(The Center Square) – Sheriff John Nowels warned Tuesday that if Spokane Valley stops relying on his deputies for its policing services, taxpayers will face higher costs to recreate the same level of service.
The city’s policing contract with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is set to expire at the end of 2027, so both parties are looking for a path forward. The current model includes a settle-and-adjust process that city officials have said can take years to true up costs, making it difficult for the Valley to budget.
The city council set aside $38.5 million for the contract in 2026, about 70% more than they spent five years ago. The officials have raised concerns that costs are increasing faster than tax revenues can keep up. Nowels attributed the issue to state mandates, collective bargaining agreements and technology.
“From 2019 to 2025, training-related overtime in the sheriff’s office, and again, this is just for training, increased by 111.9%,” Nowels told the council on Tuesday as he explained the costs with Mary Brooks, chair of the Board of County Commissioners. “The state-mandated training was the significant driver.”
The sheriff said SCSO doesn’t have dedicated instructors because it’s still less expensive to pull deputies off patrol than to hire more full-time employees. Nowels says his team has several other trainings to do in the years ahead, and that failing to complete them could result in lawsuits and other consequences.
Technology, such as body cameras and the associated Axon contract, has added substantial costs for the county since the board first required them in 2022. The contract alone will cost $1.45 million next year and rises as the county hires more people who use the service. Nowels said they also purchased 95 new patrol laptops last year at about $6,000 each, bringing the total to 337 laptops purchased since 2019.
One of the biggest cost drivers is union negotiations subject to binding arbitration, meaning someone can compel higher salaries and benefits if the county can’t reach an agreement with the union. Nowels said salaries and benefits cost $37.9 million in 2019 and hit $56.9 million last year, a roughly 50% increase.
“This contract relationship is so important because neither entity would be able to provide the level of police services that we provide together,” Nowels said. “We would not be able to provide those apart without spending significantly more … to accomplish the level of service we are accomplishing now.”
City Manager John Hohman suggested exploring a new contract format if they continue using SCSO for policing services. While a fixed 10-year deal would provide some consistency, Hohman recognized that might not work for SCSO and floated the idea of a contract with structured increases moving forward.
Brooks said that if they were to enter into a fixed contract, she would have to include a risk factor to account for potential increases due to state mandates down the road. She and Nowels both agreed it would be best to avoid that route, with the sheriff then offering some support for increased flexibility.
“Nobody is happy with the amount of time it’s taking with the settle and adjust,” Nowels said. “We’re talking about a few different ways we can attack that and improve it, because we know it’s broken.”
While contract negotiations are still underway, he said any long-term deal moving forward should be amendable to meet everyone’s needs and fit within the city’s budget. Nowels said it should ensure that the Valley is aware of what it’s paying for and that the council can speak up if costs exceed means.
“I just appreciate that we’re moving forward with some cooperation here, and thank God we have a nine-month reprieve from the Legislature, because we can all sleep better knowing they won’t screw anything up,” Councilmember Jessica Yaeger said. “I’m sure they’re stewing on the next bill that will screw us all.”
