This Study Session Format meeting of the Spokane Valley City Council opened with a proclamation honoring National American Indian Heritage Month. The meeting started at 4:00pm to give Council members an opportunity to celebrate Halloween with their families.
 

The first action item was supposed to be a motion consideration to adopt a Homeless Action Plan (Plan), however, Councilmember Padden felt she hadn’t enough time to consider it thoroughly, so action was deferred. 
 

The Plan is a high-level plan that provides a roadmap to address, reduce, and prevent homelessness in the City. Leading up to this action, Council has committed to operate its own homeless housing program and to meet all applicable legal and regulatory requirements set forth under state law. 

The plan has three primary objectives: 

• To improve the quality of life for all Spokane Valley residents
 

The Plan provides possible strategies for Council to achieve these objectives as funding becomes available. It also provides information on funding sources and crisis/response systems. In committing to its own homeless plan, Council will need to set up a five-year plan before the end of 2024. The motion to defer the Homeless Action Plan passed unanimously.

 

Last week Council adopted Ordinance 23-018 which creates a new chapter, 3.85 of the Spokane Valley Municipal Code, forming a Transportation Benefit District (TBD). That new chapter provides the following:

 

The newly created TBD is a separate legal entity. The law allows the City to assume the rights, powers, functions, and obligations of the TBD. However, in order to do so, Council must:

• Adopt an ordinance assuming the rights, powers, functions, and obligations of the TBD.
 

Proposed Resolution 12-012 declares Council’s intention to consider assumption of powers of the Spokane Valley TBD which triggers the need for the required public hearing. The motion to adopt Resolution 23-012 passed 6-1 (Padden, no), setting the date for the public hearing as November 14, 2023. A copy of the ordinance can be found on the City website: www.spokanevalleywa.gov.
 

On September 20th, 2022, Council adopted Ordinance 22-016 establishing the Spokane Valley Tourism Promotion Area (TPA). Under the terms of the TPA, the Spokane Valley Hotel Commission (Commission) was formed. The Commission, with Council approval, hired 116 & West as consultants to develop a five-year destination marketing plan starting with an 18-month marketing service plan. 
 

Year one of the five-year plan includes development of: a brand and identity package to include a total campaign, asset library, virtual visitor center, concepts, and a website. Also planned are social media properties, reputation management, local brand launch campaign, Spokane Sports support, paid media campaigns, earned media, and strategic account management. 
 

“Discover THE VALLEY and Spokane Valley, WA” (tagline) for branding the City’s tourism initiatives were adopted. Progress checkpoints are outlined to monitor the progress and success of the program. For a complete presentation of the plan(s), please visit the City website: www.spokanevalleywa.gov. 
 

On December 13th, 2022, the City agreed to join Spokane County in a Master Plan to improve the Plante’s Ferry Sports Complex. The County has dedicated $5 million of its American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to the project. The cost of a consultant to construct a master plan is estimated to be $100,000. An interlocal agreement defining the City’s participation in sharing funding for the project, at an approximate cost of $50,000, was agreed upon. 

In February of this year, the consultant, after a detailed site visit, arrived at a phased plan for development. When completed, the Complex will include 13 rectangle fields (soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey), five triangle fields (softball and baseball), expanded parking, and amenities such as restrooms and concessions. The plans are extensive. For a detailed view of the presentation, please visit www.spokanevalleywa.gov.
 

In 2020, Monsanto Corporation was the defendant in a class action suit alleging PCB contamination of the class members’ stormwater, stormwater systems, waterbodies, and/or sediments. In a settlement agreement Monsanto paid to the City, as a member of the class action,$3,548,719. Neither the settlement agreement nor the court order restricts the City’s use of the funds.
 

City Council meetings are held in the Great Room at CenterPlace until further notice. City Hall, however, is open for business during normal business hours. The Public is invited to Council meetings to participate in action items or public comment periods in person or via ZOOM. Call 509-720-5000 or www.spokanevalley.org prior to 4:00 p.m. for access instructions. Council meetings are broadcast on Comcast channel 14. 

 

This Study Session format of the Spokane Valley City Council opened with a public hearing on a proposed Transportation Benefit District. The City has been grappling with how to finance its road maintenance and preservation system since its inception.  The issue is how to raise the necessary financing without relying on the City’s General Fund to cover the growing annual deficit. 

