(Updated at 7:10 a.m. Tuesday, July 9, with scheduled date of City Council action.)

Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown is proposing a sales-tax increase that's due to appear on the general-election ballot in November.

If successful, the measure would increase the sales tax in the city by one-tenth of one percent, or by $1 for every $1,000 spent. 

The City Council is scheduled to consider the ballot measure at its July 22 meeting. 

The mayor's office is referring to the proposed tax increase as a Community Safety Sales Tax. The city is projecting that the increase would generate about $7.7 million annually, with 15% going to Spokane County. 

A release from the city states that the city would use the additional funds toward replacing outdated fire equipment, improving and potentially building fire stations, relaunching the neighborhood resource officer program, and developing a traffic safety unit, as well as some "community resilience" plans for serving the community in extreme weather conditions. 

The city plans to make budget cuts simultaneously to address its current deficits. 

The measure is the fourth public safety-related ballot measure proposed to city residents in the past six years. Voters countywide rejected Measure 1 last fall, would have funded a new jail and other law-enforcement initiatives. In 2022, voters in the city approved an emergency medical services levy, and in 2019, they approved a property-tax increase to fund the hiring of additional police officers, firefighters, and to fund crime-reduction programs.