Council punts decision to restructure Spokane Police Department

The most contentious matter up for a vote heading into Monday’s Spokane City Council meeting was likely not the $1.1 billion city budget, but a plan to place police department leaders back into the city’s civil service system.

Amid confusion and questions, the City Council delayed a decision on whether to classify several positions at the top of the department, meaning they would be subject to the requirements – and protections – of the city’s century-old civil service system.

The proposed move was characterized by the City Council as a long overdue correction to former Mayor David Condon’s administrative restructuring, which was done to skirt civil service by creating new departments within existing departments.

The council’s proposal was sharply opposed by Mayor Nadine Woodward’s administration and Police Chief Craig Meidl, who warned it would make ineffective leaders more difficult to dismiss.

The administration also cautioned that it would force the city to fire three employees – Police Business Services Director Jennifer Hammond, Director of Strategic Initiatives Jacqui MacConnell and Deputy Director of Police Records Gary Redding – because they could not be guaranteed a job under civil service.

Civil service sets strict standards for hiring and firing employees, and exists to ensure equitable access to city jobs as well as prevent unfair practices like cronyism and nepotism.

The council wrote the ordinance to ensure that the three employees would be guaranteed their jobs, but the administration questioned the legality of the move.

The ordinance was delayed until June 6 at the request of Councilwoman Lori Kinnear.

“As much as I tried to explain the situation, it wasn’t well-received. I think we as a council need to do a better job of educating and doing outreach so that the public gets on board,” Kinnear told The Spokesman-Review.