Who is supporting the STA tax renewal this August?

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’s another quiet week, but there’s a few meetings happening anyway.

Some things that stick out to us this week include:

Spokane City Council is cancelled for “Fourth of July week” but will return next Wednesday on the new weekly meeting schedule.
Council members will get a briefing on how many tickets have been issued by the automatic cameras to drivers running red lights or speeding in school zones, as well as a presentation from police that includes info on deadly police shootings this year.
The Spokane School District Board of Directors could pass a resolution voicing their official support for the ballot measure renewing the Spokane Transit Authority sales tax.
The Spokane Transit Authority Board of Directors will have a special meeting to discuss a status update on 2026 projects, and look forward to budgeting and an action plan for 2027.
The Spokane County Prosecutor is applying for a $200,000 grant to hire a new team dedicated to assessing domestic living situations for risk of domestic violence.
Spokane County Detention Services is asking the BOCC to strike the word “retaliation” from the policy that defines and bans harassment.

Spokane City Council

The Spokane City Council meeting this week is cancelled “in recognition of Fourth of July Week.” Beginning next week, all Spokane City Council legislative meetings will be on Wednesdays, not the traditional Monday.

Public Safety & Community Health Committee (special meeting)

🌶️/5 peppers

Monthly updates

While the Public Safety & Community Health Committee isn’t cancelled, it is a special session this week and will be held on Thursday at 11 am, rather than the usual time. There’s not a ton on the agenda, but we always find the monthly updates interesting:

In the month of May, there were 2,420 violations caught on the red light cameras placed at key intersections in Spokane — an increase of 416 violations from the same period in 2025. The intersection of eastbound Mission and Greene had the highest number of drivers running red lights, with 484 in that same one-month span.
Also in May, drivers were caught speeding in school zones 2,161 times. This is a decrease from 2025, but the agenda notes that it’s because there’s one less camera: as Adams Elementary is being remodelled, the camera is also shut down. The camera placed by Longfellow Elementary caught the most violations, with 413 in that same one-month period.
Though Spokane Police Department (SPD) had no fatal police shootings in 2025, there have been two in 2026. Information about each is included in this month’s report.
- On February 24, SPD fatally shot a homicide suspect near the Apple Tree Inn, stating he was “uncooperative” and carrying what appeared to be a gun. This shooting is currently under investigation by Spokane Independent Investigative Response team (SIIR), which is comprised of multiple agencies in Eastern Washington including the Spokane County Sheriﬀ’s Oﬃce, Washington State Patrol and the Spokane Police Department.
The second shooting occurred on May 21, when SPD responded to a domestic violence call from a woman who said her husband had been drinking, had a gun and threatened to kill himself if she left him. Once there, they saw a struggle between the woman and Kaleb Hassel, who was holding a gun. There was a brief struggle, and an SPD officer shot Hassel, killing him. This incidence is also currently under investigation by SIIR.

Agenda here
Thursday, July 9 at 11 am
Council Chambers
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Board of Spokane County Commissioners Briefing Session

🌶️🌶️/5 peppers

New money for prosecutor to hire DV assessment team

The Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney is applying for a $200,000 grant to hire a team trained to measure the risk of homicide in domestic living situations. Called a “Domestic Violence High Risk Team,” the two-person body would use a “law enforcement field assessment tool” with the goal of reducing domestic violence in Spokane County. The money would come from a branch of the US Department of Justice called the Office of Violence Against Women.

The request comes in the wake of a report that showed prosecutors were prosecuting fewer domestic violence cases.

About $3.5 million to SNAP for affordable housing renovations

The BOCC is set to approve nearly $3.5 million to Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners to renovate two affordable housing complexes, the Broadway Seniors affordable housing project and the Riverwalk Point II Affordable Housing rehabilitation project.

Agenda here
Tuesday, July 7 at 9 am
Commissioners’ Hearing Room
1026 W. Broadway Ave, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Board of Spokane County Commissioners Legislative Session

🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 peppers

$1.4M in state housing assistance

Four housing providers are set to get an infusion of $1,465,251.70 from the Washington Department of Commerce to fund affordable living spaces over the next year in Spokane County. The largest amount, $619,822.70, would go to Counseling & Recovery Services. Catholic Charities, Pend Oreille County Counseling Services and Rural Resources Community Action would receive smaller amounts.

‘Retaliation’ struck from harassment practices banned in jail policy

Spokane County Detention Services wants to get rid of the word “retaliation” in its policy manual that defines and bans harassment behaviors. The original text read, partly, “The purpose of this policy is to prevent department members from being subjected to discriminatory harassment, including sexual harassment and retaliation.” In the newly proposed version, the final two words are gone, along with all other mentions of retaliation in the policy. The agenda material does not give a reason for the proposed revisions. Read the changes here.

Agenda here
Tuesday, July 7 at 2 pm
Commissioners’ Hearing Room
1026 W. Broadway Ave, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Spokane Regional Transportation Council

🫑/5 peppers

Agenda here
Thursday, July 9 at 1 pm
21 W Riverside Ave, Suite 504, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Spokane Transit Authority Board of Directors (special meeting)

🌶️/5 peppers

The Spokane Transit Authority Board of Directors are having a special meeting to discuss the status of their 2026 Action Plan. They’ll also look forward to 2027, as staff seeks guidance from the board on the 2027 Budget and Action Plan.

Agenda here
Thursday, July 8 at 11:45 am
STA Boardroom
1230 W Boone Avenue, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Spokane School District Board of Directors (special meeting)

🌶️/5 peppers

In support of renewing Spokane Transit Authority’s tax rate?

The board is expected to take a vote on a resolution in support of the Spokane Transit Authority’s August ballot initiative asking voters to renew the .2% sales tax rate. The resolution notes the rate would fund public transportation services.

Agenda here
Wednesday, July 8 at 4:30 pm
200 N. Bernard, Spokane
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Spokane Valley City Council

🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 peppers

Draft legislative priorities

Spokane Valley’s government relations leader will present a draft of the city’s legislative priorities, a wish-list the city will present to the state legislature early next year during the lawmaking session. It asks for $7.5 million for large interchange reconstruction projects at I-90 and Barker Road and Sullivan and Trent roads. It also asks the legislature to loosen state rules that govern how local communities develop, saying the Growth Management Act — the broad development framework all local governments in Washington are beholden to — makes it impacts the development of affordable housing. And it asks the state to fully fund costs associated with new caseload standards for public defenders. Read the details here.

Agenda here
Tuesday, July 7 at 6 pm
10210 E Sprague Ave, Spokane Valley
Virtual attendance here.

Liberty Lake City Council

🌶️🌶️/5 peppers

Long-term transportation plan up for approval

The City Council is set to approve a plan that will govern the way it grows its transportation infrastructure over the next six years. The plan includes nearly $22 million in road construction projects; $4.5 million in traffic control projects, like roundabouts and traffic cameras; and $840,000 in pedestrian and bicycle safety construction. See the details on Page 113 of the agenda.

Pro/con committees for STA Prop 1

The city is soliciting people to serve on two committees to draft language explaining the up- and the downsides of the proposal to renew the Spokane Transit Authority tax proposal that will appear on Spokane County ballots on August 4. One Liberty Lake Resident, Kathryn Lynn Atkins, is signed up for the pro committee and must be approved by the City Council.