Spokane mailed a whopper of a utility bill this month: $57.4 million.

The bill, from the city to Spokane County, is the remnant of simmering tensions between the two local governments that threatens to spark lawsuits and derail other efforts at regional cooperation.

A yearslong fight over utility taxes that seemed to be resolved in 2022 boiled back up to the surface when Spokane Chief Financial Officer Matt Boston sent Spokane County officials the $57.4 million past-due bill.

“I really think they’ve blown up whatever trust was there between these jurisdictions,” Spokane County Commissioner Josh Kerns said. “We’re trying to do some big things here regionally, and I don’t know how you work with somebody that can just nonchalantly turn around and drop that on you.”

County officials argue

See Full Page