Study of city budget criticized by activists

A consultant-led effort to trim $6 million from the Spokane city budget came under fire Friday from neighborhood activists who complained the public is largely being left out.

“I’m a little bit concerned about the process we find ourselves in,” said Jay Cousins of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council.

Decisions about what to cut will be made starting next week by the mayor’s executive team. Cousins contends that the public is only being allowed to provide minimal input by ranking a series of eight goals for city government services.

“It seems to me the citizens become validation rather than participation,” Cousins said during a public hearing at City Hall.

Mayor Jim West has asked for a 5 percent cut in the city’s $121 million general fund to make up for a projected cash shortfall by the end of the year. An additional cut of 2 percent may be needed at the start of 2005.

Rather than reduce spending across the board in all departments, the mayor has decided to bring a consultant into City Hall to help prioritize spending and make cuts on programs that rank low on a list of eight priorities. The priorities include a strong economy, safety, mobility, learning, leadership, health, environment and human services.

The city has received nearly 1,000 responses on a questionnaire asking residents to rank those services. It is available through the city’s Web site at spokanecity.org.

On Monday, the mayor and his top staff will start sorting through some 470 “bids” submitted by city departments seeking to provide services based on those priorities. The work is being guided through a St. Paul, Minn., consultant hired by the city for $150,000.

“The public is excluded from the very nuts-and-bolts session that has to do with deciding the priorities,” Cousins said during Friday’s hearing, which was scheduled to follow the regular meeting of the Community Assembly of neighborhood councils.

Any changes in the budget must be approved by the City Council following public testimony, expected later this summer. The administration has said it plans to submit a proposal to the council by July 26.

Chief Financial Officer Gavin Cooley defended the “priorities of government” work, saying the prioritization is going to force City Hall to re-examine how it delivers services. “I can’t imagine that’s a negative.” Cooley said.

Mickey Thompson of the Nevada-Lidgerwood Neighborhood Council said, “The citizens will be happier when they know the government is competent and honest.”

He said the process might become a game where “the best liars are the winners.”

Gary Pollard of the Riverside Neighborhood Council said he is concerned that the bidding process will pit one department against another.

Spokane activist Karen Baker said the city must maintain spending for housing and for people with disabilities.

West said the city wants a rough sense of the public’s priorities so the administration can figure out where cuts are most appropriate. “We are going to do fewer things with the available resources we have,” he said.