SPOKANE, Wash. – In April 2023, city council voted to amend Spokane Municipal Code on hiring and letting go of Spokane City Council full-time staff. Instead of authority resting with the City Council President, the ordinance instead made it a 4 vote majority to hire, and a five vote majority to fire.
Councilman Jonathan Bingle opposed these changes in 2023.
“I also believe that if we’re going to be hiring and firing we should have a similar standard for how they’re hired or fired,” Bingle said at the time.
Two years later, an emergency ordinance has been proposed that would revert control of hiring and letting go back to the City Council President.
Non Stop Local sat down with Bingle after committee Monday afternoon to ask about his original objections.
“Honestly, I thought it was a bad law at the time, and it’s still a bad law,” Bingle said.
When Non Stop Local asked whether Bingle supported changing the ordinance back, he explained that he does, but expressed concerns over the timing.
“I think I’m supportive of the idea,” Bingle said. “The thing that’s really unfortunate about this is that we really do have people, you know, who work here, who might be let go. And the timing of it, being an emergency ordinance, is pretty gross.”
Councilman Paul Dillon is sponsoring the bill.
He explained that reverting the requirements to hire and fire actually brings City Council back into line with other city departments, and allows the department to be more nimble.
“At the end of the day, this really comes down to having some flexibility in code,” Dillon said.
If the ordinance passes, Betsy Wilkerson would have the authority to make those decisions.
But in committee, several councilmembers had questions over the role that consulting could play in the decision to hire or fire an individual.
“You can’t have a meeting about it obviously, but she can talk to individual council members about their particular point of view,” Spokane City Council Policy Advisor Christopher Wright said.
According to Paul Dillon, Spokane City Council employs about 20 individuals.
This ordinance also comes a week after Mayor Brown sent an email to city staff, announcing the potential elimination of 30-50 positions.
A Spokesman for the city confirmed approximately a third of those positions are currently unfilled.
Councilman Bingle explained the changing ordinance has garnered some fear among City Council Staff.
“I think that is a pretty consistent feeling in our office right now is that the law’s being changed so they can be fired,” Bingle said.
Councilmembers Paul Dillon and Michael Cathcart both introduced amendments, which could delay the first reading of the ordinance until Oct. 27.
