SPOKANE, Wash. – Spokane is grappling with a substantial deficit in its general fund, due in part to unexpected increases in jail costs.
Alex Scott, The Spokane City Administrator summarized the situation in a budget meeting last week.
“So that brings us to the big term picture,” Scott said. “We are facing a deficit of approximately 13 million in the general fund.”
Scott attributed the deficit to unexpected costs, including increased jail costs.
A key factor in the rising jail costs is linked to a Washington Supreme Court decision known as the Blake decision.
Prior to the Blake decision, state law said even if you unknowingly had drugs, you could be prosecuted. But after the Blake decision, the state rewrote their laws.
A Senate Bill passed in 2023 reclassified some drug possession charges from felonies to gross misdemeanors. This legislative change shifted the financial responsibility of these charges to local jurisdictions like Spokane.
“Cities and local jurisdictions are responsible for their misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor charges,” Representative for Spokane County Patrick Bell said. “The County is responsible for felony charges.”
And as drug misdemeanors have increased, Spokane County has charged the city of Spokane more.
“The city’s costs have continued have gone up as they have continued to utilize the jail,” Bell said.
To pay jail bills, Spokane used on the Criminal Justice Assistance Fund. However, city leaders now report that this fund is depleted.
“We really have to address, that fund is in the red,” Spokane City Council president Betsy Wilkerson said.
The depletion of the fund is not solely due to increased jail costs.
In 2021, a state law allowed municipalities to redirect funds to other causes, and Spokane allocated $6 million to homelessness initiatives.
Those withdrawls left the account depleted.
“In the last several months, we understand the city’s had some revenue issues,” Bell said. “And so they have been late paying jail bills.”
But Bell also explained that the city has paid their past-due bills.
The money, coming in part from reallocation of funds from the general fund.
“Some is salary savings that we haven’t been able to fill with our police officers,” Wilkerson said.
The city transferred $2 million from the general fund in a decision approved in an emergency ordinance.
In the discussion prior to the vote, Councilman Johnathan Bingle had comments on the origin of the funds.
“Again, we’re pulling $2 million from base wages from SPD because we’re down 44 officers right now,” Bingle said.
Despite this temporary fix, the problem persists.
Wilkerson acknowledged, “Really, the jail is still a big issue and we don’t have a concrete amount that we’re paying in general.”
As Spokane’s budget discussions continue, city leaders are reassessing how funds are allocated for jail obligations.
“I’m sure there will be an increase in this fund going forward,” Wilkerson said.
