Questions and answers about proposed property-tax increase

Q. How much would the bond cost citizens if it passes?

A. Property owners with homes worth $100,000 would pay an extra $21 a year for six years. That would increase the amount of property taxes those homeowners pay the city to $181 a year from $160. Property taxes would go back to $160 in 2011, unless other changes are made between now and then.

Q. How did Spokane County pay for full-width paving before the city incorporated?

A. As residents of the unincorporated county, Spokane Valley citizens paid a road tax of $1.81 per $1,000 of assessed property value. That money could only be spent on streets, so a portion of it was used to pave roads in conjunction with the Septic Tank Elimination Program.

The city cannot levy a road tax. If it wants to improve streets, it must use a portion of the $1.60 per $1,000 it collects in property taxes or revenues it receives from sales taxes. That would come from the same pot that pays for police, parks and other city services.

Q. Don’t we pay for full-width paving when we’re charged to connect to the sewer system?

A. No. The $5,000 charge to connect to the sewer system goes directly to the county. Road improvements are now handled by the city of Spokane Valley through a contract it has with the county. As the county installs sewer lines, it only pays to patch the holes it digs.

“The only thing calculated into construction cost and then put into the connection expense is installation and repaving the trenches,” City Manager Dave Mercier said. “Full width is an extra.”

Q. What is required to pass the bond?

A. The measure requires a 60 percent majority to pass. At least 6,172 citizens — or 40 percent of the turnout at the last general election — will have to vote for the election to be valid.

Q. What happens if the bond fails?

A. The county STEP program will continue to replace septic tanks with hookups to the sewer system, but the roads no longer would be fully paved. Instead, the roads would be patched after sewer lines go in, just as they were before 1997.