What are the top issues in the area? Spokane County Commissioners, Spokane City Council to host joint meeting to discuss opioids and more problems facing region

Spokane County and its largest city haven’t had the best of relationships in recent years.

That could change as the elected representatives for both are seeking to hold roundtable discussions on the region’s largest issues.

Spokane City Council President Betsy Wilkerson and Spokane County Commission Chair Mary Kuney are working to bring their respective boards together for a conversation on the opioid epidemic and drug use in what could be the first meeting in a continuing series. Kuney shared the idea with the county’s governing board Tuesday after she and Wilkerson began discussing the possibility earlier this year, according to an email from Wilkerson shared during the meeting.

Wilkerson suggested the first meeting could include federal agencies to understand their activity in the region, as well as discussion of a potential partnership to leverage millions in settlement funds that each government received from a series of lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

In her email, Wilkerson went on to say there are “many issues that are regional that we have not discussed together,” and asked for suggestions on other areas of focus. During Tuesday’s meeting, Kuney also indicated the meeting could be the first of many.

Other issues that may arise at the meetings include Spokane County’s 2026 Comprehensive Plan Update, as well as housing and homelessness services, while the city continues to transition into a scattered-site shelter model.

The two boards may also revisit discussions over regional 911 dispatch service, following a yearslong back and forth that appeared to end earlier this year when Spokane Regional Emergency Communications told the city it had until January to set up its own answering point and dispatch services for police and fire.

Kuney and Wilkerson will work to set a time for the meeting in the coming weeks.