Spokane business fees going up

The cost to register a business in Spokane is likely to go up a few bucks next year, although it’ll be a smaller increase than at the start of 2023.

Starting next year, the basic fee to register a business in Spokane will increase from $127 to $131 per year if the proposal is approved by the City Council later this month.

Most for-profit businesses also have to pay an additional $15 fee, as well as a per-person fee that varies from $10 to $20 depending on the number of personnel, neither of which are changing from last year.

The basic registration fee is typically increased annually at a rate pegged to inflation and jumped up from $120 to $127 at the start of 2023.

“These business fees, the way they’re incrementally phased is the approach we should be using for all of our fee schedules,” Mayor Nadine Woodward said in a brief interview. “We’ve had the challenge in the last year or two of updating the transportation impacts fees and (general facilities charges) after 20 years of not updating the schedule and trying to do that all in one year.”

PayneWest joins Marsh McLennan

Effective earlier this week, Fortune 500 company Marsh McLennan Agency finalized its acquisition of PayneWest Insurance.

PayneWest’s offices, including two in Spokane and others located in Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon, officially changed their names on Tuesday, which was the final step to complete its transition to Marsh McLennan, according to Anne Costilla, spokeswoman for the major insurance broker.

The acquisition was first announced in April 2021 but took full effect upon the recent name change.

With global reach and annual revenues topping $20 billion, Marsh McLennan will offer previous PayneWest offices more resources, partnerships and opportunities, Chairman and Founder Terry Payne said in a news release.

“It’s never been about the name. It’s all about the colleagues and what we do,” he said. “Operations will remain the same as they have always been, focusing on taking care of our clients, colleagues and communities.”

PayneWest Insurance makes up the entirety of the Northwest region of Marsh McLennan Agency.

Locations will host events to introduce the name change to their communities in September and October, according to a company statement.

From staff reports