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Spokane County approves contract with NavCare for detention health services after split vote
Summary
The Spokane County Board of Commissioners approved a contract with NavCare to provide medical, dental, pharmacy and behavioral-health services in county detention facilities. Commissioners split 3-2 amid concerns about a roughly 55% cost increase and a projected multimillion-dollar impact to the county general fund.
The Spokane County Board of Commissioners on a 3-2 vote approved a contract with NavCare to provide medical, dental, pharmacy and behavioral-health services for county detention services.
The vote followed roughly 15 minutes of discussion focused on the contract’s fiscal impact. Commissioner Waldorf said the contract represents a “very large” cost increase and said she was “really concerned about, about a 55% increase to the cost of the services that are provided, and it looks like about a $5,000,000 impact to our county general, just to our general fund budget.” Waldorf concluded, “So I’m not gonna support this item today for those reasons of cost and and financial sustainability.”
Commissioner Jordan echoed fiscal concerns, saying the county budget is “already very tight” and noting the general fund share for these services “is projected to increase from 7,640,000 last year to 12,49,” characterizing the change as a roughly 63% first-year increase and warning of further increases in years two and three. Jordan also expressed concern about impacts on county behavioral-health employees and the unit’s years-long partnerships across the criminal justice system.
A motion to approve the item was made and seconded; the motion passed 3 to 2. The record shows two commissioners publicly opposing the item (Waldorf and Jordan) and the board chair and other commissioners voting in favor; no further roll-call of individual yes/no votes was recorded in the transcript.
The discussion and speakers framed the item as a tradeoff between ensuring continuity of clinical services in detention and protecting county fiscal sustainability. Commissioners supporting the contract did not dispute the projected cost increases on the record but indicated a need to maintain services; commissioners opposing the contract cited the county’s near-term budget deficits and potential impacts on existing staff.
The board did not adopt any budget amendment on the record; next steps for funding or implementation were not specified during the discussion.
The motion passed 3 to 2.
