Hearing set for $20 license tab increase

ROYAL CITY - Streets in Royal City need repairs, and there is little money with which to pay the cost.

So the Royal City Council is considering adding $20 to license tab fees for every motor vehicle registered within the city. And the council wants to know what residents think.

There will be a public hearing on the matter at 7 p.m. on Feb. 7 at city hall. The regular city council meeting will follow.

According to Mayor Mike Stark, the council can form a Transportation Benefit District (TBD) and add $20 to tab fees without a public vote, but a public hearing is required.

"We might get 100 people telling us not to do it," he said.

Stark said the council became aware of the tab fee option at its Jan. 3 meeting when City Attorney Katherine Kenison mentioned the possibility of a TBD.

According to Stark, city street funds started to dwindle after Washington voters passed a law limiting tab fees to $30 in 1999. Voters did away with the excise tax that for some vehicles was more than $500.

"A lot of that money used to come to the cities," Stark said.

After pleas for help from the cities, Stark said, the legislature approved the formation of TBDs by local entities.

"We can't go out and grab up half of the county," he said. "We're limited to the city."

In addition to forming a TBD without a public vote, the council can add $20 to tab fees. However, with a public vote, the limit is $100.

After Kenison spoke about TBDs, Stark said, the council voted to move forward with formation of a TBD. Stark, himself, is in favor.

"This is a good thing," he said. "The entire $20 are going to stay right here. Usually taxes and fees go to the state or federal governments."

If the council forms a TBD and approves the $20 increase on license tabs, it will mean $8,400, estimated, to the city the first year. It would raised $16,800, estimated, each year after that.

"We'd be too late for the first half of this year," Stark said.

While $16,800 is not a lot of money, Stark said, "You'd be surprised what it can do." He noted it could be used as matching funds to attract state or federal grants intended for street work.

"A lot of times small cities have a tough time coming up with matching funds," he said.

As for Royal's streets, it's no surprise to residents they need repair. City staff hear frequent complaints. Some streets (Widmer Ave.) are in "desperate" need of repair, Stark said.

Stark noted residents of one area with "really nice" houses on unpaved streets complain about the dust every summer.

The city has a six-year street plan. Stark said new money from a TBD would likely be focused on projects within that plan.