News
Council Raises Parking Tax, Authorizes New License Fee
This afternoon, the city council voted (almost) unanimously to raise the city's commercial parking tax, currently 10 percent, to 12.5 percent. The extra money---about $5.4 million a year---would pay for initial design work on the waterfront seawall replacement. Mayor Mike McGinn has supported increasing the tax from 10 to 15 or 20 percent to help fill a $7.8 million hole in the city's transportation budget; McGinn doesn't support the council's seawall funding plan both because it would eliminate some of that potential funding and because he wanted the council to put a full, $241 million seawall funding measure on the ballot last spring.
Only council member Mike O'Brien, a frequent McGinn ally, voted against raising the parking tax.
The city may waive the tax for the University of Washington, which has argued that it will jeopardize the university's U-Pass program, which gives students and staff cheap transportation from buses, commuter rail, light rail, vanpools, and carpools. That program is paid for partly by UW parking fees.
O'Brien said he didn't oppose the idea of increasing the parking tax, but that he didn't think the council should pass it so soon before McGinn presents his budget next week. Additionally, O'Brien reiterated McGinn's concern about spending the parking tax on the seawall instead of coming up "with a comprehensive plan for how we're going to fund the whole seawall project as quickly as possible." Finally, he said he wasn't sure that projects like the Mercer West project, which would expand Mercer from four to seven lanes for five blocks, are the best use of limited city transportation money. "We need to look at it in the context of our other transportation funding needs," O'Brien said.
In response, council transportation committee chair Tom Rasmussen pointed out that McGinn himself has pushed to move forward with seawall planning even more quickly than the council's proposal would. "The mayor has urged us to make a decision on that very quickly," Rasmussen said. "As a matter of fact, he wanted to bring it before voters in the spring. I think we have adequate information. ... This will take one decision off our plate."
The council voted unanimously to create a transportation improvement district that could allow the council to impose a $20 license fee on drivers in Seattle. That would raise about $6.8 million for transportation projects a year. And they voted to create a new, 12-member board to decide how that money, which will be collected starting in 2011, will be spent in 2012 and after.
The legislation would also allow the council to impose a transportation impact fee on new commercial and industrial development and to put a property tax or another license fee as high as $80 a year before voters.
Only council member Mike O'Brien, a frequent McGinn ally, voted against raising the parking tax.
The city may waive the tax for the University of Washington, which has argued that it will jeopardize the university's U-Pass program, which gives students and staff cheap transportation from buses, commuter rail, light rail, vanpools, and carpools. That program is paid for partly by UW parking fees.
O'Brien said he didn't oppose the idea of increasing the parking tax, but that he didn't think the council should pass it so soon before McGinn presents his budget next week. Additionally, O'Brien reiterated McGinn's concern about spending the parking tax on the seawall instead of coming up "with a comprehensive plan for how we're going to fund the whole seawall project as quickly as possible." Finally, he said he wasn't sure that projects like the Mercer West project, which would expand Mercer from four to seven lanes for five blocks, are the best use of limited city transportation money. "We need to look at it in the context of our other transportation funding needs," O'Brien said.
In response, council transportation committee chair Tom Rasmussen pointed out that McGinn himself has pushed to move forward with seawall planning even more quickly than the council's proposal would. "The mayor has urged us to make a decision on that very quickly," Rasmussen said. "As a matter of fact, he wanted to bring it before voters in the spring. I think we have adequate information. ... This will take one decision off our plate."
The council voted unanimously to create a transportation improvement district that could allow the council to impose a $20 license fee on drivers in Seattle. That would raise about $6.8 million for transportation projects a year. And they voted to create a new, 12-member board to decide how that money, which will be collected starting in 2011, will be spent in 2012 and after.
The legislation would also allow the council to impose a transportation impact fee on new commercial and industrial development and to put a property tax or another license fee as high as $80 a year before voters.
