Spokane parks tax will likely be delayed for a third time – this time with the Park Board’s blessing
Voters may one day get the opportunity to weigh in on whether the city of Spokane should increase property taxes to make significant investments in the park system – but that day likely won’t come this February.
The Spokane City Council is poised to delay a vote for a third time on a proposal that has been weighed down by external political concerns, such as its possible impact on other tax hikes that voters would be asked to consider, including the sales tax increase approved in November to pay for community safety investments.
The parks levy proposal originally called for raising $225 million over 20 years – or roughly $4.5 million per year – to pay for three new parks and more than 30 new playgrounds, among other investments. It would have been the first systemwide improvement of neighborhood parks since 1999, according to the Park Board. But since then voters approved new taxes to rebuild the city’s outdoor pools and to vastly enhance Riverfront Park.
Volunteers, park officials and members of the Park Board spent two years hammering out the proposal before asking that it be placed on the February 2024 ballot. But it was delayed by the City Council twice, first to August 2024 and later to February 2025, out of concerns that the tax ask could poison the well for Mayor Lisa Brown’s plans to also ask for voter approval of a community safety levy.
For the first time, however, the Park Board itself was the one requesting that the levy be delayed, stating it needs additional time to partner with Spokane Public Schools on a coordinated campaign. The board voted Thursday to request that the City Council approve the deferral.
Voters rejected the school district’s $200 million bond, which would have paid for major construction projects, in February; while the school board has signaled it is determined to put a new bond forward, it has questioned the appropriate timing and scope.
There are some good signs for school officials worried about the likelihood of a returning bond doing better than in February – voters approved Cheney Public Schools’ bond in November after rejecting the same bond plan in February.
Parks Director Garrett Jones told the City Council on Monday that a partnership with Spokane Public Schools, asking voters to approve both a school bond and a parks levy on the same ballot, could not only improve the chances of both to succeed but also give voters more bang for their buck by partnering on how that money gets spent.
Jones pointed to the successful dual campaigns in 2018 between the $495 million school bond and the $77 million library levy as an example that such a partnership could be successful.
Councilman Michael Cathcart has been keen to see park improvements in northeast Spokane, which he represents, and questioned the logic behind this third delay.
Spokane County officials have suggested that they will again ask voters to approve a tax increase to pay for, among other things, a new jail, after a similar proposal was rejected in 2023. Cathcart, who disagreed with the last two delays, questioned whether timing the parks levy later in 2025 and closer to, or on the same ballot, as a jail tax would be any less complicating.
“The difference is this is the Parks Board asking this go-around for a deferral,” Jones said. “When we look at the possible investments from going together versus going alone, the Park Board feels like that’s a risk they’re willing to take.”