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Spokane finance committee hears tight timeline, loan plan for PSAP upgrade
Summary
City staff told the finance committee the push to become a primary PSAP by January 2028 requires immediate contracting and a SIP internal loan for infrastructure; key systems must be contracted by May to meet an October milestone and CAD implementation will require 10–12 months.
City staff told the Finance Committee that the city must move quickly to implement systems and procure equipment in order to meet milestones toward full primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) status by January 2028.
A presenter for the PSAP program described an ILA-driven schedule that phases responsibilities and tax apportionment tied to each milestone. Under the plan, the city will begin operating police dispatch in January 2026, start crime-check call processing in October 2026 and move to secondary PSAP operations in January 2027 before assuming full primary PSAP responsibilities in January 2028. Staff said the schedule leaves little slack and requires near-term contracting to meet implementation lead times.
"So we need to sort of start that process quickly once we contract for the call processing system. No later than May, essentially, we'll need to start that implementation in order to get it ready for October," a PSAP presenter said.
Council members pressed on both capital and operating budgets. Staff said the ILA and a phased excise-tax apportionment will provide operating cash as the city transitions; staff estimated approximately $1,500,000 tied to the payment structure and the phasing of the excise tax. Debt service timing will follow the city's semiannual schedule and will depend on when invoices trigger borrowings.
The committee also reviewed an internal SIP loan structure for PSAP infrastructure that staff said will be repaid over five years and will be drawn as purchases occur. Staff emphasized that capital items (hardware and system contracts) — not ongoing operations — are financed via the internal loan.
Next steps cited by staff were to finalize contract scopes, begin procurement immediately for call-processing and triage systems, and continue coordinating implementation sequencing with the PMO and operations leads. Council members asked for clarification on operating cost expectations and debt service timing; staff committed to follow-up on budgeting details.
