Breean Beggs: A strong, well-resourced councilor works hard for Spokane
The City of Spokane is developing a new spirit of collaboration and policy based on data and solid input from its neighborhoods, businesses and community leaders.
In the face of a national pandemic and recession last year, Spokane has maintained robust budget reserves, increased street entertainment, reduced crime, attracted major new employers and construction investments, and continued to be the city of choice in our region.
Much of Spokane’s success in 2020 was based on the city council’s 2019 budget, which used unallocated taxpayers’ money more efficiently to attract new policy experts to assist the council in researching, creating and implementing better public order. This budget-neutral move enabled the Council to obtain improved information. With better information, we created better public order, and that means better results for the people of Spokane.
In November 1999, voters changed the city charter and created two branches of our city government: the mayor as chief executive and the city council as the legislative and political branch. In this voter-approved framework, the city council sets guidelines, approves budgets, and controls, while the mayor is responsible for implementing these guidelines within budget constraints. It’s a classic example of checks and balances, and if done correctly, it leads to more responsive, transparent, and collaborative local government. This works even better when the council and mayor build a positive working relationship, as we did in 2020.
Because councilors are elected by district, they are closer to the electorate and better suited to communicate with residents and businesses about how policies affect everyday people. Political experts on human resources and better communications infrastructure are helping the city council become even more efficient and effective, and ensuring we take action to improve neighborhood life, the business climate, our transportation network and the overall resilience of the city.
A strong, well-resourced city council also increases the effectiveness of the mayor’s operational staff without duplication. Working with the administration in 2020, for example, the city council fully funded the city’s reserve accounts (replenishing our “Rainy Day Fund”) and celebrated the highest annual redevelopment rating in the city’s history – $ 585 million. The council’s staff received millions of new grants, developed a comprehensive sustainability plan, helped create a new source of funding for affordable housing, and brought home unprecedented legislative support for the city and region. A full office on the city council has also enabled Spokane to be the nationwide leader in policy making and greater influence over what goes on at Olympia. A stamp council couldn’t have delivered so much to Spokane. Voters expect things to happen from the city council that will improve the lives of everyone in our area, and we work hard.
It’s been years since members of the city council received a raise, but adding political staff to the overall budget at no extra cost enabled the city council to do the will of voters when they approved the mayors’ council two decades ago and this one continue confirmation when they elect new councilors every two years.
The city council recently published a recap of its 2020 achievements and the goals we aim to achieve in the first 100 days of 2021. We posted them on our website for anyone to check out at my.spokanecity.org/citycouncil/items-of-interest /.
The City Council’s innovative political practices, always shaped by the Spokane Values, bring Spokane to a brighter future shared by all. Spokane is the second largest city in Washington and often leads state political discussions about our values rather than responding to policies outside our region. Spokane City Council continues to advocate further progress by listening to our community, working with our Mayor and her staff, and remembering, “We all do better when we all do better.”
Breean Beggs is President of Spokane City Council.