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Board debates restoring county work crews for Spokane County Fair amid budget trade-offs
Summary
Spokane County commissioners weighed a short pilot to restore work crews for the Spokane County Fair, with staff estimating a partial ramp-up would reduce but not eliminate county subsidy; commissioners requested outreach to event organizers about willingness to pay higher rates to reach cost recovery.
Spokane County commissioners spent much of their April 27 strategic planning meeting debating whether to reinstate the county's work-crew program, prioritizing support for the Spokane County Fair while flagging broader budget pressures.
Staff reported that the pool of eligible inmates was lower than historically (about 10 eligible in custody at the most recent snapshot) because many are on detox protocols or are released before deployment. Staff also said the county's housing capacity (Geiger facility) is near full and that any return of work-crew inmates would require separate housing and ramp-up time for safety and contraband mitigation.
The presentation outlined program costs under several scenarios. A recent budget reorganization reduced work-crew-related overtime by about $433,000; staff reported the full program cost projection at roughly $731,000 for 2026 before allocations. Including housing and other fully allocated costs produces a cited full-cost-recovery estimate of approximately $1,980 per crew per day; staff used a $700-per-day illustrative fair rate (based on the fair's stated available budget) for modeling a partial-cost recovery scenario.
Commissioners focused on the fair as the top near-term priority. The fair manager provided a $35,000 budget figure for services; staff estimated that with the fair's budget the county would still face a net approximate loss for a short seven-week run including ramp-up. Commissioners discussed options including a short June ramp-up pilot, asking the fair and other stakeholders to increase contributions, or concentrating services around major events rather than year-round operations.
Staff proposed sending a standard, time-limited letter to prior customers (cities, nonprofits and large events) to gauge whether they would accept a full-cost rate or a higher seasonal rate to help bring the program closer to cost recovery. Commissioners generally supported focusing first on the fair and pursuing stakeholder outreach, while cautioning about drawing down fund balance amid expected budget pressures for 2027.
No formal board vote was taken; commissioners discussed pilot and outreach steps and asked staff to return with additional financial details and stakeholder responses. The board also asked that staff consider seasonal models and provide clearer comparisons to private-market alternatives when available.
