Community engagement at risk
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – City leaders are dealing with a $23,000 tax revenue gap that could impact public safety initiatives and community outreach efforts. During last Monday’s city council meeting on Nov. 25, the city council discussed potential ways to avoid cutting certain city programs.
City Manager Albert Tripp said he was concerned the gap might lead to potential cuts to engagement programs, which he said are critical to maintaining the city’s investments in community engagement.
“We’ve effectively eliminated city engagement, which is something I’m concerned about,” he said. “I’m worried it’ll go by the wayside; and that all the investments the city has made over the last couple of years, the safety campus and support for police officers, because we can’t communicate with [the public] without community engagement.”
He noted that there were some proposed reductions that include what will be on the ballot in 2025.
Larry Bowman mentioned the public safety levy which passed this August managed to get more resources for the police.
Bowman said, “In addition to that, we came up a little short.”
“Today we had an anonymous donor give us a $3,000 check,” he mentioned, optimistically. “It’s the whole approach to community engagement.”
Clare is an Eastern Washington University graduate and a reporter at Free Press Publishing.
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