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SHREC board votes to separate Spokane; city prepares for potential independent PSAP and cites pending state funding bill
Summary
The Spokane Regional Emergency Communications (SHREC) board voted to separate the city, prompting city staff to plan for a city-run primary PSAP and to support state legislation (HB 1258) that would apportion 911 excise tax revenue for emergency communications.
Maggie Yates briefed the committee on the status of Spokane’s relationship with the Spokane Regional Emergency Communications Center (SHREC). She said the SHREC board voted in mid‑January to separate the city of Spokane from the regional center, and that the board set a separation deadline the city interprets as January 2026.
Yates said prior transition discussions focused on governance, the user‑fee model and service‑level agreements. The city proposed several compromise governance options and suggested a mutually agreed third‑party facilitator to mediate, but the SHREC board rejected facilitation and would not entertain proposed governance alternatives. Draft user fees shared by the transition committee were short‑term (one year) and framed with assumptions the city said were insufficient for biennial budgeting.
With the SHREC board’s action, Yates said the city is preparing a cost analysis and operational requirements should Spokane need to operate its own public safety answering point (PSAP). She said the administration and council members have testified in support of House Bill 1258, which would require an apportionment of 911 excise tax revenue (in addition to an existing apportionment of sales tax revenue) to emergency communications; Yates said the bill would provide a long‑term revenue source to support an independent city PSAP.
Yates told the committee that the city believes it has the expertise to operate a safe PSAP and that the mayor’s office and department chiefs are pulling together requirements and cost estimates. She said renewed county engagement would be needed for a negotiated path forward but that, absent such flexibility, the city must prepare operationally for separation. Councilmembers asked about timelines and cost estimates; Yates said more detailed cost work would be delivered in the coming weeks.
The city’s actions are preparatory: the committee discussion focused on planning, cost estimates and legislative efforts rather than immediate council votes.
