Spokane council approves city fleet electric vehicle purchases, accepts state grant for charging stations amid public skepticism

The Spokane City Council voted to approve purchases of electric vehicles for the city motor pool and to accept a Department of Ecology grant for 10 Level 2 charging stations.

Supporters said the purchases respond to a state push toward electrification for municipal fleets, while public commenters urged caution about grid reliability and called for alternative approaches. Councilmembers who voted for the items emphasized limits on where fully electric vehicles will be used.

City Council members approved the consent agenda that included the motor-pool vehicle purchases and later passed Ordinance C.36678 amending the biennial budget to accept the Ecology grant for charger installation. The consent vote passed 7-0.

Why it matters: the purchases and charging-station grant move Spokane toward electrifying portions of its fleet and expanding charging infrastructure. Speakers during public comment said Spokane should be careful about costs and the reliability of the electrical grid, while some urged the city to buy different makes.

Public comment and council response Will Hewings, a downtown resident, objected to the planned buys and urged the city to choose Tesla vehicles instead of the Ford models under consideration, saying, "If the city is going to spend nearly a hundred thousand dollars on electric vehicles, why settle for inferior products like the Ford Lightning and Ford Mach E?" Will Hewings also criticized what he called a "rushed" move to EVs and provided comparisons by email, per the record.

Sherry Barnett, who identified herself as a Spokane resident, said the city should be "trying to save as much money as we can" and warned of grid vulnerabilities: "If we get in trouble as far as our electrical grid goes... we will be cooked goose. We need to be very careful that we keep enough to take care of all emergencies under the diesel and the gas powered vehicles."

Justin Holler, calling in, asked whether the city could buy hybrid vehicles first and questioned specific line items, saying, "Can't we deal with hybrids first?" He also pressed for clearer public budget information on homelessness and other expenditures.

Council members framed the decision narrowly. Council member Bingo said, "At no point will I ever support patrol vehicles or fire engines that are purely electric" but voiced support for adding EVs to the motor pool where "lives are not on the line" and noted a state mandate pushing municipalities toward electrification. Council member Keckhardt said he opposes purchasing higher-end vehicles for generic pool use and called for the most cost-effective options; he also reiterated opposition to deploying EVs for patrol or emergency response.

What the council approved - Consent agenda item(s) authorizing procurement of electric motor-pool vehicles (OPR references included on the agenda). Passed 7-0. - Ordinance C.36678, which amends the biennial budget to accept a Department of Ecology grant for installation of 10 Level 2 charging stations (related to consent item OPR-2025-0333). Passed 7-0.

Discussion vs. decision: The council voted to approve the purchases and the charging-station grant. Debate centered on appropriate EV use (motor pool vs. emergency vehicles), total cost, and grid resiliency; no formal direction to change procurement specs was recorded during the meeting.

What to watch next: implementation details for the charging-station installations (locations and timeline) and any future council deliberations about specifications for fleet acquisitions or exemptions for emergency vehicles.