Lisa Gardner, City Council Communications Director, 509.625.6226
Tuesday, November 29, 2022 at 8:22 a.m.
During Monday’s Legislative Session, Spokane City Council voted 6-1 to override the Mayoral veto of Ordinance C36307, which will increase revenues by an average of $8 per household. The ordinance originally passed 5-2 on November 14th, 2022, and was vetoed by the Mayor on November 18th. The 1% property tax collected in 2023 will be close to $1 million and will continue a long history in Spokane of devoting any allowable property tax increase to fund much-needed police and fire vehicles.
“City Council responded to the police and fire departments’ requests for critical vehicle replacements,” said Council President Breean Beggs. “In the 2023 budget, the Mayor proposed $1.3 million to fund police capital; however, her veto of the ordinance undermines those proposed public safety upgrades. Council’s decision to override the veto secures funding for vital police and fire that would likely have gone unfunded if Mayor’s veto were to stand.”
“With inflation, residents and businesses are challenged to meet financial obligations; we all feel it,” said Finance Committee Chair Council Member Betsy Wilkerson. “This 1% increase can help the entire City in many ways: public safety, paying our deserving city employees, and homelessness issues. This 1% increase continues to invest in people and is fiscally prudent.”
