(The Center Square) – A majority of voters are considering leaving Spokane, citing taxes, questionable leadership and public safety issues as the reasons, according to a recent survey by Greater Spokane Incorporated.
GSI released the fourth Spokane Pulse Survey on Tuesday based on interviews with 600 voters in the city of Spokane, Spokane Valley and Spokane County.
While overall quality of life rose slightly compared to last fall, from 3.3 to 3.7 out of 10 countywide, homelessness and public safety remain the voters’ top concerns.
Overall, 72% voters told GSI that the local governments have enough money to address these issues, but only 26% trust that their elected officials have an effective plan to address them.
GSI CEO Alisha Benson said this “notable shift” around taxes underscores a growing concern around the region’s cost of living.
“We can’t afford to ignore the affordability issues facing our region,” Benson told reporters on Tuesday.
According to GSI’s survey, 65% of the respondents are considering moving out of the Spokane region.
Of those 395 voters, 21% are considering leaving because of taxes, 19% cited government leadership, 17% pointed to the cost of living, 13% to public safety, and 7% reported homelessness as the reason.
Across all 600 respondents, 38% reported homelessness as their top concern, down 8% from last fall.
The shift follows a new camping ban that the Spokane City Council passed not long after the last GSI poll.
The second-highest issue cited by voters in the most recent survey was public safety, with 24% listing it as their top concern, down 12% from last fall, as more people start to worry about the local economy.
“Eight in 10 voters say they’re concerned about their finances,” Kevin White, director of EMC Research, which conducted the survey with GSI, said Tuesday, “including 43% saying they are very concerned.”
High taxes and the cost of living were the third and fourth issues that voters are most concerned with, after 16% cited taxes and 14% cited the latter, with both issues rising 6% each compared to last fall.
While the Valley’s budget is facing increasing pressures, the city of Spokane and Spokane County have both grappled with back-to-back multi-million-dollar deficits.
Spokane will likely face another heading into 2027, and the Board of County Commissioners just announced a $25 million deficit on Monday.
In terms of public safety, most voters said taxpayer funding should be prioritized for mental health and addiction treatment resources, hiring more police officers and building sobriety and detention facilities.
“There’s not a lot of trust … in local government to spend tax dollars responsibly,” White said Tuesday.
This survey comes ahead of a regional task force issuing recommendations later this month that local officials can use to develop a proposal for a new jail, treatment facilities and mental health resources.
The last jail tax proposal failed overwhelmingly in 2023 after critics argued it sidelined other priorities.
According to the survey, 66% of respondents believe it’s important to fund new behavioral health and sobriety facilities; 51% believe it’s important to fund a new detention facility, down 4% from last fall.
While voters may signal support now, the priorities will still need to win them over on a future ballot.
“The work of rebuilding trust and making progress isn’t going to happen overnight,” Benson said.
