City officials in Spokane, facing a $12 million budget shortfall, are now considering a potpourri of new taxes and fees to fill the gap.
In addition to asking for a 1% hike in property taxes, Mayor Mary Verner is supporting a new vehicle tab fee in Spokane. The $20 fee would boost the cost of vehicle licensing for Spokane residents to $63.75 per year. It was just 11 years ago that Washington voters approved I-695, capping licensing fees at $30 per year. Cities in Washington are allowed to add vehicle licensing fees on top of the state fees.
The Mayor says the city will use the money for street maintenance, despite proclamations from council members that it would be used elsewhere to fill budget holes.
Meantime, Spokane City Councilmember Richard Rush wants to impose another new tax on pay parking lots, to the tune of $75 per space. The money will be passed on to shoppers and workers who use those spaces in downtown Spokane.
If all of these are passed, the average Spokane resident is likely to pay more than $200 a year in additional taxes- just to the city of Spokane. That doesn't include the more than $800 million in new taxes passed by the legislature in Olympia in the last session.
The $12 million shortfall is not because Spokane residents are not generous in paying their taxes. Rather, it is because the city overspends the money it already has in the bank. It needs look no further than union worker contracts. In 2011, the city of Spokane's police union is getting another week and a half of paid vacation and a 4% salary raise. Private sector workers in Spokane are struggling through the recession and not getting extra vacation time and pay increases.
During an economic downtown, government officials have to get creative. Raising taxes and fees on voters to fill a budget gap and increase union contracts is not creative. It will only hurt the local economy in the short and long term.
