This week’s Spokane Valley City Council meeting began with the pledge of allegiance, an invocation and approval of the following meeting agenda. Councilmember Wick was excused from the meeting.
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 in person or via Zoom.
ACTION ITEMS
#1 – Consent Agenda
The Council unanimously approved the consent agenda, which included vouchers for paying city expenses and payroll, and minutes from the Sept. 16 and Sept. 30, 2025, Council meetings.
#2 – Right-of-Way (ROW) Acquisition Agenda
The Council previously discussed this topic at the Oct. 7, 2025 meeting. Obtaining property rights for a project that is funded in any part using federal dollars requires compliance with the Uniform Relocation Act; this involves following very precise procedures and processes. Non-compliance can lead to losing future funding or repayment of spent federal funds. The ROW acquisition process can bring significant risk of project delays due to landowner disputes, legal fees, etc. The City does not currently have a qualified staff member for property rights acquisition and instead contracts with consultants to do this work; this method has not proven to be particularly efficient or cost-effective. There is currently a vacant, unfunded position for a Public Works project liaison in the 2025 budget and draft 2026 budget. It is recommended to convert this vacant position to a ROW agent.
A motion to authorize the city manager to hire one ROW agent, make proposed organizational changes, and amend the 2025 and 2026 Budgets as necessary passed with 5 votes in favor and 1 vote against.
NON-ACTION ITEMS
#3 – Draft 2026 Federal Legislative Agenda
Mike Pieper, the city’s federal lobbyist of Cardinal Infrastructure, provided an overview of the city’s legislative process and a recap of the 2025 federal legislative efforts. Mr. Pieper noted the city had received $21.7 million in a RAISE grant and $13.65 million in appropriations for transportation projects since 2021. He added the City also received a $1.25 million grant for 10 new police officers and has a $4 million pending appropriation for the Sullivan/Trent project. Mr. Pieper stated that other highlights included resolution of the Pines GSP contract administration challenges; and passage of the Fend Off Fentanyl Act, End Fentanyl Act and EDA Reauthorization Act of 2024.
City staff provided a tracked change version of the preliminary 2026 Federal Legislative Agenda that includes funding requests for the same four transportation projects from the 2025 agenda: Argonne Bridge at I-90, Sullivan/Trent Interchange, Barker/I-90 Interchange and South Barker Road Corridor. The draft 2026 agenda also includes policy priorities of Public Health and Safety, Transportation and Infrastructure, Housing and Homelessness, Economic Development and Workforce and Value of Hydropower.
Council provided feedback asking to check into the possibility of amending HIPAA laws with regard to sharing of information to streamline service delivery under Housing and Homelessness; strengthening language under the Value of Hydropower section; and checking if there are any initiatives by Kaiser Aluminum the City could support since their CHIPS and Science Act grant application is no longer applicable. The Council will be asked to approve the 2026 Federal Legislative Agenda at a future meeting.
#4 – City Manager Presentation of the Preliminary 2026 Budget
This is the fourth of eight discussions by the Council before they are asked to approve the budget on Dec. 9, 2025. City Manager John Hohman reviewed the budget development goals, Council’s budget priorities, city’s policies for financial management and objectives and shared information on the 2026 estimated total revenues and expenditures. The City remains fiscally sound with General Fund recurring expenditures of $68,464,753 and General Fund recurring revenues of $68,586,300. The group reviewed revenue change assumptions, static staffing levels, carryover budget cuts and ending fund balances.
City Manager Hohman recapped the recent substantial investments in Public Safety, noting that Public Safety costs represent 65% of General Fund expenditures. There was a review of the city’s major transportation projects, economic development opportunities, and how use of grants positively impact the budget. Current budgetary challenges include sales tax revenues, high interest rates, state regulations on climate impacting the cost of new construction and increased costs for nearly every service the City provides, especially public safety, impacts from State Legislature policies, and costs related to addressing Councilmember behavior. Spokane Valley again has a planned balanced General Fund budget and overall remains in excellent financial condition.
#5 – Implementing Proposition 1 to Hire Additional Police Officers
The Council has discussed this topic multiple times since 2022. On August 5, 2025, Spokane Valley voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 1, which approved implementing a one-tenth of one percent public safety sales tax. The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that all 10 new dedicated positions could be hired in 2026, if the Council desires. Based on discussions with Spokane Valley Police Chief Dave Ellis and staff, the Council’s Public Safety Committee recommends that the Council authorize the following new positions:
Patrol Deputy: 3 additional deputies, for a total of 56
Traffic Detective: 1 additional detective for a total of 2
Behavioral Health Deputy: Fully funding the position currently in the contract to cover the loss in grant funding that occurred in July 2025; adding 1 new dedicated deputy, for a total of 2
School Resource Officer: 1 additional school resource officer for a total of 5 (schools pay a portion of the cost)
Shared Sex Crimes Detective: 1 additional detective
The public safety sales tax goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026; projections for the sales tax are $2.6 million annually (based on 2024 actual taxable sales in Spokane Valley), which will cover all the recommended positions. Total estimated costs for all positions are approximately $2,240,000 in annual recurring expenses. There are also some one-time costs for initial vehicle purchases. Staff summarized other significant investments the City has made in public safety and law enforcement since 2023.
The Council reached consensus to bring authorization of the additional 10 dedicated positions, one shared position, and fully funding the existing behavioral health deputy, to a motion consideration at a future meeting.
About Spokane Valley City Council
City Council meetings occur most Tuesdays at 6 p.m. at Spokane Valley City Hall, 10210 E. Sprague Avenue, online via Zoom or Comcast channel 14. Meeting agendas and minutes are available at SpokaneValleyWA.gov/Agendas. Email the Council at CityCouncil@SpokaneValleyWA.gov or learn more at SpokaneValleyWA.gov/CityCouncil.
Stay Connected
Spokane Valley City Hall is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Find information at SpokaneValleyWA.gov, sign up to receive email updates at SpokaneValleyWA.gov/SignUp, or follow the City on social media.