Here’s your chance to weigh in on Spokane County’s 2021 budget

Spokane County will hold a series of budget roundtables starting next week to give the public a chance to view and comment on the 2021 budget.

Last year the county commissioners approved a $675 million budget compared to the budget from the previous year, which was about $790 million.

Chief Budget Officer for Spokane County Gary Petrovich said the county has had several delays in this year’s budgeting process due to a change in software and employees working from home during the pandemic. So it does not yet have final numbers.

Petrovich said he anticipates the county will bring in less revenue than it has in past years, but won’t have any specific numbers until next week.

There will be three roundtables over the next month that people can watch to view a budget presentation and comment.

The roundtables will be Oct. 13, Oct. 27 and Nov. 10 at 2 p.m.

The public can watch the roundtables live on the county’s Facebook Page and YouTube channel and after the hearings, and recordings will be posted to the county’s website.

The public can also join the roundtable by phone by calling (509) 477-4050 or (877) 304-4339 and entering the collaboration code No. 330641.

To comment on the budget, members of the public can email Ginna Vasquez, the clerk for the Board of County Commissioners at gvasquez@spokanecounty.org or call (509) 477-2268 no later than 10 a.m. the day of the meeting at which they wish to comment. Each person has up to three minutes to comment.

Questions and comments about the budget can also be emailed to Petrovich at budgetoffice@spokanecounty.org or by calling (509) 477-4790.