License tax gets tepid support

A countywide vehicle license tax for road work might be OK if local needs came first, Spokane Valley City Council members said Tuesday.

The council also heard staff proposals to raise municipal fees, to revise and introduce a variety of regulations, to develop a neighborhood park next to the Park Road swimming pool and to ban parking on part of Shannon Avenue.

By consensus, the council supported Mayor Rich Munson’s suggestion that the city should support a countywide vehicle tax only if it puts local needs ahead of regional needs and allows cities to decide how to spend their share of the money.

Councilman Dick Denenny said a $100-per-vehicle license fee – the maximum rate under the newly authorized tax – would raise about $40 million a year, but local governments have identified $44 million to $50 million in needed road construction.

Denenny also objected that the tax, which would require voter approval, wouldn’t grow as costs rise.

That’s why Spokane and Spokane Valley officials continue to seek state approval of a more generous street utility tax.

Munson said Spokane County officials, facing a $10 million-a-year road maintenance deficit, also would like a street utility tax, but state law reserves utility taxes for cities. So, Munson said, county officials are pushing for a countywide vehicle license fee.

A countywide “transportation benefit district” would require the support of 60 percent of the county’s cities – and the supporting cities must have 75 percent of the county’s incorporated population. That puts Spokane and Spokane Valley in the driver’s seat.

In a related item, the Spokane Valley council gave its blessing to a countywide wish list of “shovel-ready” transportation projects to take to the state Legislature.

Councilman Bill Gothmann said he thought a list-topping $300 million request for the North Spokane Freeway was appropriate because the project will benefit Spokane Valley. But Councilman Steve Taylor objected that federal highways should be paid with state and federal money, not local taxes.

If state leaders don’t agree, “maybe we need new leaders,” Taylor said.

In other business Tuesday, the council discussed a number of regulatory changes. Most were housekeeping items, but one would introduce restrictions on residential yard lights.

In response to complaints about neighbors with industrial-strength yard lights, city officials propose to require shields on light fixtures. The shields would be designed to focus light downward in an effort to confine it to the owner’s property.

Enforcement would be complaint-driven, officials said.

Council members had reservations when Finance Director Ken Thompson proposed increases in city fees. They called for more study before putting the increases on a future agenda.

Thompson said most of the fees hadn’t been increased since 2003, but city costs have gone up 16 percent a year. He singled out a handful of fees for special consideration and proposed a 10 percent increase for the rest.

Council members objected that some fees had been adjusted more recently and shouldn’t be hiked again.

One current fee isn’t worth collecting, Thompson said. He called for the $5 fee for an event permit to be increased or dropped.

It probably costs more than $5 to write a receipt, Thompson said. He suggested a $50 charge although he estimated the city’s actual cost at $200 to $300.

Council members had concerns about discouraging neighborhood events such as National Night Out parties. They called for more study, including the possibility of a two-tier rate structure.

Thompson’s proposal introduced some new fees, such as a $250 charge for meetings in which city officials discuss development projects with proponents before proponents submit their applications.

Councilman Taylor didn’t like the idea of requiring the meetings and charging for them, but Councilman Denenny said the sessions prevent a lot of problems.

Taylor said he thought officials in other jurisdictions consider Spokane Valley’s fees the highest in the county. Thompson contended Spokane Valley charges more than Spokane County, but not as much as Spokane.

Denenny asked for a more formal comparison.

Also Tuesday, the City Council endorsed a proposal to seek $300,000 from the Legislature to buy 2.1 acres of land at the south edge of the 2-acre Park Road swimming pool grounds. Parks Director Mike Stone said the extra land would allow development of a neighborhood park.

The council also agreed to consider a West Valley School District request for a parking ban in the cul de sac end of Shannon Avenue to ensure that school buses have room to turn around.