SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane Regional Emergency Communications (SREC) Board of Directors announced Thursday that discussions with the city of Spokane over including the city in its regional emergency communication system have ended.
SREC runs emergency services for most of the county. With this decision, the SREC board says the city is expected to establish its own emergency services by January 6, 2026.
Discussions have been going on between SREC and the city for a while, with Mayor Lisa Brown bringing up concerns over board representation and transparency.
Mayor Brown said in a statement that she was disappointed by this decision.
“As my team has been assessing SREC’s governance and financials over the past year, SREC has consistently provided us with unreasonable deadlines, an artificial sense of urgency, and answers to our questions that underscore their own lack of certainty behind parts of their user-fee model.On multiple occasions, the City of Spokane has offered solutions – like jointly identifying a neutral facilitator – intended to move us collectively toward a resolution, but SREC has been disagreeable and unwilling to consider our recommendations. SREC also rejected our request to maintain the status quo for another year while we ascertain clarity around user fees and craft service-level agreements to ensure the needs of City of Spokane residents are met.”
SREC said the city’s stance on legislation like HB 1258, which would direct county tax dollars to address the city’s financial and public safety challenges, shows a growing divide in priorities.
“SREC remains fully committed to public safety and to our role as a regional partner for all law enforcement and fire agencies across the region,” said Cody Rohrbach, SREC Board Chair and Spokane County Fire District 3 Chief. “The City of Spokane’s decision to value its own needs to the detriment of the broader region leaves the Board no choice but to move forward independently.”
The city has said previously it will have a blueprint planned out for operating its own emergency services. Spokane Police already has its own dispatch system separate from SREC.
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