Residents raise concerns about council conduct and public records; councilors note new state law protecting complaint-identifying information

During two public-comment periods at the Spokane Valley council meeting on May 20, residents raised concerns about a council member's use of Nextdoor posts and about council conduct toward staff and members of the public.

Ben Lund, who described himself as a 36-year Spokane Valley resident, urged the council to read a Spokesman-Review article and alleged that a council member posted on neighbors' Nextdoor threads while discussing city business. Lund said the postings could not be archived by the city and suggested that those posts constitute Public Records Act violations and official misconduct. Lund told the council he had evidence of multiple posts and that at a May 13 council meeting a council member had asked the city attorney whether posting on another person's Nextdoor thread about city business would violate the law; Lund said the attorney responded that it would.

In a later public comment, resident Mike Dolan alleged repeated disrespectful interactions at council meetings, including being insulted and having speaking time revoked, and described heated interactions among council members and audience members at prior meetings. Dolan said some residents are afraid to attend meetings because of the atmosphere.

Council comments later in the meeting addressed staff protections and the change in state law. Council Member Patton said a bill signed by the governor protects employees who lodge complaints by redacting identifying information on public records related to those complaints; he thanked Representative Chase and others for sponsoring and supporting the measure and praised staff for participating in investigations. Deputy Mayor Hatenberg and Mayor Haley also spoke in support of staff and urged respectful discourse.

Council did not take formal action on the public comments; the remarks were part of the meeting public-comment record.