SPOKANE, Wash. – The Spokane City Council voted tonight to approve amended rules of procedure, creating more opportunities for community members to share their input on policy proposals.
Starting in 2025, the new rules will allow the public to provide verbal testimony at the council’s regular standing committee meetings, which will be held on Mondays at 12 p.m. These meetings will be open to the public both in person and virtually. The council will post instructions for signing up to testify on the committee agendas, which will be available online.
“I’m excited about the new weekly opportunities to hear from community members,” said Council President Wilkerson. “Community stakeholder feedback is critical for creating good policy, and these new rules allow us to hear from folks earlier and more frequently in the legislative process, ultimately allowing us to create legislation that better meets community needs.”
The updated rules also introduce a new option for written public comments to be included in the final legislative agenda packets. To be considered, written testimony must meet the following requirements:
– Be submitted via email to testimony@spokanecity.org
– Clearly identify the agenda item(s) being addressed (e.g., “Written Testimony on Resolution 2025-0001”)
– Include the submitter’s name
– Be no more than 250 words, excluding the email sender’s name, recipient, date, and subject line
– Be received by 5 p.m. on the Wednesday before the legislative meeting
While the council’s regular legislative meetings will remain at 6 p.m. on Mondays in 2025, Council President Wilkerson has directed staff to begin planning for potential changes to the meeting schedule, with the goal of incorporating those changes into the 2026 City Council Rules of Procedure.
