Geraghty Wants To Revamp City Hall Mayor’s Pledge To Restructure Local Government Short On Specifics In ‘State Of The City’ Address

Spokane Mayor Jack Geraghty wants to give city government a “complete overhaul.”

“There’s going to be no individuals, no departments that won’t be a part of that” restructuring, said Geraghty, who Thursday gave reporters a preview of his “State of the City” address.

He’s delivering the same speech this morning to Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce members.

“It’s clear that here and there in city government there’s a lot of business-as-usual,” the mayor said.

His remarks were long on rhetoric, short on details. Geraghty said he was not ready to suggest specific proposals.

Reform is a familiar theme with Geraghty, who promised during the 1993 campaign to eliminate 25 middle-management positions to save money.

That’s been done, he said, but only because budget cuts forced the city to leave some positions vacant. He had hoped to make cuts only after examining every agency for fat.

In November 1994, near the end of his first year as mayor, Geraghty said restructuring government was tougher than he expected. He hoped to have proposals ready by the time the 1996 budget was written.

The spending plan was finished in December.

On Thursday, Geraghty said restructuring was postponed another year because city officials were waiting for voters to decide whether to consolidate city and county governments. Consolidation would have made city reforms moot.

With consolidation now dead, Geraghty said he will lead discussions with the City Council and City Manager Roger Crum over his vision of a government overhaul.

The talks will start Feb. 3 at the council’s annual retreat, he said.

Geraghty said any changes may require modifications to the city’s civil service policies or a voter-approved change of the city charter.

A proposal to replace the city’s council-manager government with a strong-mayor system would not delay the talks, he said.

“I’m going to ask the council to move forward and work with what we have and make it more responsible.”

On other issues, Geraghty said he would:

Expand the city’s use of computers and other technology with a goal of making city hall “a paperless work place.”

Asked if the city could afford those changes, Geraghty said: “If we always asked that question first, then we’re not going to get anything done.”

Talk with county commissioners about consolidating some government functions, like land-use planning and sewer construction.

Geraghty said he has no qualms about commissioners’ suggestion that the county take over regional agencies, such as the Spokane County Health District.

Challenge developers to build more downtown housing, including homes for low-income residents.

The houses and apartments will be needed if Spokane grows by 60,000 people in the next 20 years, as the state predicts, he said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo