West proposes commission to oversee streets

Elected officials at Spokane City Hall say they’ve come up with a new way to answer criticism that tax money already going for city streets is not being spent efficiently.

Mayor Jim West has proposed the creation of a seven-member citizens commission to oversee street spending. The proposal is now before the City Council.

“People don’t trust the city so here’s somebody you can trust,” West said this week.

The council is expected to take up an ordinance establishing the commission during its next two meetings, with public testimony and a vote tentatively set for the Oct. 11 meeting at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

The proposal comes as voters in the city are being asked to approve a $117 million bond issue to repair some 110 miles of city streets over the next 10 years. The money would come from an increase in property taxes estimated at 68 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation annually, or $68 on a $100,000 home. The measure will appear on the Nov. 2 ballot and requires a 60 percent “yes” vote to pass.

The street bond would whittle away at the city’s estimated backlog of $200 million in rutted, pothole-ridden streets. It calls for rebuilding 37 miles of arterial streets and repaving 52 miles of residential streets, plus other street repairs. The projects proposed in the bond issue are not eligible generally for state or federal grants, and must be repaired with money available locally, West said.

Opponents of higher taxes have complained in the past that the city is not doing a good job in the way its spends the money it already gets for streets, a complaint that City Hall officials say is untrue. They argue their funding levels have been falling steadily for years.

The street improvement measure is a centerpiece of West’s first year in office, and is being promoted by the mayor as a key element in making the city more attractive for economic development.

The Spokane Streets Advisory Commission would be charged not only with monitoring the spending of the bond issue should it be approved, but also with helping develop the city’s six-year street plan, a key document for future street projects, West said. It would oversee the street department’s operations. It would submit an annual report to the mayor and council, and propose policies for streets.

The commission would be composed of two members from each of the city’s three council districts and one member selected citywide. All members would be appointed by the mayor subject to council confirmation.

West likened the proposed transportation advisory commission to the existing Plan Commission, which is another City Hall panel composed of citizen appointees.

Their advisory role will help bring greater accountability to street spending, West said, because they would bring new eyes and ears for helping elected officials manage streets. The streets advisory commission will be useful even if voters reject the Nov. 2 property tax request, he said.

The mayor said the state has a citizens accountability board it uses to monitor state highway spending. A city commission would fill the same need already recognized by the state, he said.

Councilman Al French is leading the effort among council members to establish the commission.