(The Center Square) – City Manager John Hohman refused to take questions on Tuesday after giving a budget presentation to the Spokane Valley City Council with a special slide around “council behaviors.”
Tuesday marked the fourth touch on the 2026 budget for the council ahead of adoption this December.
The officials had eyed $2.5 million general fund deficit earlier in the process, with $1.1 million of that solely due to recurring spending exceeding recurring revenues. One of their budget priorities is closing that gap between the two, so the finance team has proposed adjustments to offer a $121,547 surplus.
That outcome is dependent on future council action, but Hohman explained several budget challenges on Tuesday impacting their bottom line in the meantime. From plateauing tax revenue growth to state policies, street funding and homelessness, he offered his take on it all, including conflicts on the dais.
“Council behavior is a really big challenge, and it has been for the last two years,” Hohman explained Tuesday. “This particular item … talks about protecting city staff from hostile behavior, talks about the lack of compliance with city policies, state laws and the oath of office, disinformation and distractions.”
He was referring to one particular official after the dais voted earlier this year to sue Councilmember Al Merkel following a probe that found he “more likely than not” violated the state Public Records Act.
Drama ensued on the dais before Merkel officially took office in 2024. Elected in the November before, city staff labeled him a “volatile internal threat” only months later. This budget challenge is around his alleged use of personal social media accounts to discuss city business without archiving those posts.
Hohman says Merkel refuses to hand over all his posts or use a page freezer to comply with state law, but Merkel argues that Hohman and his legal team keep moving the goalposts. The city manager said the Valley only received three records requests about the council in 2023, which increased to 63 last year.
“If you want to cut out something in this budget, cut out the behaviors,” Hohman suggested to the dais.
According to internal documents, the city spent $235,000 on Merkel in 2024, with the vast majority of that attributed to investigating his use of social media and conduct with staff. The council amended the 2025 budget earlier this year to allocate $350,000 for suing Merkel, with $200,000 proposed for 2026.
Hohman said city staff are spending costly time correcting “misinformation” regarding council projects, but never explicitly named Merkel as the reason. The officials argue regularly on Tuesday nights about city business and Merkel’s questions; however, Hohman said there wouldn’t be any questions this time.
He mentioned at the start of his presentation that the council would have plenty of opportunities for questions since there are four more discussions already scheduled between now and December. After wrapping up, Hohman reiterated that there would be time for questions during the following discussions.
Mayor Pam Haley then motioned for a 10-minute recess, prompting Merkel to ask, “No questions?”
“No questions,” she confirmed before he asked why not, since questions are usually allowed afterward.
Haley said he would have plenty of time to ask questions later this month, but Merkel claimed that his peers told him on Sept. 23 that he could ask questions next time. Merkel did ask questions that day, but when a resident raised concerns about the costs of suing him, Haley wouldn’t allow it either.
“No comments on council from that one,” Merkel asked the mayor during the budget discussion last month after Ben Lund, one of his vocal critics, testified, before Haley responded with a blunt “No.”
Councilmember Rod Higgins said Tuesday that he had no recollection of his peers or Hohman telling Merkel that he could ask questions next time during the last discussion. A very brief argument ensued before Hohman interjected that Merkel would have the opportunity to ask questions starting next week.
The next public hearing regarding the 2026 budget is scheduled for Oct. 21, with a first reading of the official ordinance on the following Tuesday. The third hearing before adoption is on Nov. 25.
Merkel told The Center Square that his peers took away his ability to criticize budget items he doesn’t agree with, as some face reelection next month. Voters will receive their ballots over the next few days.
He said one of the other budget goals is finishing with a general fund balance of 50% of recurring expenses. Hohman projected the general fund balance at 60% of recurring spending at the end of 2026, so Merkel wanted to ask why not use those reserves to fund new police hires and other priorities.
The council will have more than $40 million set aside despite just raising taxes to hire more officers.
“When Council is discussing or making inquiries regarding a non-action … any Councilmember may move to end the discussion on that item if that Councilmember believes the discussion (1) has become repetitive or repetitive of either past discussions or materials provided to Council and the public in advance of the Council meeting, or (2) does not otherwise facilitate productive discussion and consideration of the agenda item,” according to the Spokane Valley Governance Manual.
