Valley mayor seeks federal funds for communications system

Spokane Valley Mayor Rich Munson has asked the federal government to pay for the emergency communications system that would be built with a 0.1 percent sales tax increase on Tuesday’s election ballot.

Acting as president of the Association of Washington Cities, Munson says in letters to the state’s congressional delegation that the federal government should bear the cost because it ordered the change.

The Federal Communications Commission directed police and other local emergency service agencies to switch to a new narrow-band frequency by 2012 to free up radio waves for other uses. But the federal government “has provided little or no funding to actually make that possible,” Munson wrote.

He said the estimated cost is $41 million in Spokane County and $435 million across Washington state.

Munson said the cost across the nation has been estimated at $50 billion by the National League of Cities.

Munson said he was told in conversations with Washington congressional staff members that the state’s local governments hadn’t previously asked for federal help.

The Legislature authorized counties to seek sales tax increases like the one on next week’s ballot, but Munson isn’t optimistic about that approach.

“I think if this thing fails, and I think it will, then we need to look for some other answers,” he said.