SPOKANE, WA — The City of Spokane is grappling with a growing fiscal crisis: it can no longer afford to pay Spokane County for its share of jail beds. As of mid-July, the city has accumulated two months of unpaid jail bills, amounting to roughly $1 million, according to City Management and Budget Director Jessica Stratton.
At the heart of the issue is the city’s Criminal Justice Assistance Fund, a financial reserve that has traditionally covered the cost of jail bed use since 2007. Funded by the state’s criminal justice sales tax, it once held a healthy balance due to tax revenues exceeding operational costs. But that financial cushion has now been completely depleted.
“This was more than sustainable at the time,” Stratton said during a special budget hearing. “But the pandemic forced tough choices.”
Pandemic-Era Spending Dried Up the Fund
During COVID-19, the city began drawing from the fund to cover a range of other public safety-related expenses. These included the police department’s Axon body camera contract, electronic monitoring programs, court interpreter fees, and over $6 million in homeless services and related administration between 2022 and 2023.
While all of these expenditures were legally permitted under a 2021 state fiscal flexibility bill, they drained the account entirely. Now, the cost of jail bed use has outpaced incoming tax revenue, leaving the city without a dedicated means of paying its share.
Rising Jail Costs Add Pressure
Meanwhile, the cost to operate the county jail has risen sharply, growing from $40.3 million in 2021 to over $53.2 million in 2024. Spokane County spokesperson Pat Bell explained that increased costs are largely driven by labor contracts, benefits, overtime, and 24/7 operations.
“The county is required to provide a statutory level of care for inmates. As the population grows or changes, those costs shift as well,” Bell said.
While the county absorbs most operating expenses, contracting agencies like Spokane share in the burden. The city’s financial obligation has grown significantly: in 2021, it paid $4 million for about 10% of total jail bed use. In 2024, that jumped to nearly $7.5 million for roughly 14% of bed usage.
Jurisdictional Complexities and Ongoing Studies
Responsibility for jail costs is determined by the type of charge and jurisdiction. Felony cases fall under county jurisdiction, while misdemeanor cases are the financial responsibility of the city. If an individual faces both charge types, the county pays for incarceration, but the burden can be uneven.
The county has been conducting a multi-year cost study to determine whether cities should begin paying proportionally for jail stays tied to misdemeanor charges. However, no formal changes have been implemented yet.
“It’s still an ongoing study at the county level,” Bell said, noting the need for a more equitable cost-sharing structure.
An Outdated Agreement and an Uncertain Future
Currently, the city and county operate under an interlocal agreement from 2011, which renews automatically unless action is taken. As unpaid bills mount, it’s unclear what steps either party might take.
“It’s hypothetical at this point,” Bell said. “But if the city chose to house inmates in another county or build a municipal jail, the contract requires 180-days’ notice.”
There’s no clear precedent for this type of standoff, and both the city and county now face an uneasy reality: rising incarceration costs, stagnant funding, and a strained interlocal agreement that hasn’t been updated in over a decade.
What Comes Next?
Without new revenue streams or a renegotiated contract, Spokane’s inability to pay for jail beds may escalate from a budget shortfall into a full-blown public safety dilemma.
City officials have yet to present a formal solution, and time is running out. Whether through state aid, tax increases, policy reform, or inter-county collaboration, Spokane will need to act quickly — or risk a breakdown in one of its most essential criminal justice services.
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