Money taken from the General Fund to cover shortfalls in what should be a dependable source of revenue sets the City up for a situation where other needed projects go unfunded. Currently, that deficit is estimated to be about $8 million under what a projected fully funded pavement preservation
program calls for. 

The Pavement Preservation Program (PMP) serves two primary functions:
1. Preservation: Multi-year planning and implementation of pavement treatments to extend the life of existing paved streets and sustain the pavement condition over time.
2.Maintenance: Annual costs for repairs and upkeep of snowplow operations, traffic signals and signs, streetlights, sidewalks, potholes, crack filling, and roadside maintenance.

One of the partial solutions for financing a PMP is a Transportation Benefit District (TBD). A TBD would allow the City (among other options) to levy a license tab fee. That fee can be variable, but the one under consideration is a $20 charge. Unlike state fees of the same type, this City fee will be dedicated exclusively to road maintenance. 

Prior to enactment, state law requires a public hearing laying out the details and mechanism for forming a TBD. Ordinance 23-018 covers the funding issued, steps for formation of the TBD, and procedures for governance of the TBD which, if adopted, is a separate taxing entity. The hearing took place this evening as scheduled. Details and specifics on Transportation Benefit Districts can be found at www.spokanevalleywa.gov.  

Following the public hearing, Council undertook discussion on the First Reading of Ordinance 23-018 which creates a new chapter, 3.85 of the Spokane Valley Municipal Code, which forms the new Transportation Benefit District. That new chapter provides the following:

a. Establishes a TBD with the same boundaries as the City.
b. The TBD governing board would be City Council.
c. Grants all authority allowed under state law (RCW 36.73)
  i. May establish fees, taxes, and other revenue sources.
  ii. May authorize annual vehicle fees.
  iii. May submit fees, taxes, and other revenue sources to voters.
d. Identifies allowable uses for TBD funds.
e. Transportation improvements that construct, preserve, maintain, and operate the existing and future transportation infrastructure of the City.
  i. Identifies when the TBD is dissolved.

The motion to advance Ordinance No. 23-018, adopting a new chapter 3.85 of the SVMC and forming the Spokane Valley Transportation Benefit District to a Second Reading passed 6-1 (Padden, no).

The City’s street network consists of roughly 450 centerline miles of roadway, including 127 centerline miles of arterials/collectors and 323 centerline miles of local access streets. This equates to 1,025 total lane miles in the network. Roughly two-thirds of the City streets’ pavement area is attributed to local access streets. The remaining one-third is located on arterial or collector streets. 

Earlier this year, Council authorized $250,000 to perform a road test on three different types of surface treatments with an eye to 1) test improvements on current solutions, and 2) check less expensive methods while maintaining quality. Those tests took place in Summerfield East, Hillview Estates, and University Place. Those tests will be observed for results, especially over the winter, to see weather impacts.

Since the last amendment to the City’s budget on May 30, 2023, a number of events have transpired necessitating a second 2023 Budget Amendment. Those changes were a) revenue increases of $19,576,029 and b) expenditure increases of $15,483,699 for a net increase of $4,092,330 revenues over expenditures. Consensus was reached to move the amendments forward as presented to a public hearing on October 24th.

A presentation of the Parks Department’s Recreation and Aquatic season recapped such activities and programs as: Summer Park and Meal program, Arbor Day, Day Camps, Outdoor Movies, Adult Dance Classes, and Outdoor Volleyball at Browns Park. Aquatics events included: Open Swim, Swim Team competitions, Swim Lessons, and Paws in the Pool. City Parks were also heavily used for events, field usage, and special events.

City Council meetings are held in the Great Room at CenterPlace until further notice. City Hall, however, is open for business during normal business hours. The Public is invited to Council meetings to participate in action items or public comment periods in person or via ZOOM. Call 509-720-5000 or www.spokanevalley.org prior to 4:00 p.m. for access instructions. Council meetings are broadcast on Comcast channel 14.  

 

 

Adoption of the City’s 2024 Budget follows a system of eight reviews including three public hearings. This evening’s regular Spokane Valley City Council meeting commenced with the fifth review and the second of three public hearings on the proposed 2024 Budget. The third and final public hearing will take place on November 21st prior to the adoption of the 2024 Budget.

This hearing, required by state law, is the fifth of eight opportunities for discussion of various aspects of the budget enroute to its final adoption. Of note: The City will once again forego the one percent automatic property tax increase. The $19,420,397 in budgeted capital expenditures will be partially offset by $9,507,426 in federal and state grants.

