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Commissioners discuss lobbyist renewals, communications search and a possible cultural-arts sales tax; no action taken
Summary
Spokane County commissioners discussed renewing federal and state lobbyist contracts (options: renew federal, run RFP/RFQ for state), the communications director search, and initial outreach about a proposed cultural-arts sales tax; several commissioners said public safety funding takes priority and timing may not be right to pursue the arts tax this year.
Commissioners reviewed several governance items on June 2, including pending lobbyist contract renewals, the communications director recruitment, and an outreach email from Spokane Arts about a proposed cultural-arts sales tax.
On lobbyists, commissioners noted that current federal and state contracts expire at year-end. Board members and staff discussed procurement options: the county could do a full RFP/RFQ for state-level representation while renewing or extending the federal contract (the federal procurement had previously used an RFP and interviews). Commissioners discussed an interview process for finalists and asked purchasing staff to begin the appropriate procurement steps.
Staff reported progress on the communications director search: one interview was scheduled for the week and staff hoped to interview up to three candidates before shortlisting finalists for commissioner review. Several commissioners expressed concern about timing; a thinner candidate pool was noted.
A commissioner said he had received an email from Skyler Oberst, described in the briefing as director of Spokane Arts, about a possible sales tax for cultural arts. Commissioners discussed priorities and budgeting; several said public safety and behavioral-health needs must come first and that now was likely not the right time to pursue a new county tax. One commissioner offered to meet with the Spokane Arts representative if requested. No formal motions or votes were taken on any of these items during the briefing.
The board moved next to announce an executive session on pending and potential litigation; staff listed attendees and said no action would be taken at the conclusion of the session.
