In brief: Residents get look at 2015 budget proposal

Spokane – City residents will get a chance to ask Mayor David Condon about the 2015 budget proposal released earlier this month.

The $585 million budget proposal is in many ways a continuation of this year’s budget, which beefed up the police force and unveiled the administration’s effort to combine infrastructure projects – at once building new streets and diverting pollutants from entering the river. The proposal would also fund a second police precinct and a steady stream of newly trained officers with $450,000 for a “police hire ahead” program.

The city will continue its federally mandated effort to stop almost all pollutants from entering the Spokane River by 2018. Spending will double in 2015 compared to this year.

The first budget town hall meeting will be at the Northeast Community Center on Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. Corbin Senior Center will host the next meeting on Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. The final meeting will take place on Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. at the Southside Senior and Community Center.

View the budget at MySpokaneBudget.org.

for warming centers

Spokane – The city is seeking applications for warming centers for the upcoming winter. Unlike homeless shelters, which provide a bed and food, the warming centers are opened only during times of extreme cold.

The centers are activated by the city’s Community, Housing and Human Services Department, and the agencies that run the centers are reimbursed for their costs.

Last year, four agencies in Spokane had warming centers: Crosswalk, Hope House Shelter and the Salvation Army’s Community Center and Family Resource Center.

Applications to become a warming center are available at SpokaneCHHS.org and are due by 5 p.m. on Sept. 8.