City may have to cut 60 fire, police jobs

If the city of Spokane fails to find more tax revenue, it could mean a total of 60 firefighters and police officers will lose their jobs, the two departments’ chiefs said Monday.

Budget cuts last year forced Fire Chief Bobby Williams to lay off 29 firefighters, and 19 others left the force through retirement and attrition. Police Chief Roger Bragdon released 25 police officers, a number that’s expected to climb to 36 through retirements, he said.

“We are going into the third year in a row of not having enough money to provide the type of service that we should be providing,” Bragdon said. “We are not talking about superior levels of service. We’re talking about just adequate levels of service.”

Voters could be asked in November to increase the lid on property tax levies. If approved, that would raise about $3.3 million in 2006 and again in 2007.

In addition, the Spokane City Council later this year will consider a 3 percent increase in the city’s utility tax to raise another $2.85 million during the same period. That 3 percent increase would raise the utility tax rate to 20 percent, giving Spokane the highest utility tax rate in the state.

To ease the impact, City Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers suggested this month that the city put a moratorium on a “rate stabilization” charge that utility users also pay.

The final piece of the plan, endorsed by a citizens committee appointed by Mayor Jim West, is for officials to ask city employee unions to make about $850,000 in pay concessions.

The three funding plans, which Williams referred to as the “three-legged stool,” are all needed to avoid more firefighter or police layoffs, he said.

“If they are (passed), then we would be looking at the same level of service. But that’s a big if,” Williams said. “If not, we are going to be dealing with very similar to what we had last year, and that was the loss of personnel.

“It resulted in fewer people on duty every day and two fewer rigs on service every day.”

Bragdon said calls for service have increased for both departments even as the number of employees continued to decline.

“I’m a policeman. I want to talk about police problems and respond to police problems,” Bragdon said. “The budget is the biggest problem we face right now, and it’s always on my mind.

“I’m not going to breathe easy until after the November elections.”