Lisa Gardner, City Council Communications Director, 509.625.6226
Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at 8:38 a.m.
During Monday night’s Legislative Session, City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Annual Budget of the City of Spokane for 2023.
Council’s Budget Working Group made up of Finance & Administration Committee Chair Council Member Betsy Wilkerson, Vice-Chair Council Member Cathcart, and Council President Breean Beggs, met regularly to discuss budgetary priorities, make calculated reductions in expenditures, and increases in revenues to eliminate a $2.6 million budget deficit and project a budget surplus in 2023.
“The City of Spokane has once again approved a balanced budget that substantially increases spending on public safety and affordable housing,” said Beggs.
During this budget process, Council increased reserves by nearly $200,000 in a positive variance to the 2023 budget, which aligns with the goals laid out in Resolution 2022-0094, passed by the Council in October.
Council added 9 commissioned police officers dedicated to traffic patrol to the budget. Using Traffic Calming funds, these officers will be deployed within 1/3 mile of schools or parks to help create safer streets and address traffic fatalities, which is a leading cause of death in our community.
City Council and the Administration worked to approve a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that will add 30 additional firefighters to the community, helping ease the burden on current firefighters while reducing overtime expenditures that impact the City’s general fund. Additionally, the Council budget amendments added innovative programs in municipal court to reduce crime and open more jail beds for serious crimes.
“This was a very challenging budget year as expenses were pacing revenue,” said Wilkerson. “Especially around Homelessness and Public Safety, not everyone got everything they wanted, but we maintained our level of employees who deliver services to us daily. The Finance & Administration Committee will also implement a mid-year budget review to track our progress and adjust as needed.”
“After three years on the City Council, this budget represents the first where I have been able to vote yes,” said Cathcart. “Make no mistake—this isn’t a perfect budget. There are plenty of areas where I would have made different decisions on my own. However, the collaborative process we followed over the past several months has shaped the budget into something much more sustainable than we thought possible while continuing to invest in public safety and other key priorities. Our next steps for the 2023 budget and the Council budget process are the most important and ones which I am excited to lead on. These steps include building back our reserves, providing for longer-term budget planning, and insisting on supplemental budgeting to get us to make better and more sustainable decisions that protect priority operations such as public safety.”
Notably, Council’s amendments increased funding for homeless services beyond the Mayor's original proposal while preserving $7 million for new permanently affordable housing from the 1/10th sales tax commonly known as 1590, and increased funds for public safety and new police officers beyond the Mayor’s proposed budget.
Council also reduced its departmental budget and increased the budget for salary adjustments required under the new collective bargaining agreements negotiated by the Mayor.
About the Spokane City Council
The City Council is the legislative body of the City of Spokane, which is home to more than 220,000 people and is located in the heart of the Inland Northwest. The City’s 2,000 employees strive to deliver efficient and effective services that facilitate economic opportunity and enhance the quality of life for all our citizens. For more information, visit SpokaneCity.org/CityCouncil/ and follow us @SpokaneCityCouncil on Facebook.
