Brian Coddington, Communications Director, 509.625.6740
Monday, November 2, 2020 at 3:50 p.m.
Mayor Nadine Woodward delivered a final proposed budget to the City Council today that prioritizes public safety, housing, homelessness, and economic development and was developed in collaboration with the City Council’s Budget Committee.
The budget includes public safety investments in the Mental Health Crisis Stabilization Facility and an incremental expansion of the co-deployed mental health resources as part of the Spokane Police Department’s Behavioral Health Unit; homelessness funding for an intensive Bridge Housing Program to move people out of homelessness and three additional code enforcement positions to address illegal camping; the addition of a housing specialist and investments in acquiring, rehabilitating, and constructing affordable housing; and adding three positions to improve application review times and filling vacant planner positions to accelerate the City’s economic recovery.
The proposal is for a General Fund budget of a little more than $207 million and a total City budget of $989 million. Economically dependent revenues are projected to be down $600,000 on next year. By comparison, those same revenues were estimated to be $2.6 million more in 2020.
The final proposed budget is the culmination of months of work, revenue modeling to account for COVID impacts, and discussion with the City Council about priorities and how to accommodate competing needs. It includes several adjustments from the mayor’s preliminary budget, published on October 5, based on a series of meetings between the mayor and the City Council Budget Committee. The conversation between the mayor and City Council is expected to continue while items with regional considerations continue to evolve.
The City Council will convene a series of public hearings to consider the mayor’s final proposed budget. Hearings will be held during regular meetings of the City Council.
