Spokane Valley City Council Approves 2026 Budget

SPOKANE VALLEY, WA—The Spokane Valley City Council voted 6 to 1 to approve the 2026 city budget at the Dec. 9, 2025, City Council meeting. The $148.4 million budget will be in effect from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2026.

The 2026 budget includes $70.6 million in the General Fund and $77.8 million in 30 other city funds. Estimated recurring General Fund revenues of $68.6 million increased 7.05% from 2025. The estimated recurring General Fund expenditures of $68.5 million increased 7.93%. Costs for Public Safety increased by 11.85%, while all other General Fund departments increased by 1.27%. Included in the overall total $148.4 million is $47.9 million in capital expenditures, which is funded at 71.25% by state and federal grant dollars.

The Council held three public hearings prior to the final budget adoption and encouraged community members to provide input via public comment or by contacting Councilmembers directly.

The 2026 budget advances the Council’s adopted priorities, including:

• Goal: Increase public safety response to ensure everyone feels safe in Spokane Valley. The budget prioritizes public safety with an 11.85% increase, including an additional $2.6 million in expenditures from the new public safety sales tax voters recently approved, funding 10 new dedicated positions, one new shared position and maintaining one current position, which lost grant funding in 2025.
• Goal: Prioritize infrastructure maintenance and preservation and advance strategic capital projects through grant awards. The budget maintains historic levels of the city’s street maintenance programs. It also enhances the economy by improving mobility, connections and efficiencies by investing $47.9 million in capital infrastructure, offset by $34.1 million or 71.25% in grant revenues.
• Goal: Continue economic development efforts to maximize business growth and develop tourism destinations. The budget supports businesses and the related economic activities that fund city services by investing in retail recruitment and sports tourism, including the new cross-country course, The Course Spokane Valley.
• Goal: Maintain our strong financial position. The budget projects a 2026 General Fund ending fund balance of $36.6 million, or 53.44% of recurring expenditures, per the Council’s finance policy. This provides cash flow to pay for the city’s operations and security in case of unexpected economic hardships.
• Goal: Utilize strategic partnerships to aggressively reduce and prevent homelessness in Spokane Valley. The budget maintains regional participation and strategic partnerships to combat homelessness and allows for dedicated revenue sources through local recording fees and state and federal grants.
• Goal: Expand homeownership opportunities so more local people own homes. The budget includes expenses and offsetting grant revenue for updating the Comprehensive Plan and addressing the middle housing shortage and opportunities to promote affordable housing development.

The budget is anticipated to be posted online by Jan. 2, 2026, at www.SpokaneValleyWA.gov/Budget.

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