Woodward: ‘We Are at a Turning Point’

Brian Coddington, Communications Director (509) 625.6740

Monday, October 9, 2023 at 7 p.m.

Spokane is at a turning point that requires disciplined focus on core municipal services and building from a foundation of enhanced services and strategic investments, Mayor Nadine Woodward said Monday during the annual Statement of Conditions and Affairs address.

Community conversation around public safety and homelessness have focused previous investments and budget development, Woodward said. The mayor released a balanced priority-based preliminary budget last week that relies on gains in operational efficiencies, updated cost-recovery models that better keep up with rising costs, and bridge strategies to invest in core services and the City workforce.

“Like cities around the state and the country, we’ve been through a lot and are in a time of economic uncertainty,” Woodward said. “We are also in a time of great opportunity, and great control of what happens next.”

Woodward talked about being “strategic in our approaches” to resource allocation. She highlighted evolutions in police staffing, response, and enforcement emphasis areas, homelessness services, housing inventory, and infrastructure needs.

  • Property crime is down nearly 15 percent downtown through three-quarters of the year while overall crime is down more than 10 percent.
  • The Violent Crimes Task Force has arrested more than 150 of the most dangerous and prolific offenders.
  • The Trent Resource and Assistance Center has consistently served more than 300 individuals and their pets nightly with onsite services since opening a year ago.
  • The expanded Homeless Outreach Team has made more consistent service connections and is on pace to remove more than 800,000 pounds of litter and debris this year.
  • The planning and public works teams have partnered on creative strategies to increase housing inventory and access to homeownership while considering neighborhood and infrastructure burdens.
  • Innovative strategies to address development in neighborhoods like Latah Valley, where housing development has been designated by the state Growth Management Act, are being worked on to make a new fire station site shovel-ready, address fire concerns through education, emphasis, and enforcement, and address future impacts through updated development fee schedules.

Woodward also urged consideration of the shrinking workforce pool, lagging wage growth, and rapid rise in home valuations as important considerations in preparing the 2024 budget. The key, Woodward said, is to focus resources on core services areas and continue building on the foundation that’s been established.

“We are at a turning point,” Woodward said. “Our plan to get us back to basics has built the infrastructure to move us forward.”