Letters

City shouldn’t count on grant opportunities

The Spokane Valley City Council should increase savings and not cut income. They should assume that state and federal grant opportunities will dry up.

The city’s economic growth requires well-maintained roads, public safety with a sense of community, healthy recreation and parks, and other city-funded resources. In the past, the city has benefited from state and federal grants.

However, the state Supreme Court has ruled the state Legislature is in contempt and must allocate more funding to education. That will probably reduce the number of state grant opportunities for cities in the future. The city cannot afford to get behind on local road maintenance or future costs would require full road replacement. That would be penny wise, pound foolish. The federal budget is already behind on transportation funding.

The sheriff has identified police body cameras as a way to prevent problems in public safety. Body cameras can prevent “he said, she said” problems. The savings in lawsuits could be significant. However, there would be a one-time cost for the initial purchase that would need to be funded for the city police. It would be a good investment.

The city could set up a restricted savings account that would hold funds for special projects if there is a future need for 1 percent tax increases to cover the loss of grant opportunities.

Margaret Mortz

Spokane Valley