(The Center Square) – Dozens of Spokanites gathered at Monday’s city council meeting, pleading with their elected officials to continue funding a police nonprofit that has been in operation for over 30 years.
Spokane Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, opened in 1992 and has since expanded to eight locations. The nonprofit is almost entirely volunteer-ran under an allocation from the city of around $500,000 annually, though that could soon change.
Mayor Lisa Brown recently issued her 2025-2026 budget proposal, potentially closing a $25 million deficit while defunding Spokane COPS. Executive Director Jeff Johnson said it would force them to close shop, ridding the city of approximately 20,000 volunteer hours annually.
“I’m performing a little bit of balancing act here in that I’m kind of biting the hand that feeds me,” Johnson said. “Thirty years we’ve been a standard in the community … I mean, I truly can only assume that the city has some sort of a plan that we just haven’t been made a part of.”
Dozens of residents signed up to testify during Monday’s budget hearing and the following public forum. While Johnson made his case to the council with several current and former members, another cause was also in attendance, supporting Spokane COPS and a clean city.
Save Our Spokane, or SOS, is a new citizen-led movement calling on local elected officials to pull the city out of crisis. The group held a similar rally last month, this time marching to City Hall and pleading with them to tackle homelessness, property crime issues and open-air drug use.
Johnson said that he was made aware of comments from Brown and Police Chief Kevin Hall that they were unhappy with Spokane COPS’ metrics. However, he claims the nonprofit hasn’t shared metrics because they’ve never asked them to measure anything.
“This year, we will do over 20,000 total volunteer hours,” Johnson said. “We will fingerprint over 500 vehicles, and we will be involved with over 70 crime-free rental properties. That’s a lot; I don’t know how one can question those metrics.”
He recognized that not all their locations are always open, noting that the 22 volunteers who man the shops also have their own lives. Spokane COPS Treasurer Kelly Cruz said they’re very frugal with the money but still provide savings of at least $4.9 million in labor to the city.
He estimates the savings are enough to constitute a $10 return for every $1 the city provides.
“I just want to let you know that you are talking to a convicted felon,” one speaker told the council. “You are also talking to somebody who is a success story from those COPS shops.”
The Brown Administration told The Center Square that it intends to issue a Request for Proposals to make the process competitive. Communications Director Erin Hut said the funding would not come from the recently passed Community Safety Sales Tax.
“Funding sources will need to be approved by the city council, but our proposal is to pay for it through staff vacancy savings,” Hut wrote in a statement.
The contract for Spokane COPS expires next month, but Johnson said he’s unsure if they’ll be able to stay open that long if the RFP takes too long or reopen if the city changes its mind.
The Spokane City Council will adopt the 2025-2026 budget during a legislative meeting next month after making its own changes, which could include funding for the nonprofit.
