https://my.spokanecity.org/citycouncil/members/paul-dillon/

Councilmember Paul Dillon, 808 W Spokane Falls Boulevard, Spokane, WA (2026)

10/16/2026

COUNCIL RECAP: We had a busy legislative meeting this week with really powerful testimony.

We began the meeting with a proclamation from CP Wilkerson for the United Gospel Mission to recognize their 75 years of work in Spokane. 
We approved a lot of Board and Commission members. Too many to list individually but the list included Community Health and Human Services (CHHS), Transportation Commission and Climate, Resilience and Sustainability Board. Thank you all for stepping up!  
For contracts: 911 dispatch radios, Community Development Block Grant dollars, and legal fees for the Joshua Musselman case. All passed unanimously. 
We approved the joint resolution with the Park Board to support funding the Trust Land Transfer for the Thorpe Road Property in Latah Valley. This passed 7-0. 
We approved a resolution for continued asbestos surveying of fire impacted properties in the Spokane Complex Fires. This passed 7-0. 
One of the biggest votes of the night was a resolution to express opposition to initiatives I-001 and I-638 and reaffirm our city’s values of inclusion and respect. I want to thank everyone who shared such heartfelt testimony. This passed 6-1 with CM Cathcart voting no.  
We voted to establish a 0. 0.1% local option sales and use tax to fund the Community Safety Campus, mental health and emergency response. I posted about my support earlier this week but to recap: In 2025, the state authorized jurisdictions that meet best-practice policy and training requirements to use additional funding mechanisms to improve community safety. The bipartisan House Bill 2015 authorizes local councils to enact a 0.1% sales and use tax through a council legislative act.  We will now have historic capacity for mental health- related calls and getting the right response for the right call. While we are fully aware of the challenges with a sales tax, this will ultimately result in cost savings for residents on a system that is overburdened. This passed 6-1 with CM Cathcart voting no.  
For open forum, we heard commentary on immigration enforcement, West Hills Neighborhood, and homelessness.

10/13/2026

I love the quote by former Riverside Neighborhood Council Chair Pia Hallenberg: “Downtown is like the living room of Spokane” And with that, it’s important to take part in keeping it clean!

It was an honor to join the Downtown Spokane Partnership clean team and volunteers to kick off Fall Clean Week. It’s a great opportunity to be a good steward and help create a sense of belonging in our downtown core as well as learn more about all the work that goes into sweeping streets and alleys and maintaining green spaces. Shout out to the clean team that is doing this work seven days a week!

10/13/2026

Why are we considering a public safety sales tax?

I frequently disagreed with former Spokane Police Chief Miedl but one point we did agree on: police are not social workers. They should not be expected to be social workers. We have seen progress with behavioral health codeployed teams however they are unavailable in the evenings and weekends. The funding would change that capacity with a new alternative response model: 24/7 coverage, contracting with Peer Washington, clinicians on 911 dispatch and data analysts.

It’s best practice to use responders for mental health-related calls for service, behavioral-health crises, welfare checks, and the kind of quality-of-life calls that do not require a law enforcement response.

This will save lives.

A recent editorial by Gavin Cooley in the Spokesman Review said there was “no plan” with the funding. This is false.

These images are from the Finance and Administration Committee that covered the sales tax proposal as well as HB 2015 which the Washington State Legislature passed on a bipartisan vote. The law is linked to the proposal and full of requirements in order for us to accept $3.4 million to support this effort.

Leaving the Spokane County facilities for Municipal Court and public safety administration has long been a priority of past Mayors and Councils. (No, it is not a new jail.) I would challenge anyone to take a tour of our courts and see the black mold and exposed wiring and say we should keep the status quo. It’s not simply a tax to buy a building that will be a cost saver – nor a path to solving the budget deficit.

It’s about getting the right response to the right call.

As cities and counties make smarter investments and modernize to meet the moment, it is time for Spokane to catch up.

