The Incorporation Vote Questions & Answers Valley Residents Must Decide Their Future - And Spokane County’s - At Ballot Box Tuesday

Consider this a refresher course.

Five years ago “incorporation” was a new term to most Valley residents, made more confusing because it often appeared in sentences with “annexation,” “consolidation” and equally obscure terms.

But voters have been through two incorporation elections now, and the terms are familiar.

Incorporation is just another word for city. If enough people vote yes Tuesday, a big chunk of the Valley will become one.

Annexation, one possible alternative to incorporation, means joining the city of Spokane.

Consolidation, another alternative, means regional government.

Still, it never hurts to review, especially when so much is at stake. If incorporation passes next week, it will change the Valley for generations. If it fails, there may never be another chance to form a city.

Anyone who’s been following the issue knows it’s tough to get straight answers.

Boosters promise that incorporation means lower taxes, a more cohesive community, more cops and better parks. Naysayers warn that taxes would skyrocket, services would suffer and the Valley would be split.

This supplement to the Valley Voice cuts through the rhetoric to provide the most accurate answers available.

Some of the answers haven’t changed since 1990, when voters first rejected incorporation. Others change with each proposal. And some of the questions didn’t exist the last time the Valley voted on the issue.

We’ve done our best to answer them all. Where a question cannot be answered, we’ve provided the most likely possibilities.