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Volunteers warn Spokane COPS program faces shutdown after city funding cuts
Summary
Volunteer leaders of Spokane COPS told the District 2 town hall the city's funding reductions have left the program with operating money only through July and that past city support was substantially larger; council members said budget questions remain and the administration is responding to board questions.
David Morris, a volunteer with Spokane COPS, told the council that the volunteer program that helps examine break‑ins and supports neighborhood safety is facing a potential shutdown because city funding has fallen sharply.
"Before this year, the city gave us about $39,000 a month," Morris said. "They've offered us $10,500 per month, but we don't have that money yet, and it's not clear what we can do to get that money." He said volunteers currently have enough funds to operate only until approximately July.
Michelle Anthony Miller, who identified herself as a COPS volunteer, thanked the council for partial funding and highlighted the group's work supporting first‑responder behavioral‑health efforts. Bill Connolly, who said he serves on the COPS board as an appointee of the council, told the meeting that funding has been reduced from prior years and that the board is evaluating whether it can continue operating at the lower funding level.
Council members acknowledged the program's value and the uncertainty. One council member said the city has offered partial funding and that the board's outstanding questions to the administration have delayed a final resolution. Another member clarified the budget figures discussed at the meeting: "It's the $350,000 is for the biennium — $175,000 a year," the member said; "it was about $500,000 a year before," adding that current allocations represent a significant reduction from past funding levels.
Speakers asked the council to explore alternatives and to maintain support for volunteer training and neighborhood education if the program's direct funding decreases. The COPS volunteers said they operate neighborhood shops and run fingerprinting and other community assistance; volunteers requested options for donations or partnership arrangements while the board seeks a longer‑term funding path.
No final council action on long‑term funding was recorded at the town hall; council members said the administration is working to answer outstanding questions from the COPS board and that the council's budget staff and appointees remain engaged on the topic.
