(The Center Square) – The Spokane City Council passed legislation Monday allowing the administration to spend any remaining COVID-19 pandemic relief aid as they see fit rather than remove junk vehicles.
The officials have attempted to spend the remaining funds a few times over the past year but risk forfeiting the residuals. The resolution passed Monday allows Mayor Lisa Brown and her administration to spend the roughly $50,000 to $100,000 left over before it’s too late.
Throughout the pandemic, Spokane received approximately $81 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, also called ARPA funding. The federal government requires recipients to allocate the money by the end of 2024, with the remainder spent by the end of 2026.
“It’s now December 9th, and this all has to be done and completed by the end of this year, and we’re out of meetings,” Michelle Murray, director of the Accounting and Grants Department, told the council during its Monday meeting.
While intended to replenish lost funds and provide relief to residents and businesses, APRA spending contributed to the city’s $25 million deficit. Brown said the structural gap could’ve grown to over $50 million by the end of 2026, but the budget approved on Monday solves that.
The mayor has continually pointed blame at past administrations for using the one-time funds and others for recurring expenses. With the budget passed and only a fraction of APRA funds remaining, she’s confident they’re back on track, but the conservative minority has doubts.
According to Monday’s agenda, the city has distributed over $63 million in APRA funding since 2021. While all but less than $100,000 in residuals remain from the roughly $81 million, the approved resolution ensures the council won’t have to devote any more time toward the effort.
The elected officials approved one amendment to the resolution, which increased the amount from $50,000 to $100,000 based on what’s available. Councilmember Michael Cathcart proposed another amendment, which ultimately failed, that would’ve told Brown how to spend it.
“The other would put these dollars toward something incredibly concerning and important for our neighborhoods,” he said, “which is to remove the drug drop sites, the stolen good drop sites, the human trafficking drop sites, also known as junk RVs.”
The amendment would’ve also required the mayor to provide an “accounting of use of the funds.” Cathcart previously tried to secure funding for removing junk vehicles but failed; he expressed concerns about the administration spending the funds without their knowledge.
The budget also approved Monday includes funding for removing junk vehicles, but Cathcart wants more given the issue’s prevalence. Murray said she initially thought there was only $7,000 remaining in ARPA funds but recently learned there’s around $60,000 remaining.
She thought the city should devote the $7,000 toward an underfunded HVAC project at one of its fire stations but acknowledged that $60,000 opens some more doors. Still, Murray said Cathcart’s amendment pigeonholes her into devoting it all toward one purpose.
Spokane’s towing contract also expires at the end of the year, which could have created other issues if they needed to revisit the procurement process.
Spokane Communications Director Erin Hut told The Center Square that the administration plans “to utilize these funds for urgent HVAC upgrades at Fire Station 1.” She did not mention any other intended uses; however, the administration still has another two weeks to decide.
“There is options on the table of contracts that could possibly be added to that would meet the requirements,” Council President Betsy Wilkerson told her peers. “My [amendment] was to get it encumbered so we do not send it back to the federal government.”
