The Spokane City Council is commissioning a $65,000 efficiency study amid a $13 million deficit, raising concerns about potential layoffs and fiscal responsibility. The move has sparked debates over council pay, staffing, and the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches.
The Spokane City Council is commissioning a $65,000 efficiency study to evaluate its staffing structure and operational practices. This move comes amid a $13 million deficit and recent budget cuts that have left the council’s office fully funded only through June 30. The study has sparked debates over potential layoffs, council pay, and the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches.
The Budget Crisis and the Study
The city of Spokane has faced back-to-back deficits over the past few years, prompting the council to seek external analysis. The council published a bid opportunity online last month, seeking a firm to complete a City Council Organizational Analysis. The study aims to evaluate the office’s staffing structure and how the council’s duties, responsibilities, and expectations manifest in practice.
Council President Betsy Wilkerson told The Center Square that the study is necessary to build a better mousetrap. She hopes the study will provide a solid justification for any restructuring, including potential staff reductions. The council has allocated $65,000 toward the study, with deliverables initially due by June 30 but later moved to May 31 to provide more notice to staff.
Potential Layoffs and Staff Concerns
Councilmember Michael Cathcart, the only conservative left on the dais, has expressed concerns about the study leading to layoffs. He told The Center Square that the budget essentially served as a layoff notice. Cathcart wants to focus on the budget and has criticized the move as taking from the legislative branch to hand over to the executive.
Wilkerson, on the other hand, has expressed hope to avoid staff cuts by reassessing whether some initiative managers should be considered part-time or full-time, and if a few roles should be combined. She has advised staff to spread their wings and fly, noting that elected officials don’t often serve long tenures past four years.
Council Pay and Fiscal Responsibility
The council’s salaries have been a point of contention, with some advocating for higher pay. Wilkerson earns $70,600 a year for spending about 60 hours a week on the council. Increasing council pay would also affect the budget unless they identify additional funding through tax and fee hikes, operational and material cuts, or restructuring the council office.
Cathcart has criticized the council’s fiscal decisions, stating that they are not making fiscally responsible choices. He has expressed frustration with the inaccessibility of current and past administrations’ budget teams at times. The administration and council majority have turned to tax hikes in the past two years to fill deficits.
The Balance of Power
The study has also raised concerns about the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches. Cathcart has criticized arguments suggesting cutting council staff to give the administration more to spend. He has stated that this is taking from the legislative branch, which is its own independent branch, and handing it over to the executive.
City Spokeswoman Erin Hut has responded to Cathcart’s comments, stating that the administration proposes budgets, and the council passes them. She has emphasized that the suggestion for the council to share in the reductions is about accountability to taxpayers, not a money grab.
Conclusion
The Spokane City Council’s $65,000 efficiency study is a significant move amid a $13 million deficit. The study has sparked debates over potential layoffs, council pay, and the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches. As the council awaits the study’s findings, the city’s fiscal responsibility and the future of its staff hang in the balance.
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