SPOKANE, Wash. — Temporary funding for Spokane C.O.P.S. is set to expire at the end of the month.
Even though funding expires in 10 days, the City of Spokane doesn’t have a place yet for a community safety partner.
“Our issue is going to be filling the gap short-term because we’ll run out of money in late summer, early fall at the absolute latest,” said Jeff Johnson, executive director at C.O.P.S. “We’re going to have to bridge the gap and figure out how to keep the doors open.”
City councilmember Jonathan Bingle says the city has a couple options, but he’s not sure which organizations are up for the job.
“I believe C.O.P.S. has done a very good job for us for the last 30 years,” Bingle said.
Johnson says the city was supposed to make a decision on a community safety partner on March 1. Three weeks later, the city has yet to put any options in front of the city council.
“I’ve heard that through the procurement process, that a couple organizations in particular rose to the top. I have not heard exactly which two those are but I know there are a couple that the administration seems to favor,” Bingle said.
Councilmember Bingle says he hopes the city can work quickly to find the right organization when it comes to community safety. He has supported extending the contract with C.O.P.S. in the past and says having the organization in every neighborhood increases the perception of safety.
“There’s a lot of neighborhood trust in that organization,” he said. “There’s good leadership, there’s good people overseeing it.”
A recent statement from the city says it plans to bring a recommendation to the city council shortly.
Johnson expects to keep the doors open at C.O.P.S. until at least the end of April.
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