Welcome to CIVICS, where we break down the week’s municipal meetings throughout the Inland Northwest, so you can get involved and speak out about the issues you care about.  

Some things that stick out to us this week include: 

• Spokane City Council could finally take the next step on getting our city its own emergency dispatch system, after getting the boot from the regional network earlier this year.
• The future of the Waste-to-Energy Plant (and the price tag on your energy bill) could all be revealed at this week’s Public Infrastructure, Environment, and Sustainability Committee meeting.
• Hop on your bike and enjoy the fall weather rolling in with the Bicycle Advisory Board’s meeting on wheels this week. 
• The Spokane County Board of Commissioners will have a discussion on the next commissioner to serve on the regional health board, which is currently dominated by conservative electeds.
• The county commission is set to vote on fee increases to bring waste to the North County and Valley transfer stations, as well as a new fee for appliances that use refrigerants.

Important meetings this week:

• Spokane City Council (and Study Session)
• Public Infrastructure, Environment, and Sustainability Committee
• Spokane Public Library Board of Trustees
• Bicycle Advisory Board
• Board of County Commissioners – Briefing Session and Legislative Session
• Spokane Transit Authority Board of Directors
• Spokane School District Board of Directors Special Meeting
• Spokane Valley City Council 
• Liberty Lake City Council

Spokane City 

Spokane City Council

🌶️🫑/5 peppers

New SREC

The council is scheduled for a final vote on the ordinance to establish the Spokane United 911 Network, the city’s new emergency dispatch service. For some background on why the city needs its own emergency dispatch system, instead of continuing in the former regional partnership with Spokane Regional Emergency Communications, check out these pieces from The Inlander and The Spokesman. 

Deferred daycare ordinance

Deferred from last week, council is again scheduled for a first read on interim zoning ordinance that — for at least the next year — would allow daycare and childcare centers to be permitted and placed in all residential and commercial zones across the city. That means your neighborhood could soon get more convenient childcare services!

Agenda here
Monday, September 15 at 6 pm
City Council Chambers – Lower Level of City Hall 
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.
The meeting is also live streamed here. 

Spokane City Council Study Sessions

Agenda here when available.
Thursday, September 18 at 11 am
City Council Chambers – Lower Level of City Hall 
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Public Infrastructure, Environment, and Sustainability Committee

🌶️🌶️🫑/5 peppers

Carbon capturing our hearts and minds

You might read the line “Waste to Energy Carbon Capture Study Presentation,” and think, “wow, that sounds really boring and doesn’t impact me at all.” You’d be wrong. 

Outside of Spokane is the Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Plant, which burns trash and converts that into energy. For now, that Waste-to-Energy Plant doesn’t need to bid on carbon credits to offset their emissions — which is required of many types of businesses by Washington’s Cap-and-Trade program. But that’s slated to change in 2027, when the WTE Plant will have to start bidding on offset credits, which will likely raise Spokane consumers’ energy bills.

The city has pushed the state legislature for years to exempt the WTE plant from having to bid on those credits to no avail. In 2025, though, they started trying a different tack: studying innovative mechanisms to capture the carbon that the plant emits. 

At today’s committee meeting, we’re scheduled to get a presentation on the findings of the carbon capture study, to see if it’s feasible to do large-scale carbon capturing. What we hear today will likely shape the city’s plans for how to approach the looming 2027 deadline for the WTE Plant to have to start buying carbon offset credits.

Street repair -TBD

If the streets in your neighborhood are in need of a little TLC, you might be in luck. The committee is discussing the grind and overlay projects for 2026, funded with dollars from the Transportation Benefit District (or, TBD). The list of streets getting repaired with this round of funding can be found starting on page 200. 

Agenda here
Monday, September 15 at 12 pm
Council Chambers in the Lower Level of City Hall.
808 W Spokane Falls Blvd, Spokane, WA 99201
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Spokane Public Library Board of Trustees

🌶️🫑/5 peppers

New business, no details

The Spokane Public Library Board of Trustees meets this week. They plan to discuss a variety of new business, but their agendas are always thin, so we can’t tell you deets, just the top line of what’s up for discussion. Here are a few things that looked interesting:

• The policy on uncollectible customer accounts
• The library fine/fee schedule 
• Summer Reading overview

Agenda here
Tuesday, September 16 at 4:30 pm
Hillyard Library
4110 N Cook St, Spokane, Washington, 99207
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Bicycle Advisory Board

🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲/5 bikes 

The Bicycle Advisory Board is having a special rolling meeting! They’ll be biking around town to “tour bicycle facilities and discuss future opportunities for bicycle facilities.” Here’s the itinerary if you want to hop on your bike and join them:

