Spokane council approves $100,000 for immigrant relief, advances PSAP and adds 10 firefighter positions

Council Member Kitty Klitsky, of Northwest Spokane, said this week that the Spokane City Council approved several measures including allocating $100,000 for immigrant relief, advancing the setup of a public safety answering point (PSAP) and hiring a PSAP director, and adding 10 firefighter positions.

"We approved a $100,000 for immigrant relief," Klitsky said, summarizing the council's actions. The council did not provide vote tallies or identify a specific funding source in the recap; those details were described only as an approved allocation.

Klitsky also said the council "approved the administrative steps towards setting up our public safety answering point for the PSAP and hired Stephen Williams to be its director." The PSAP is the central 911 call-taking and dispatch function; the announcement describes internal administrative approval and an appointment but does not list hiring procedures, contract terms, or an effective start date.

On public safety staffing, Klitsky said, "We added 10 firefighter positions to accommodate a new firefighter academy class." The recap did not state the budgetary line items or ongoing cost estimates tied to the positions.

Klitsky noted the council made "several amendments to council rules" during agenda review but did not detail the specific rule changes in the recap. She also previewed items on next week's agenda, including additional consideration of council rules, proposals addressing immigration and enforcement free zones, and a proposed kratom ban.

The council recap directed residents to the council website (www.spokanecity.org/council) for more information. The recap itself did not include vote counts, mover/second information, or ordinance/resolution numbers for the actions mentioned; those procedural details and supporting documents are expected to appear in formal minutes or forthcoming meeting packets.

Votes and actions at a glance: The council approved the $100,000 allocation for immigrant relief (amount specified; vote tally not specified), advanced administrative steps to create a public safety answering point and hired Stephen Williams as PSAP director (appointment announced; contract terms and start date not specified), and approved adding 10 firefighter positions for an upcoming academy class (headcount specified; budget breakdown not specified).