This week’s Spokane Valley City Council meeting began with an invocation, the pledge of allegiance, and approval of the following amended agenda.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
Mayor Padden and Councilmembers presented the October You Rock! Community Recognition Award to Mr. Bob Boyle with Hanson Industries to celebrate his 28 years of positive impact on retail development in our community.
General Public Comments
Each week, community members have an opportunity to address Councilmembers for up to three minutes during the General Public Comment period, either at the beginning or end of each meeting, both in person or online.
ACTION ITEMS
#1 – Second Reading: Ordinance 26-009 Property Tax
The Council has discussed the 2027 property tax levy four times so far this year. State law requires the passage of an ordinance establishing a property tax levy. The proposed 2027 property tax levy does not include the 1% increase allowed by State law. The levy will include property taxes on new construction.
The following is an example of the distribution of property taxes in the city’s largest property tax district (TCA 144):
37% Central Valley School District
24% Spokane Valley Fire District No. 01
21% State schools
8% City of Spokane Valley
7% Spokane County
3% Spokane County Library District
A motion to approve Ordinance 26-009 levying regular property taxes for 2027 passed with 6 votes in favor and 1 vote against.
#2 – City Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) Application
An administrative report was provided to Council on this item at the Oct. 13, 2026, meeting. The Course Spokane Valley (The Course) is a public park at 2520 N Flora Road, designed to also host cross country running events at the local, regional, and national levels. The Course opened earlier this year and for 2026, the City and its partner, Spokane Sports, booked 14 events during the cross country season, which runs from mid-August through November. Operating and maintenance (O&M) costs for 2027 are expected to be approximately $302,596 for turf maintenance of the course and the maintaining the community park. The estimated rental fees of $70,000 will cover a portion of O&M costs in 2027, and staff recommends applying to the LTAC for $125,000 of lodging tax funds to offset some of the remaining O&M costs.
A motion to authorize the City to apply for $125,000 in lodging tax funds for a portion of the 2027 operating and maintenance costs for The Course passed with 6 votes in favor and 1 vote against.
#3 – Homeless Outreach Contract Amendment
The City’s Frontier Behavioral Health (FBH) homeless outreach contract runs from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2027, and includes comprehensive outreach and engagement services with individuals, case management, referrals, monitoring, and collaboration with City staff and law enforcement.
Preliminary data as of August 2026 shows FBH has provided housing assistance to over 60 households this calendar year, exceeding previous years. The allocated housing assistance funding for the contract has been depleted, and the contractor is seeking additional housing funding to continue supporting housing efforts. FBH has requested that the original, unspent $20,000 allocated specifically for pet boarding purposes be reallocated to the flexible discretionary funds, as well as an additional $40,000 from local recording fees for the housing assistance category to continue housing clients. The new total two-year contract amount will be $586,000.
A motion was made to approve the amendment for the current 2025-2027 Homeless Outreach Services contract between the City and Frontier Behavioral Health to include minor adjustments and reallocation of funds; specifically, to move the $20,000 originally allocated for pet boarding to the discretionary funds and increase the housing assistance category by $40,000, resulting in a total contract amount of up to $586,000. The motion passed with 6 votes in favor and 1 vote against.
NON-ACTION ITEMS
#4 – Draft Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update: Development Code
On Sept. 29, City Council reviewed upcoming state-mandated changes to the Spokane Valley Municipal Code (SVMC). This week, Council reviewed the draft Development Regulations that reflect those changes. Per RCW 36.70A.130, required periodic updates consist of two components: the Comprehensive Plan and implementing Development Regulations. To date, the update process has primarily focused on establishing a solid policy framework within the Comprehensive Plan. The Planning Commission is currently reviewing the draft Development Code and is scheduled to deliver its formal recommendations for both the Comprehensive Plan and Development Code to the Council in November.
#5 – Local Document Recording Fees Request for Proposals: Homeless Outreach Services Program
In July 2023, Spokane Valley took control of document recording fees to support its Homeless Housing Program under the Homeless Housing and Assistance Act. The City formed a Homeless Task Force, created a five-year housing plan, and prioritized outreach services to connect homeless residents with housing, treatment, and other resources. After a competitive process in 2024, Frontier Behavioral Health (FBH) was awarded the current outreach contract, which runs through June 2027.
City staff now seek Council consensus to issue a new request for proposals (RFP) for homeless outreach services covering July 2027 to June 2029. The contract will be funded by local document recording fees and will include detailed performance measures. With Council consensus, the RFP would be released before the end of 2026, with a final decision in early 2027. The program’s fund balance is strong, with projected annual revenues of $400,000, ensuring continued support for outreach efforts.
The Council reached consensus to move forward with the RFP.
#6 – IT Support Assistant Position
The City currently supports 133.25 staff and officials with only three IT employees, resulting in a staffing ratio far below recommended levels and those of comparable cities. The IT team faces a rapidly growing workload due to increasing reliance on technology, expanded infrastructure projects, rising cybersecurity threats, and a significant volume of administrative and support tasks, including over 2,500 service tickets so far in 2026 and extensive support for virtual meetings.
To address these challenges, the City proposes adding a fourth position, IT Support Assistant, in 2027. This new position would combine technical support, administrative duties, and specialized assistance with virtual collaboration tools, allowing senior IT staff to focus on higher-level technical and security work. The role aims to improve service levels, reduce risk, and ensure ongoing operational support, with an estimated cost of $121,366 for salary and benefits already included in the proposed 2027 budget.
#7 – Proposed 2026 Budget Amendment
The Council adopted the 2026 Budget on Dec. 9, 2025. Since the amendment of the 2026 Budget on May 19, 2026, a number of events have transpired in the normal course of operations that necessitate a second 2026 Budget amendment. Staff provided details of the changes. The result is a total revenue increase of $9,529,548 and total expenditure increase of $8,618,161. There are adequate funds available to pay for these amendments.
The Council reached consensus to move this forward to a motion at a future Council meeting.
INFORMATION ONLY (no presentation or discussion)
#8 – Tourism Promotion Area (TPA) Summary Report
Under Spokane Valley Municipal Code 3.21, the Hotel Commission must submit an annual summary report to the City Council before next year’s Tourism Promotion Area (TPA) Budget and Work Plan is adopted. In accordance with this requirement, the Hotel Commission reviewed the July 2025 – June 2026 TPA Summary Report at its October 15, 2026, meeting. This report highlights the destination marketing, sports tourism initiatives, and related projects funded by TPA revenues.
About Spokane Valley City Council
City Council meetings occur most Tuesdays at 6 p.m. at Spokane Valley City Hall, 10210 E Sprague Avenue, Spokane Valley and online via Zoom. Meeting agendas and minutes are available at Spokane ValleyWA.gov.Agendas.
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