Spokane City Council Approves 2012 Budget Print E-mail
aerialCouncil nearly matched Mayor Verner's proposal.

The Spokane City Council approved a budget that will rely on a 1 percent growth in property tax collections. Not in the budget was a proposed increase in downtown parking violation fines.

The final budget is $784 million. The general fund includes about $164 million, according to The Spokesman-Review.

The budget largely matched Mayor Verner's proposal, although the council did not cut $30,000 from the Art Department, and funded the Youth Department at a slightly higher level than Mayor Verner's proposal.

According to the City of Spokane, the council:

  • Added $100,000 to the Human Services budget for additional allocations to social service agencies.  Some $900,000 already was included in the budget for Human Services grants.
  • Added back $30,000 in funding to the City’s Arts Department.
  • Retained the Weights & Measures function at the City.
  • Made some changes to the Council’s own office budget.
  • Added minor amounts to the Spokane Public Library to help job seekers and to the youth program, which is expected to be turned over to a non-profit agency in 2012.
  • Moved $700,000 in real estate excise tax money to the Street Fund to limit the use of Street reserves in that fund to balance that portion of the 2012 Budget.

With this budget, the Council closed an anticipated $8 million shortfall in the General Fund, which pays for police, fire, street, parks, libraries and more.