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City Spending Will Rise Slightly Police Budget Gets Biggest Hike, According To Preliminary Plan

By Kristina Johnson kristinaj@spokesman.com

The city of Spokane’s proposed 1997 spending plan shows a $5 million increase over this year’s - jumping from $108 million to $113 million.

Residents can expect their property tax bills to increase slightly - but not as much as last year. Garbage rates should stay the same, but water and sewer rates could go up about 3 percent.

Budget Manager Ken Stone cautioned that the spending plan - as well as property tax and utility rate increases - is preliminary. The budget isn’t final until December.

“The numbers are going to go down,” Stone said.

The biggest departmental increase - nearly $1.3 million - goes to the Police Department.

Part of the jump is due to 25 officers hired in 1994-95 who’ve made it through probation and get a pay hike next year, Stone said. Operating expenses for the department’s new records management/ dispatch system are going up, along with a higher jail bill.

Also, the department is getting a $350,000 federal grant aimed at buying new equipment.

The city’s biggest new expense next year is a new state law that shifts the cost of prosecuting misdemeanors from the county to the city, Stone said.

That change will cost Spokane taxpayers about $1.5 million, including salaries for new public defenders and prosecutors.

Other proposed 1997 spending changes include: Increasing transportation spending by $150,000 to pay for more road maintenance.

The city did away with its “sealing and weed removal” program three years ago to pay for federally mandated street sweeping, Stone said. Pulling weeds and sealing cracks extends the life of a street by keeping it from breaking apart.

Increasing library spending by $200,000 to pay for the new Shadle branch scheduled to open next year.

Increasing police officer salaries by a contract-negotiated 3 percent.

Out of eight city unions, the police guild is the only one with a contract for 1997. The others currently are renegotiating their contracts, so next year’s proposed budget doesn’t include pay hikes for those employees.

Last year at this time, the city was scrambling to cut costs to balance the budget. This time, early figures show the city ending 1997 with $1.6 million in reserves - less than the 2 percent officials want but still in the black, Stone said.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: TOWN HALL MEETING Spokane City Council members will meet tonight at the Northeast Community Center for their third televised town hall meeting. The council will hear from residents about what’s going on in the neighborhood. An extended public forum in which residents can talk about their concerns will be held at the end of the meeting. Council members held town hall meetings earlier this year at the East Central and West Central community centers. They plan a fourth one at City Hall later this year. A briefing for the council takes place at 3:30 p.m. at City Hall, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. The meeting will start at 6 p.m. at the Northeast Community Center, 4001 N. Cook St.

This sidebar appeared with the story: TOWN HALL MEETING Spokane City Council members will meet tonight at the Northeast Community Center for their third televised town hall meeting. The council will hear from residents about what’s going on in the neighborhood. An extended public forum in which residents can talk about their concerns will be held at the end of the meeting. Council members held town hall meetings earlier this year at the East Central and West Central community centers. They plan a fourth one at City Hall later this year. A briefing for the council takes place at 3:30 p.m. at City Hall, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. The meeting will start at 6 p.m. at the Northeast Community Center, 4001 N. Cook St.