First, at 5 pm before the regularly scheduled 6 pm council meeting, they’re holding an open house where community members can come give feedback on how the city should fund the proposal.
The options currently on the table are to use funds previously allocated for streets (existing Transportation Benefit District (TBD) fees and a $1.7 million streetwear fee), to use banked property taxes from the current levy, to impose a new utility tax or to impose an additional TBD sales tax of up to 0.1%, which would have to go before voters. Spokane Valley voters are invited to engage with the process tomorrow, where council members and city staff will be available to answer questions regarding the project and will present display boards with project and funding information.
Then at the regular meeting an hour later, the city council will hold further discussion on whether or not they want to place a ballot measure on the August 6 election to fund the additional staffing for the police department. If they wanted to go this route, they’d need to approve an election ordinance by April 23 and have “pro” and “con” statement committees created around the same time.
The item on the agenda for tomorrow is just set for discussion, but if the council does decide they want to go with a funding option that would require voter approval, they’d need to move very fast – staff are already seeking direction on whether or not to start preparing election documents for council consideration.
Agenda here
Tuesday, April 2, Special Meeting at 5 pm and Council meeting at 6 pm
City Hall
10210 E Sprague Ave
Spokane Valley, Washington 99206
Virtual attendance here.
Community, Housing, and Human Services Board
Agenda here when available
Wednesday, April 3 at 4 pm
City Council Briefing Chambers
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA 99201
Virtual attendance link included on their agenda when available.
Spokane Human Rights Commission
Note - We are not 100% sure if this board is meeting. There is no agenda up yet — although it’s not legally required to be posted until 24 hours before the meeting — our contacts at the city are on vacation and there’s no official list of meeting dates, so if you’re planning on attending this, maybe check for the agenda on Wednesday.
Agenda here when available.
Thursday, April 4 at 5:30 p.m.
Council Briefing Center in the Lower Level of City Hall.
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA 99201
