The City of Spokane provides a host of critical services from police and fire protection to maintenance of streets to programs for our youth and low-income residents. To provide those services in 2004, the City has planned a budget of $409 million. That money comes from taxes, charges for services, and other revenue streams from local state, and federal sources.

The City’s budget is designed to provide the services desired by our citizenry and to support the nine priorities identified by the City Council:

• Economic Development.
• Rebuilding & Maintaining Infrastructure.
• Public Safety.
• Quality Service Delivery.
• Neighborhood Services.
• Corporate Communications.
• Cultural Diversity & Racial Equity.
• Implementation of Growth Management.
• Support of Human Services.

About 30 percent of the 2004 budget, or about $122 million, will go to pay for general government services, which include police, fire, streets, parks and recreation, the City library system, Municipal Court, historic preservation, arts, youth, communications, engineering services, and human services, among other things. About half of the City’s employees work in departments funded by the general fund. Money comes into the general fund through taxes: property taxes, retail sales and use taxes, utility taxes and franchise fees, and business license fees. Property tax and sales tax are the two largest contributors to the City’s general fund. The top five departments funded by general tax dollars include: police, fire, parks, streets, and library services. Together, those top five programs make up about 80 percent of the total general fund, with more than half of the general fund going to police and fire services alone.

Another 42.5 percent, or $174 million, will pay for services under the City’s enterprise funds. Enterprise funds are those that are supported entirely by fees for service and use no general tax dollars. Those services traditionally include wastewater collection and treatment, water distribution, solid waste collection and disposal, building permit operations, and golf course operations.

The remaining 27.5 percent of the City’s budget, or $113 million, is reserved for capital projects such as major arterial street projects, debt service on general government bonds, and special dedicated revenue and other funds, which include local law enforcement block grant monies, human services grants funds, and the municipal art projects fund, to name a few. In addition, the City also has what are called “internal services” funds. These are internal programs, including fleet services, management and information services, and purchasing, that charge a fee to other City departments to cover their services.