(The Center Square) – Spokane is gearing up for a $440 million tax proposal this fall that, if successful, could transform the city over the next two decades with new parks, schools and more at less than $8 per month.
Parks & Recreation Director Garrett Jones signaled his readiness to the Spokane City Council on Monday. Jones asked officials to delay a highly anticipated parks levy for the third time last fall. He said doing so could make the most efficient use of voters’ tax dollars.
The city and Spokane Public Schools plan to take separate tax proposals to the November ballot together. If approved, the 20-year “Together Spokane” initiative would raise approximately $440 million, $240 million from the city’s parks levy and $200 million from an SPS bond.
“Two separate ballot initiatives, but one vision,” Jones told the officials on Monday.
The combined effort could fund more than 200 projects across Spokane. If the entities went at it alone, they could pay for about 170 projects at about 31 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. Aligning the effort could reduce the rate to 29 cents while funding another 30 projects.
If approved, Spokane could build and renovate several new and existing schools, parks, trails, and bike paths, expand access to SPS facilities after hours and level the playing field across the city, among other projects.
According to the Together Spokane website, both tax proposals would cost someone with a median assessed property value of $330,000 around $7.98 per month next year. More than 90% of that would go toward the parks levy, with 55 cents going toward the school district.
The tax rate for the bond would increase by around 2% annually until at least 2030, with that of the parks levy going up no more than 3% annually for the first six years. Jones said external partners have already committed around $11 million to the initiative.
“We want to be very clear that this is an added level of service,” Jones said.
The Parks & Recreation division currently makes up about 2.3% of the city’s total spending but 8% of the general fund budget. Jones said if voters approve the measures, the levy will make up 25% of the parks budget, which the city currently spends around $25 million annually.
“I don’t love the ballot title,” Councilmember Michael Cathcart said, adding his two cents. “I would just ask if you could go back and if there’s any way to just try to beat that up to be just something people are actually going to read and enjoy reading to the extent possible.”
The Spokane Park Board plans to meet on April 16 to approve a resolution asking the council to put the parks levy on the ballot. The council and SPS School Board will hold separate votes in May to put both tax proposals on the November ballot, with outreach continuing into the fall.