City staff asked Spokane City Council Dec. 1 to approve an additional $137,000 to inclement‑weather shelter contracts to cover an expected surge of people needing shelter through December.

Ariel Anderson introduced the request and Paradis, who briefed the item, said the funds would be added to contracts with the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities and Revive to carry the city through the end of the month. "We just wanna request approval to add an additional 137,000 for the inclement weather shelters that we currently have through the December of this year," Paradis said.

Paradis said the city has been experiencing a surge for about nine days and that official counts and billing will be available at the end of the month; staff offered to report back with precise numbers after billing is complete.

In related conversation later in the meeting, council members pressed staff for clarity on other homelessness prevention funding streams — including HOME‑ARP and HEART dollars — asking whether listed household counts represent the city’s share or total project capacity. A staff member said applications and supporting documents had been uploaded to the council SharePoint and that city awards were capped at roughly 50% of project costs in the RFP.

Council members did not record a contentious debate on the funding request; staff said the additional dollars are intended to cover immediate needs driven by colder weather and service demand.

Next step: staff will return with billing counts and any recommended additional action after month‑end reconciliation.