And I want to note: a sales tax sucks. While this is a small amount (1/10th of 1% so 10 cents on a $100 purchase – food and prescriptions exempted), until we have more revenue flexibility, it is the option we have from state law or unless we change the city charter. But this is worth it. It’s a long term solution that I truly believe will create a safer Spokane for all.

10/13/2026

Spokane showing up for Indigenous Peoples’ Day to celebrate our Indigenous communities and the history of our first residents.

And thank you Toni Lodge from The NATIVE Project for this beautiful gift. ❤️

10/11/2026

“Spokane City Councilmembers are raising their salaries…”

This. Is. False.

The below post later explains how the increase was recommended by the Salary Review Commission, an outside body. What is doesn’t mention is they were created by a vote of the people ten years ago at the request of former Mayor Condon. They have been entrusted to independently and objectively perform their duties with outside expertise.

There was a referendum effort. It fell significantly short of signatures to qualify. That’s democracy.

10/10/2026

What an inspiring time at the Maddie’s Place Birthday Party Block Party. It was great to connect with staff doing such moving work.

Located in District 2, the Spokane treatment center cares for infants born to mothers struggling with addiction. They provide specialized care that treats infants and parents together during the critical post-birth period. Of the 49 parents who stayed at Maddie’s Place full-time with their infants, 88% are in recovery today, in custody of their infant, and housed. I will continue to support their work and pull every lever we can to help keep services going, including the state bill that Sen. Marcus Riccelli has championed to help sustainably fund Maddie’s Place so they can access funding from Medicare and Medicaid.

It was also amazing to check out the new Maddie’s Closet (located at the old Gopher’s South Hill Outdoor Power) which provides free clothing, diapers, formula, furniture, and household goods to families building stability during and after recovery.

Thank you for all you do. ❤️

10/09/2026

COUNCIL RECAP: We began the meeting with a recognition from the Girl Scouts of the South Hill who led us in the pledge and CM Dixit recognized the youth cohort of Asians For Collective Liberation.

We had a salutation for Cliff Winger, an amazing neighborhood advocate for Shilo Hills and fought for traffic calming improvements that was read by CM Cathcart. His voice will be greatly missed.

We had a proclamation for Domestic Violence Action Week that was ready by CM Telis and presented to the YWCA of the Inland Northwest.

Mayor Brown presented on the Annual Statement of the Conditions and Affairs of the City that highlighted and thanked the actions of first responders during the Spokane Complex Fires as well as positive trends for public safety and housing.

We held two hearings and adopted interim zoning ordinances as part of our ongoing policy response and recovery for the Spokane Complex Fires: The first was for regulatory relief to support zoning changes in the rebuild and the second was for Temporary Disaster Housing to help wave ongoing permits and fees. This passed unanimously.

For pending legislation, we heard commentary in support of the Thorpe Road Resolution and much in support of the resolution to oppose two state ballot initiatives that would harm LGBTQ + youth. Final vote next week!

On our contracts and claims, we had a $100K increase for the legal defense on the death of Joshua Musselman that was deferred.

We approved salary and payscale adjustments as part of our quarterly changes for city staff on a vote of 5-1 with CM Cathcart voting no.

We approved surge beds to expand shelter capacity during inclement weather ahead of winter. This passed unanimously.

For open forum, we heard commentary on an incident at Unity In The Community (this resulted in a ten-minute recess after a protest in the chambers), police accountability, West Hills neighborhood concerns, Cliff Winger, homelessness and the Salary Review Commission.

That’s it for now, thanks for reading!

10/08/2026

One month ago, we stood together at the Thorpe Property to celebrate its designation as a public park as part of the state’s Trust Land Transfer program.

And today we are moving forward with a resolution to request the state to fund the transfer of the park as a 2027 budget request.

