Spokane City Councilmembers say they want working families and business owners in the city to pay more in property taxes because they have failed to adequately budget to provide enough services for safety.

Proposition 1 appears on the February 12^th ballot and would increase the property tax by $.30 per $1,000 of assessed property value. It is a steep tax hike, especially on low-income households in Spokane. 

Spokane’s median household income is only about $46,000 per year, and many households in the city are making $25,000 or less.

Homeowners, families and businesses are still weary from the state property tax increase imposed for schools and the possibility local school levy limits could be changed or lifted. Each year, the extra property taxes proposed in Proposition 1 could increase the tax burden in Spokane by at least $6 million more. 

The massive tax hike in Proposition 1 is needed, councilmembers say, to hire 20 new police officers and to avoid the loss of firefighters when a federal grant expires at the end of 2019. 

Councilmembers say under their current budget, they are 20 police officers short and that they have failed to set aside funding to retain local firefighters when temporary federal grant money runs out at the end of 2019. However, they have known for several years that federal funding was scheduled to end and did nothing to ease the transition. Instead, they are now turning to property owners for a bailout to make up for their shortsightedness.

It is not as if they haven’t had the resources. This year, total budgeting for the city of Spokane will top $1 billion for the first time – a stunning 34% increase in just five years.

Since 2015, the fire department’s budget has grown 7% to $56.6 million, and the city police department budget has grown 7% to $60.5 million. The number of police and fire personnel in the city has also increased over that same time period.

DEPARTMENT              2015                2019

POLICE FTE’S               399.75             427.7

FIRE FTE’S                    312.5               361.8

Public safety is the number one priority for any government. The 2019 budget proposed by Spokane Mayor David Condon and approved by the Spokane City Council already includes funding for 10 new police officers, and an additional $1 million for firefighters now working with the city under the grant set to expire at the end of 2019 – all under existing revenues.

In 2018, the city of Spokane also increased its budget to hire 10 new police officers.

Perhaps that is why the city administration has called into question the need for a further tax increase.

Furthermore, revenues generated under this levy will likely not be enough to cover the costs of the promises made in the resolution. While the city estimates the levy would generate six million dollars per year, the estimated cost to hire and equip the 20 new police officers and 30 firefighters called for in the proposition exceeds that amount in just three years, according to city estimates. 

This means either future increase in taxes, or cuts, would be needed. 

This latest proposal is not the first time Spokane voters have been asked to increase taxes to fund a public safety measure. In 2013, Washington Policy Center completed an analysis that provided clarity on the Lilac City’s public safety costs with information and cost comparisons to other cities – both regionally and nationally. It shows Spokane public safety professionals are well-paid and the average compensation for both police and fire positions in Spokane was in excess of $100,000 per year.