Spokane Valley City Council pauses push for new utility tax

Businesses and residents angered by a proposed utility tax spent the weekend pressuring Spokane Valley City Council members to reconsider the new tax.

Their efforts worked.

Late Monday, council members appeared to pull possible passage of the new 6 percent tax off Tuesday’s meeting agenda, but the council will still hold a public hearing.

“The public hearing will happen because it’s already been announced and we can’t take that back,” Councilman Ed Pace said.

Pace said he’d heard from many people who were upset about the proposed tax, and also angry that a hearing and first reading, which is the initial step toward passage, was scheduled for a meeting on a presidential election night.

Former Spokane Valley Mayor Dean Grafos, who left the City Council earlier this year, said he doesn’t recall having a council meeting on a national election night while he was mayor.

“The council probably scheduled the meeting on election night by design hoping no one will show up,” Grafos said.

But Pace said that’s not the case.

“There is no underhanded intentions here. We are not trying to hide anything,” Pace said.

Last week, the Spokane Valley City Council proposed the 6 percent utility tax on water, power, garbage, sewer and natural gas, angering residents who say Spokane Valley was founded partly on a promise of “no more taxes.”

That’s also the slogan of Rep. Matt Shea, as well as a slogan Pace keeps repeating from the dais and a promise that he, Councilman Sam Wood, Deputy Mayor Arne Woodard and Mayor Rod Higgins all used in their election campaigns.

The new utility tax would replace dwindling tax revenue coming in from a 6 percent utility tax on phone lines that’s been used to finance street maintenance. The phone tax would go away if the new tax is passed.

Spokane Valley Councilwoman Pam Haley said she’s concerned that it’s too high a tax for people on fixed incomes and for many businesses.

“We are trying to bring manufacturing businesses into Spokane Valley,” Haley said. “This may actually keep manufacturing companies out instead.”

Also on the Tuesday evening agenda is a public hearing on the proposed Comprehensive Plan and the first reading to adopt that plan, as well as the second reading of the 2017 budget.

Spokane Valley Clerk Chris Bainbridge said the city doesn’t have a set policy on whether it holds council meetings on election nights.

Haley recognized it’s a big agenda but said it’s the result of “bad timing” because the end of the year is getting closer and the council has a lot of business to get through before the holidays.

Spokane Valley resident Mike Walton, who’s opposed to the utility tax, said it shouldn’t be on the agenda on a presidential election night.

“People are likely to be home watching the national election,” Walton said. “It’s like putting something on the agenda on a Super Bowl night.” He added that if Spokane Valley is growing as fast as the council reports, then there should be plenty of property tax revenue to cover street maintenance.

Thane Larson, a single unemployed parent of two young children, said he simply can’t afford to pay more taxes and the council needs to look for the road construction money somewhere else.

Haley, the City Council member, tended to agree.

“We have to continue to apply for state and federal funding for our roads,” Haley said. “It’s just like at my house: We can’t get everything every time we want it.”