Proposed bill could decrease funding for emergency services in Spokane County

SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — A proposed law could potentially take funding away from emergency services in Spokane County.

House Bill 1258 would change how money for emergency communications is allocated between different cities in Spokane County.

Currently, emergency services in the county are funded through three sources: 1/10th of the 1% sales tax, member-use fees and a 9-1-1 excise tax, which is generated based on population.

HB 1258 would make it so the money generated by the 9-1-1 excise tax would be based on the number of calls received by 9-1-1.

Those against the bill said it could disproportionately hurt areas outside the City of Spokane.

“We stand in opposition because House Bill 1258 would disproportionately take tax dollars from Spokane County, from the greater region, and direct those tax dollars disproportionately into the City of Spokane,” said Cody Rohrbach, Spokane County Fire District 3 Chief.

According to Spokane County Fire and Police representatives, in 2024, the City of Spokane generated 42% pf 9-1-1 excise tax, while generating 55% of 9-1-1 workload cost.

If the bill passes, Spokane County would need to make up the 13% difference that the City of Spokane spends.

“In summary, they utilized, in excess of $3 million more in services than they generated, and this bill, on top of that, would further that,” Chief Rohrbach said.

Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said the potential funding gap would either cause taxes to raise or services to be cut.

“Public safety in paramount and that is one of the primary, if not the primary, responsibilities of government. So, it means we’re either going to have to raise taxes on the people that we serve to cover what was lost because of this bill, or we are going to have to cut services somewhere else in government,” he said. “Mind you, we are going to make sure we fund public safety first.”

A public hearing on HB 1258 is scheduled for January 30.