(The Center Square) – Just before the deadline, the Spokane Valley City Council greenlighted a federal grant application on Tuesday that could help fund another round of police hires in the near future.
Deputy City Manager Erik Lamb said the Valley applied for the U.S. Department of Justice grant last year and received $1.25 million. The deadline to submit initial documents this year is June 25, so the city approved this just in time for consideration amid a historic tax proposal accompanying the grant.
A consulting firm recommended that the Valley expand its police force by roughly 30 officers in 2023. The council authorized the first 10 officers through its 2025 budget last year, with help from the Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Program, or COPS grant, but the city still needs to hire around 20 more.
In August, voters will weigh in on the first sales tax hike in Valley history. If approved, the 0.1% tax increase, amounting to a dime per $100 spent, could cover the next round of 10 hires. Lamb said if unsuccessful, the Valley may need to decline this year’s COPS funding and then regroup.
“One note with this grant this year versus last year, we do not have funding for the additional ten officers,” he said. “Council has placed a ballot measure out there, and if that does not pass, we would have to revisit the discussion about whether we can accept this grant in whole or in part.”
According to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, which the city contracts for law enforcement services, the next phase of ten hires will cost about $1.5 million after benefits and other costs.
If approved, the August sales tax proposal could generate $2.6 million annually. In August, the estimated cost for the next phase was only a little over $1 million, but with that amount having risen since then, the Valley may need the COPS grant to continue paying for the hires later on.
The COPS grant provides up to $125,000 over three years for each hire, requiring a 25% local match. If the city secures another round, the grant will provide $417,000 for the next 10 hires over each of the next three years, or about 60% of an entry-level officer’s annual salary.
After three years, the grant requires the Valley to retain each new officer for at least 12 months.
“If the ballot measure does not pass,” Lamb said, in the event the Valley gets the grant, “we’ll be having the discussion with council about what, if any, portion we might be able to take … We’ll revisit that if that happens, but for the time being, we just wanted to get the grant application in.”
Councilmember Al Merkel asked about issues securing the DOJ funding due to what many call the state’s “sanctuary” law. The statute largely prohibits law enforcement from assisting federal immigration authorities, over which the Trump administration has threatened to withhold funding.
The council recently passed a resolution declaring that the Valley is “not a sanctuary city.” Lamb said that may help and that the city is working to ensure the state’s policies don’t hold them up.
Another police grant program approved by state lawmakers this year could provide the Valley with additional revenue if the tax hike passes in August. However, that program requires jurisdictions to adopt policies supporting the state’s “sanctuary” law, raising an issue for the city.
Lamb said the city hasn’t applied for the state’s program, which would require further discussion.
“I just want to remind the public, our budget and our top priority is our public safety,” Councilmember Jessica Yaeger said. “And anyone that tells you otherwise – they need to kind of figure it out.”