More than twice the size of Riverfront Park, this will be a historic benefit to not just the city but the region’s access to public lands. We know how critical preserving this land is to constituents and we are committed to seeing this through to the finish line.

The final vote will be next Wednesday, October 17th and the Park Board is also moving forward with a concurrent resolution. Thank you all for your continued support!

10/02/2026

After living in Cheney, I rented my first apartment in 2004 at the age of 21 for $345. I lived there four years. The rent increased to $350. That’s right. $5.  
I rented a historic cutaway in Browne’s Addition for $450. Moved again.  
I rented a two bedroom in lower Cliff Cannon for $645. I lived there four years. My rent never increased. Moved again.  
I rented a loft downtown that was more expensive. I rented a friend’s room in the Latah Valley for much cheaper thanks to her kindness and generosity.  
My wife and I bought a house in 2017. It was a fixer upper. (Well. Still is.) Built in 1905, it’s where we started a family. A dream come true.  
I had good landlords. I had bad landlords. One put a bucket over a bed when there was a water bubble in the ceiling that eventually exploded. ( Not good.) When you rent, you might move a lot. I’ve lived in every Council District in Spokane. These experiences are why I am so passionate about affordability. It’s not just a buzzword for me.  
It’s why I sponsored ordinances like rent notification and eviction diversion as well as affordable housing incentives. I think about what it was like in my 20s donating plasma to help pay rent or denied a rental application because I didn’t have a credit score.  
Following the transition from renter to homeowner, the world changed. Rent and home prices surged after the COVID-19 pandemic because of severe supply constraints.

As of last year in Spokane, 52.1% of renters were rent-burdened, and 28.3% of renters paid more than 50% of their monthly income on housing costs. This is unacceptable. While there are good indicators of moving in the right direction that success depends on meeting the need for more housing options but especially affordable housing as stated in yesterday’s post. Across the city.  
So hopefully someone can build their life through renting or home ownership if they want. Spokane’s selling point for so long was its comparative affordability. It still can be. For now, too much of the response to increased housing in Spokane reminds me of that bucket once above my bed: hoping the emergency will just go away on its own. That first apartment is a lot more today.

10/01/2026

“There’s no development in Spokane. You’re pushing everyone to Idaho.” 
Or.  
“You just work for developers.” 
Both statements have been constant over the year. I keep thinking about “Once In A Lifetime” by Talking Heads…well, how did I get here? 
As the second biggest city in the state, we are in a housing shortage. However, after a lull, Spokane has permitted the highest number of multifamily units since 1993. We are on pace to construct a thousand units this year and if that trend continues we will hit our goal after completing a land capacity analysis that we need to accommodate roughly 20K new residents by 2046. 
That’s progress but to make housing more affordable, we need to build more housing. And we need housing of all types but especially affordable housing. 
Three recent examples in District 2 come to mind:  
Slide 1: The District in Perry (yes, it has covered parking)
Slide 2: The Koz on 4th Ave which is workforce housing (nurses, teachers, students – rent starts at $900 a month)
Slide 3: St. Agnes in West Hills (split between affordable housing for families/behavioral health support – 60% of area median income) 
Notice these examples are building up, not out. If you are concerned about our city’s sprawl and how that interfaces with wildfire risk, we must focus on utilizing our existing infrastructure – primarily along transit. We are getting a lot of opposition to the Comprehensive Plan - comments due by Friday! - and I know there are multiple concerns with draft growth maps and it is not going ignored. We keep hearing that residents understand the need for more housing…but these projects are destroying entire neighborhoods. A city’s growing pains. 
On Monday, many of us helped break ground at a Habitat For Humanity affordable housing home ownership program that was made possible because of the Building Opportunity and Choices for All ordinance. A neighbor expressed tears of joy at the families who would be moving in next door. 
It was a reminder of the voices we do not hear from: The ones who will now have a roof over their heads.

Councilmember Paul Dillon

10/16/2026

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10/13/2026

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10/11/2026

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