The 2024 recurring revenue estimate is $62,316,100 which is 10.45% greater than 2023 budget. The recurring expenditure estimate of $57,976,579 is 7.99% more than the 2023 budget of $53,532,640. Estimated budgeted recurring revenues currently exceed recurring expenditures by $4,339,521 or 6.96% of recurring revenues.

The full-time employee count will rise to 116.25, an increase of four employees. Three of those employees will be utilized in administering the Stormwater commitments authorized by Council earlier this year. The fourth will assume additional duties in the accounting department and our recording fee administration program responsibilities.

Funding Challenges:
• The national economy continues to experience volatility, especially the effect of inflation on City projects.
• Revenue levels insufficient to directly cover street operations and maintenance requiring augmentation from the City’s General Fund.
• Pavement preservation and railroad crossing projects (overpasses and underpasses) and other large street projects require funding beyond the City’s capabilities to provide.
• Establishing a Homeless program and identifying dedicated funding for that program.

As a financial objective, the City intends to increase its Service Level Stabilization Reserve Fund to $8 million from its current level of $5.5 million as funding becomes available.

This hearing was to gather information, so no action was taken.

Property taxes are a major source of recurring City Revenue representing $13,824,900 (22.19%) of the City’s 2024 budgeted recurring revenue. However, the City actually receives less than 10% of the overall collected property taxes in its jurisdiction. Who then receives the largest portion of those revenues? Three taxing entities compete for that title.

On a $400,000 home, school districts (education, local and state) and fire districts take the majority. The abbreviated table below defining collections in the Central Valley School District reveals:

Spokane County; $299.57; 8.0%
City of Spokane Valley; $332.49; 8.9%
Fire District No. 01 (voted); $888.58; 23.8%
Central Valley School District (voted);  $1,195.20;  32.0%
State Education Tax;  $885.31;  23.7%
Spokane County Library District; $136.61;  3.7%

State law sets the maximum levy rates for property taxes in a jurisdiction. The formula for calculating the rate is to take the total levy, dividing it by 1,000 and then dividing that number by the total assessed value of the taxing jurisdiction. The County Assessor’s Office determines that assessed value. That value currently stands at $17,576,115,762, producing a levy rate of $0.786573 per $1,000 of assessed value. Discussion on whether to take the automatic 1% property tax increase resulted in a spirited discussion. Council once again opted not to take it.

It is probable that new construction after July has not been included in that calculation, thus it’s possible that the levy rate might decline. The passage of an ordinance is required to levy and collect 2024 property taxes. That action will be on the October 24th Council Agenda.
The City will collect, based on Spokane County estimated assessments, $13,745,771 in property tax revenues. The motion to advance Ordinance #23-017, levying property taxes for 2024 to a second reading passed 5-1 (Mayor Haley was absent).

The City Manager, after an assessment of recent moves affecting receipt and disbursement of City funds, has determined that a new position of Accounting and Finance Program Manager is needed. The new classification will not require an additional full-time employee. The manager would supervise the new staff authorized by Council and oversee the workflow in the City’s Outside Agency and Lodging Tax programs. The motion to approve creation of the new Accounting and Finance Manager position was approved unanimously.

A Retail Recruitment update was presented by Community Attributes, Inc. (CAI) on past and recent marketing and recruitment efforts in Spokane Valley.
Tourism is an important part of the City’s economy in supporting businesses and creating jobs. The landscape for tourism is constantly changing and increases the need for a strategic plan for competitive action to attract visitors. The City’s recently created Tourism Promotion Area (TPA) is designed to develop and maintain such a program. The TPA’s first step was to update its destination assessment, including a review of the City’s existing tourism assets and infrastructure and a survey of potential tourists and residents.

This action has produced strategy recommendations such as:
1. Developing a strong tourism brand
2. Investing in marketing and promotion to attract visitors
3. Developing tourism products and attractions such as the cross-country course at Flora Park
4.Partnering with local businesses and organizations to promote tourism

City Council meetings are held in the Great Room at CenterPlace until further notice. City Hall, however, is open for business during normal business hours. The Public is invited to Council meetings to participate in action items or public comment periods in person or via ZOOM. Call 509-720-5000 or www.spokanevalley.org prior to 4:00 p.m. for access instructions. Council meetings are broadcast on Comcast channel 14.