• Start at 5 pm: City Hall Outside of the Chase Gallery 
• Midpoint Stop at 6 pm: 27th Avenue and Jefferson Street
• End at 7 pm: Pacific Avenue and Sprague Way

Agenda here
Tuesday, September 16 at 5 pm
City Council Briefing Center
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. Spokane, WA 99201 

Spokane County

Board of Spokane County Commissioners Briefing Session

🌶️🫑/5 peppers

Waldref calling for talk on next elected on Health Board

Earlier this year, the WA State Legislature passed a bill which would finally force the Board of County Commissioners to put indigenous representation on the Spokane Regional Health District board — a move the BOCC had resisted using a loophole in the original requirement and communication issues with the statewide tribal board. 

Instead of just seating up to three tribal representatives, like the bill requires, the county commissioners had previously discussed changing the whole structure of the board, adding another county commissioner or Spokane City Council member for each indigenous representative added.

With the first of the tribal representatives seated last month, the BOCC now has a scheduled discussion — requested by Spokane County Commissioner Amber Waldref — to talk about the next elected official who will be appointed to the governing board of the Spokane Regional Health District. There’s not a lot of detail in the agenda item on the sheet, but we have to assume it could be a discussion about which of the two remaining county commissioners — conservative Al French and progressive Chris Jordan — will be appointed alongside the next tribal representative.

Agenda here 
Tuesday, September 16 at 9 am
Public Works Building Lower Level, Commissioners’ Hearing Room
1026 W. Broadway Ave, Spokane, WA 99260
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Board of Spokane County Commissioners Legislative Session

🌶️🫑/5 peppers

Gate fee increase at waste transfer stations

Going to the dump may cost more in the near future. The BOCC is set to vote on gate fee hikes at the North County and Valley Transfer Stations from $130.42 per ton to $135.63 per ton. It may also establish a new $30 fee for dropping appliances that contain refrigerants at both transfer stations.

Agenda here 
Tuesday, September 16 at 2 pm
Public Works Building Lower Level, Commissioners’ Hearing Room
1026 W. Broadway Ave, Spokane, WA 99260
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Spokane Transit Authority Board of Directors

🫑/5 peppers

While there’s plenty on the table for transit wonks to tune into — like the upcoming community engagement schedule as part of their regular Title VI review for equitable access to transit and updates on Connect 2035 — there’s nothing terribly controversial or monumental slated for this month’s STA agenda. 

Agenda here
Thursday, September 18 at 1:30 pm
STA Boardroom 
1230 W Boone Avenue, Spokane, WA 99201
The meeting is also live streamed here.

School Boards

Spokane School District Board of Directors (special meeting)

🫑/5 peppers

Student advisers to school board

The board will select two students to advise the school board during this special meeting.

Agenda here 
Wednesday, September 15 at 6 pm
Spokane Public Schools Administration Building
200 N. Bernard, Spokane, WA 99201
The meeting is also live streamed here.

Other Cities

Spokane Valley City Council

🌶️🌶️/5 peppers

Flag display resolution

The city council is set to vote on a policy outlining what flag may be allowed on city flagpoles. It would codify the standing practice of flying flags that support the view and values of the city of Spokane Valley, including some flags that commemorate military service. State law requires cities to fly the American, Washington state and Prisoner of War/Missing In Action flags. Other flags can be flown on city poles at the behest of community members who file a proclamation if the mayor approves it.

Some cities in red states across the country, including Boise and Salt Lake City, recently named the Pride flag as an official city flag to get around state bans on flying it.

Special meeting just before regular council meeting

The purpose of the special meeting, which starts at 5 pm, is not stated on the agenda. There will be no public comment period during the special meeting.

Agenda here
Tuesday, September 16 at 6 pm
City Hall
10210 E Sprague Ave
Spokane Valley, WA 99206
Virtual attendance here.

Liberty Lake City Council

🌶️🫑/5 peppers

Mayor to sign opioid settlements

Mayor Cris Kaminskas is set to sign the city of Liberty Lake onto settlements partly entered into by the Washington Attorney General’s Office. The state is getting $122 million from Purdue Pharma and eight generic opioid manufacturers as part of a $4.5 billion national settlement in litigation over the opioid crisis, which has killed 645,000 people across the US since 1999. Liberty Lake would be allocated $41,000 over the next 15 years for programs to address the crisis.

Agenda here
Tuesday, September 16 at 7 pm
22710 E Country Vista Drive, Liberty Lake, WA 99019
The meeting is also live streamed here.