(The Center Square) – The Spokane City Council on Monday approved a one-time allocation of $3.128 million in federal grant funds to pay for 46 new police department vehicles.
The council had considered using reserve monies for the purchase, but instead opted to make the capital outlay from the city’s share of American Rescue Plan funds that were initially intended for improvements to the city’s Municipal Court Justice Building.
Additionally, the council OK’d trio of separate ARPA appropriations: $250,000 to support the city’s upcoming 50th anniversary celebration of the Expo ’74 World’s Fair; $125,000 for recruitment services in the city’s search for a new police chief and fire chief; and $259,553 for “language access” improvements.
In Monday’s discussions, council members agreed on the funding reallocation for the new police vehicles – which have been ordered and are expected to arrive soon – despite the hefty price tag.
Councilmember Michael Cathcart called it “a critical need.” But he and fellow Councilmembers Jonathan Bingle and Kitty Klitzke agreed with a citizen’s comment that the city needs to return to a budgeted annual equipment rotation/replacement program rather than making such major one-time capital outlays.
Cathcart said the police department’s “take home” program – allowing officers to drive their patrol vehicles to and from work – was important for recruitment and retention. But Councilmember Zack Zappone questioned whether that was necessary all the time, saying such usage added more miles and wear-and-tear on the rigs.
Klitzke and Councilmember Lili Navarrete said they would like to see more data from the police department on vehicle usage and “alternatives” on how dollars are spent.
The department will be receiving nearly four dozen specially equipped Fords with gas-powered internal combustion engines – no hybrids or electrics – at an estimated cost of $68,000 per unit. City officials did not immediately specify whether the new rigs will add to, or replace, existing fleet vehicles.
Two citizen commenters who routinely criticize police department spending, Justice Forral and Megra Flatman, faulted the appropriation, telling the council that the funds could be better spent on housing, social services, infrastructure and community development.
Although they supported the ARPA reallocation for police vehicles, Klitzke and Councilmember Paul Dillon said the city still needs to address conditions at the justice center, which Dillon described as “rough, horrid.”
“We can do better,” he said.
Regarding the other ARPA distributions, Council President Betsy Wilkerson and Cathcart stressed the significance of improving “language access” in city facilities, communications media, and signage. Cathcart said the program will provide “equity and access” while Wilkerson said it was important to help non-English speakers “navigate government services.”
City council Communications Director Lisa Gardner later said the funding will serve “as a launch pad” to research and secure contracts for translation services. Preliminary research indicates a need for Spanish, Russian/Slavic, and Marshallese translations, said Gardner.
Wilkerson and Bingle also referenced the importance of funding recruitment services in nationwide searches for the city’s next police and fire chiefs. That process is expected to take several months. The base salaries for the two positions in 2023 were $230,978 for police chief and $217,009 for fire chief.
And council members overall expressed excitement about the city’s upcoming golden anniversary of Expo ’74, which attracted an estimated 5.6 million visitors to Spokane and prompted major downtown improvements including highly popular Riverfront Park.
“All noble things,” said Bingle.
