Mayor’s 2019 budget includes funding for 10 new police officers, homeless programs

Kelsie Morgan by DONIE O'SULLIVAN

Spokane’s Mayor has announced how he plans to spend the city’s general funds in the coming year.

Mayor David Condon said Tuesday with the new budget he hopes to make an investment in a safer, smarter, and healthier Spokane.

The proposal includes funding for 10 new police officer positions in the new year. That’s in addition to the 10 that were added in the 2018 budget. The new officers’ goal would be to help reduce property crime in the city, an effort Mayor Condon says has been successful in recent years.

He’s also looking to give the fire department a one-time, $1 million grant so it can continue to support 48 firefighters hired with funds from a federal pilot program called SAFER.

The budget also includes $600,000 for homeless outreach programs and a new homeless shelter, updates to the city’s software systems, $92 million for cleaning the Spokane River, and $227 million for street construction.

As it stands, the proposal is about $3 million dollars over budget. Mayor Condon and Spokane’s city council will now work together to re-evaluate and prioritize expenses, and hopefully find savings.

A balanced budget must be adopted by the city council by the end of the calendar year.

View the city’s press release and a budget fact sheet here. Read an executive summary of the proposed budget here.

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