Chris Cargill: Spokane’s ballooning city council budget worrisome for taxpayers

Spokane’s ballooning city council budget worrisome for taxpayers

By Chris Cargill

When Spokane City Council President Breann Beggs addressed Rotary 21 in February, he told hundreds of Rotarians “we’re living in an era of limited government resources.”

This isn’t true for all government – state tax revenues, for example, are expected to increase more than 8 percent in the next two-year budget cycle.

Many local governments have seen an impact from government-imposed pandemic restrictions that have closed businesses and put many people out of work. But you wouldn’t know it from reviewing the Spokane City Council budget. While many local families struggle, the City Council is reaping the benefits. In fact, the council has expanded its budget more than 130% since 2014. At that time, the council and its staff accounted for 13 full-time city employees. Today, there are 22.

It is worth asking whether the citizens of Spokane believe the City Council work product and the state of the city is 130% better than it was just seven years ago.

Much of the spending increase is from the salary and benefits for new staff positions, while families struggle to keep their own jobs and pay higher city taxes. For example, the City Council now has a research analyst, a director of policy and government relations, a senior executive assistant to the council president, a director of communications and community engagement, a manager of homelessness initiatives, a manager of neighborhood connectivity initiatives, a manager of sustainability initiatives, a manager of equity and inclusion and a manager of intergovernmental affairs.

All of these jobs pay between $52,000 and $128,000 per year, according to the city’s budget. Meanwhile, the median household income in the city of Spokane is just $50,300.

In 2014, the council had a budget of less than a million dollars. Today, its budget exceeds $2.2 million.

It isn’t all just new positions – council salaries and benefits are also increasing. A City Council member in Spokane can now make $46,709 – plus a benefits package that increases total compensation to nearly $72,000. This package includes retirement, life insurance, an auto allowance and a cell phone. Many Spokane families don’t receive those benefits.

In a recent review, the local salary review commission compared Spokane’s elected official salaries to 18 other cities of similar size across the nation. It found that only three cities were higher – two of which were in New York.

The mayor’s office budget, meanwhile, has actually slightly fallen since 2014. And the executive branch has just eight full-time equivalent staff positions – the same as it did seven years ago.

Under Spokane’s strong-mayor form of government, the council is the legislative body. It plays an important role in the creation of policy and management of the city. However, the city charter implies that the council should be part time. It only restricts the mayor from seeking other employment.

Because of a ballooning budget, former City Council members Mike Allen and Steve Salvatori tried to get citizen clarification on what exactly the citizens wanted to see from the council – should it be part time or full time? That clarification is important, because it can dictate the citizen appetite for higher salaries, benefits and size of the council office itself.

However, the City Council at that time rejected the effort, saying there were “more important things to worry about.” City Councilwoman Candace Mumm added “I don’t have any interest in making this a full-time job.”

Two years later, council members got a 44% raise.

Today, working families, small businesses owners and nonprofits are struggling to balance budgets. If Spokane City Council members really believe “we’re living in an era of limited government resources,” they need to start acting like it.

Chris Cargill is the Eastern Washington director for Washington Policy Center. WPC is an independent research organization with offices in Spokane, Tri-Cities, Seattle and Olympia.