The city of Spokane ditched a proposal by former Mayor David Condon to withdraw from the county’s emergency management agency and handle the city’s response to disasters on its own.

Or so everyone in City Hall thought.

The city’s agreement with Greater Spokane Emergency Management expired on Dec. 31, and a new one has yet to be signed, even though city leaders want back in.

As city officials prepare for the potential arrival of COVID-19 in Spokane, they stressed this week that the city still is actively engaged with Greater Spokane Emergency Management and regional leaders, even if a written agreement formalizing that relationship no longer exists.

“All they have to do is start working on helping rewrite the agreement. I know that they say they have budgeted money toward it … it’s really getting back to the table,” said Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, who oversees Greater Spokane Emergency Management.

Mayor Nadine Woodward also plans to hire, at the Cabinet level, a director of emergency management to help coordinate the city’s internal response to emergencies and serve as a point person in the city’s collaborative efforts. Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer has been serving in that role on a temporary basis.

“We need to be partnered and in close communication with our regional organizations and agencies,” said city spokesman Brian Coddington.

The Spokane Regional Health District leads the region’s response to coronavirus, and Greater Spokane Emergency Management will play a supporting role in “marshaling assets” if needed to support the health district’s efforts, Knezovich said.

Condon’s plan rejected

In his final months in office, Condon’s administration proposed removing the city from the regional emergency management office, arguing the city could better handle emergency response on its own.

The Spokane City Council balked.

“Council said ‘No, we’re going to stay in the regional system, and we would be happy to fund your Cabinet-level position (as well),’ ” Council President Breean Beggs said. “The Condon administration sort of had a plan A or plan B. Where we’re at is plan A and plan B.”

Except that a new contract was never drafted before the old one expired Dec. 31. There were several factors at play that might have impacted the city’s capacity to negotiate a deal. The City Council only adopted a budget that funded the county emergency management system in mid-December. Woodward took office on Jan. 1 and was focused on building up her administration.

The contract, apparently, fell through the cracks, but Knezovich said “we are ready and willing to bring them back into the fold.”

As its largest funding partner, the city’s withdrawal would have financially crippled Greater Spokane Emergency Management. Condon’s proposed withdrawal from the county system was sharply opposed by Knezovich.

The city’s $210,000 annual contribution constitutes about 43% of what local governments provide to Greater Spokane Emergency Management’s budget. In his 2020 budget, Condon proposed spending $265,000 to create the city’s independent office, but the City Council rejected the plan.

Beggs said the impetus behind Condon’s plan was a sense that the regional office wasn’t engaged enough with the city. But Beggs said he received personal assurances from Spokane County commissioners that “their people were going to increase their responsiveness with the city.”

Knezovich dismisses the notion that the office wasn’t responsive to the city.

“We were always there, we always handled their issues,” Knezovich said.

Knezovich expressed outrage at what he described as a politically motivated proposal by the former administration.

“As a citizen, I am concerned for the city of Spokane. This makes me very angry,” Knezovich said.

Beggs thought that including the money in this year’s city budget would be enough to keep the city in the county system. He did not realize the agreement still needed to be signed.

“We’re not really in an emergency yet, apparently,” Beggs said. “If we were, I don’t have any doubts that we would all be working together. But we’re in March, so I’m surprised we don’t have (a formal agreement).”

Beggs acknowledged the city’s assumption that it was still in the county system demonstrates a “disconnect.”

“It just shows a little more evidence, perhaps, that there are some things in the regional emergency coalition that need to be worked on as far as communication,” Beggs said.

New city position

The city emergency management director would craft and implement city-specific emergency management policies. While preparation for the potential spread of an infectious disease is at the forefront of officials’ minds, Coddington said the emergency management director would oversee response to a broad array of threats, including those related to cybersecurity.

Coddington said the city’s new emergency management director could be brought in on a “fairly quick process” and that it is envisioned as a permanent position.

Emergency planning is an aspect of government that is crucial, but doesn’t feel that way until an emergency presents itself, Beggs noted.

Although nobody in Spokane County has tested positive for the coronavirus, the potential spread of COVID-19 in Washington has hastened officials’ efforts to buttress the city’s emergency management capacity.

“It’s not an accident that the conversation I had with the administration about this happened on Monday,” Beggs said. “It is more urgent, but it was already urgent.”

City Administrator Wes Crago told the City Council’s Public Safety and Community Health Committee on Monday that the city is actively renewing its response plans. The city has its own pandemic flu response plans to ensure continuity of city operations, including for emergency responders, in the event a COVID-19 pandemic, Crago said.

The city also has engaged in daily briefings with the Spokane Regional Health District. Coddington, the city spokesman, is the city’s representative in those briefings.