Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Federal Grants And Local Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mayor says federal policy changes could affect roughly $48 million in Spokane grants; tree-planting grant paused
Summary
Spokane’s mayor told the City Council on Feb. 3 that city staff have identified about $48 million in grants that could be affected by recent federal executive actions, including a paused $6 million tree-planting partnership and risks to refugee resettlement funding.
Mayor provided an update to the City Council on Feb. 3 about city efforts to assess potential effects from recent federal executive actions and related agency guidance.
The mayor said city cabinet members have compiled a list of potentially affected grants that “is at around $48,000,000 of separate grants that are potentially impacted.” The mayor identified one immediate action from a federal agency: the U.S. Forest Service has directed the city and its partners to pause a three-way tree-planting partnership, which the mayor described as “a total of $6,000,000 grant” focused on underserved Spokane neighborhoods.
Why this matters: the mayor said the paused projects include both capital work and programs that contract with community partners. “We will hope that that is clarified soon so we can keep moving forward on that program,” the mayor said, and noted the pause affects plans for tree planting and related employment opportunities tied to watering and maintenance.
City staff flagged other grants that may be at risk or under review. The mayor said the city’s EPA community change grant — which lists the Office of Emergency Management and Gonzaga University as subrecipients for infrastructure modifications at the Northeast Community Center, West Central Community Center, Liberty Park Library and Central Library — is among grants that “might fall into an at risk category.”
The mayor also told council members the administration is tracking changes in federal refugee resettlement funding. He said the city had been informed of “the cessation of grant funding to World Relief and [the] International Rescue Committee,” and that those cuts could affect refugee populations whom the mayor described as “right on the margin.” The mayor said the city will “be working with them to understand the potential impacts for those vulnerable communities.”
On immigration enforcement, the mayor said federal agencies such as ICE and Border Patrol do not routinely share activity plans with Spokane law enforcement, and the city therefore lacks a regular data feed on federal operations in the city. The mayor and Council Member Navarrete said they are setting up a community listening session to gather reports of concerns.
The mayor also raised trade risks tied to tariffs, noting that from previous work at the state level he knows “Canada is our number 1 trading partner for Washington state.” He warned of uncertainty from tariff policies and potential retaliatory measures that could affect capital investment and consumer prices.
Council members asked follow-up questions about whether already-received grant funds could be clawed back; the mayor replied that the city had seen no evidence of clawbacks to date but noted that many federal grants operate on a reimbursement model that can create timing risk if reimbursements are paused.
Ending: the mayor said the administration will continue to monitor developments and that impacts to the city budget or to requests from community partners could arise as federal guidance evolves.
