Spokane Transit Authority waffles on tax renewal vote amid whispers of opposition campaign

A possible tax for a new jail and to boost public safety may derail plans to ask voters this summer to renew the sales tax that pays for Spokane's bus system.

The Spokane Transit Authority board on Thursday decided to wait until at least April 29 to determine how and when to ask voters to renew its sales tax so that board members can hear concerns from business interests at an April 28 meeting held by Greater Spokane Incorporated.

Roughly 75% of the agency's operating revenues come from a .08% sales tax, which was increased by 0.2% with voter approval in 2016, an increase which is set to expire at the end of 2028.

Most board members appear eager to get a tax renewal on the ballot as soon as possible, uncertain if voters will approve it the first time and concerned that an $82 million commitment from the federal government to expand rapid bus routes could evaporate if the agency cannot quickly prove its long-term financial stability.

Voters rejected a 0.3% tax with no sunset in 2015 before approving the lower, time-limited tax the year after.

Some board members proposed placing renewal on an August ballot, and this time without a sunset clause that forces future renewal votes.

But other board members argued strongly against removing a sunset clause, believing it was the only way for voters to hold them accountable, as board members are not directly elected to the agency. A minority on the board worried Thursday that supporters of an as-yet unspecified tax to pay for a new jail and other criminal justice services view the STA sales tax renewal as competition that and may campaign against the transit renewal. Voters overwhelmingly rejected a tax for a new jail in 2023.

"Can STA handle a campaign against the ballot measure in August?" asked Spokane Valley Councilwoman and STA board member Pam Haley during Thursday's meeting. "I question that. And have I been told that there will be a concerted effort against the ballot measure if we go in August? Yes."

Not all opponents to an August timeline pointed to external forces to explain their opposition.

"I'm not going to support putting anything on the August ballot, because the one in November is far too important," said Spokane County Commissioner and STA board member Josh Kerns, who insisted that the agency could wait until 2028 for renewal and dismissed concerns about potentially losing federal funds.

Nearly two years after Spokane County voters rejected a $1.7 billion criminal justice tax measure, supporters and opponents of that 2023 proposal came together in late 2025 to try to draft a compromise plan to address public safety, homelessness, addiction and mental health. At the time, organizers of the "Safe and Healthy Task Force" optimistically estimated a new tax proposal could be drafted and placed on a 2026 ballot, though it is increasingly unlikely it would come sooner than November.

It's not unusual for jurisdictions to worry about the timing of multiple tax proposals, fearing voters who may support either in a vacuum would balk at their combined costs. The Spokane parks levy, for instance, was delayed three times before landing on the Nov. 2025 ballot, in part so it wouldn't poison the well for Mayor Lisa Brown's 2024 community safety levy; in the end, both saw success on their respective ballots.

STA officials had gone so far as to propose offering a "tax holiday" at the beginning of the renewal period by dropping the tax rate from 0.2% to 0.1% and dipping into the agency's reserves for a few years, making the transit agency's tax ask less imposing to avoid stepping on the toes of the jail tax. But a majority of board members expressed varying degrees of discomfort delaying or diminishing funding for the agency they oversaw for the sake of an unrelated criminal justice tax proposal, particularly one that had not been fully formed yet.

Early in the meeting Thursday, Greater Spokane Incorporated officer Lance Beck urged the board to delay a decision until April 29 so that board members could attend an April 28 meeting hosted by GSI and further discuss the proposal. Beck made no mention of specific concerns from the business community.

At least one board member felt the request was an effort to derail the transit agency's summer renewal timeline.

"None of this has been hidden. None of it's been cloistered away. This initiative has been on the table since October, and if they haven't decided or haven't taken advantage of that up until now, personally, this feels like a delaying action," said Airway Heights Councilman Bill Campbell, noting the deadline to get on the August ballot was May 1.

"This feels like a deliberate attempt to derail us getting it onto the August ballot, because the 28th to the 1st, that's not a very large window, and any doubt, any confusion, any second guessing is liable to completely derail the August ballot," he continued. "And I can't help but feel that that is their intent."

Haley claimed that GSI has made a specific commitment to campaign against the transit agency if it placed the measure on the August ballot, but also argued that they could be dissuaded if board members met with them and made their case for a swift renewal.

Sheriff John Nowels' name also was repeatedly invoked at the meeting as a potential opponent of the STA tax in August; in a brief Thursday interview, Nowels denied any intention to do so. However, he did share concerns that placing the sales tax renewal on the August ballot could sour voters on a potential public safety sales tax measure later in the year. He argued the transportation agency could wait until February to run the renewal on a special election ballot. Spokane Councilman Michael Cathcart on Thursday proposed a February measure but found little support from the rest of the board.

At least one board member, Spokane County Commissioner Al French, appeared to have already determined the renewal effort would be doomed regardless of timing or tax holiday. In an earlier committee meeting, he argued that the board had lost the public's trust, noting that some of its members advocate for free or reduced fares or for expanding the board to include non-elected members.

French has long lobbied against reducing fares, arguing that it would attract criminals to the bus system and breaks trust with voters, who he believed only approved prior funding packages because they expected the agency would charge fares.

"The conversation about free fare, that will kill this ballot measure, and yet there continue to be board members that raise that as a possibility," French said. "Without the sunset clause, that will become a reality ... I don't trust this board."

Asked whether adding a sunset clause would reinvigorate French's support, he said no.

He seemed less concerned about conflicts with the criminal justice tax, arguing at the earlier meeting that there was no chance that the Safe and Healthy Task Force would be prepared for a 2026 ballot.

Editor's note: This story was updated Friday morning to correct that STA collects a 0.8% sales tax levy, of which only 0.2% is coming up for renewal. The story was also updated to provide additional context behind the failed 2015 tax increase.

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This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 11:37 PM.