SPOKANE, Wash. – The Spokane City Council could soon reverse a self-imposed law passed in 2023 that stripped control of hiring and firing city staff from the council president. The council has revisited the policy as the city grapples with a budget deficit.
In April 2023, the council amended Spokane Municipal Code to require a four-vote majority to hire council employees and five-vote majority to fire.
Councilman Jonathan Bingle opposed the 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.
NonStop Local sat down with Bingle after a committee meeting 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 NonStop Local asked whether Bingle supported changing the ordinance back, he explained that he does, but he’s concerned about 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 sponsored the proposed ordinance.
He explained that reverting the requirements to hire and fire brings city council back into line with other city departments and allows it to be nimbler.
“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 several councilmembers had questions during a committee meeting over the role that consulting could play in those decisions.
“You can’t have a meeting about it obviously, but she can talk to individual councilmembers 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 spokesperson 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.
