(The Center Square) – Despite ongoing revenue concerns, the Spokane City Council is looking at adding several positions to the budget with “indeterminable” costs, including an “equity and inclusion specialist.”
Human Resources Director Allison Adams proposed the special budget ordinance on Monday during the council’s Finance & Administration Committee meeting. The request follows ongoing budget challenges as some council members say the city could face another shortfall heading into the 2027-28 biennium.
The council majority has resorted to tax hikes, staff cuts and voluntary retirement incentives to fill the last two deficits, attributing much of the increased spending to union negotiations. Adams’ SBO would increase the salaries of nine existing positions and create eight new roles across various departments.
The only person to speak on the proposal was Council President Betsy Wilkerson, one of two sponsors.
“As a challenge, and we know we want to be competitive as an employer,” Wilkerson said Monday on behalf of the dais, “I think we just all struggle with HR range changes knowing our fiscal constraints.”
Councilmember Paul Dillon also signed on as a sponsor, but no one else had anything to say on Monday.
Just days earlier, the council held a joint budget meeting with Mayor Lisa Brown to discuss ongoing concerns about sales tax growth, inflation and rising cost pressures. While they’re still waiting on a firm projection, Councilmember Michael Cathcart told The Center Square after their meeting that the city could be facing another general fund deficit in the range of $20 million for the 2027-28 biennium.
Expanding staff in the middle of 2026 could have additional consequences if the city can’t find the money to pay those employees later on. The proposal relies on recurring funding sources, which the agenda confirms as unsustainable unless the city can cut spending or identify additional revenues.
“Additional revenues or a reduction of expenses will need to occur to accommodate this,” according to the agenda. “Personnel budgets will not be increased for these changes … If vacancy savings or cost reductions aren’t sufficient, the increase will be funded with reserves or unappropriated fund balance.”
Meanwhile, the council is conducting a study to restructure its own office and potentially reduce staff.
According to a September 2025 quarterly report, Spokane had $38.3 million in total reserves, which is down from $41 million the prior year, with $7.3 million in a “revenue stabilization reserve balance,” $21 million in a “contingency reserve balance,” and about $9.8 million in an “unappropriated fund balance.
Monday’s agenda says the HR proposal follows internal and external salary analyses triggered by new duties and expanded responsibilities. The salary adjustments for the nine existing positions would increase annual citywide spending by $67,000 to $106,000, before any future cost-of-living increases.
Those positions include: Wastewater Inspector, Water Hydroelectric Plant Operator, Water Hydroelectric Plant Operator, Water Hydroelectric Plant Mechanic, Certified Water Hydroelectric Plant Mechanic, Grants Manager, Park Ranger, Park Ranger Supervisor and Director of Community Justice Services.
While the agenda says the annual cost of the eight positions Adams proposed is “indeterminable,” it lists salary ranges for each role, ranging from about $60,000 to $155,000. Altogether, the eight new positions, before any future cost-of-living adjustments, total $666,802.80 to $943,755.12 annually.
Those eight new positions include: Risk Management Analyst, Equity and Inclusion Specialist, Grants Supervisor, Grants Writer, Senior Budget Analyst, Training & Quality Manager for Spokane United 911 Network, Community Arts Manager and Director of Grants Management.
The agenda also includes questions around operational impacts and the consequences of rejecting the salary increases and new positions. The answers: “no operational changes” and “a risk of losing parity with [competing] compensation plans … resulting in difficulty hiring or retaining existing employees.”
