Council considers new revenue source, future of utility tax

By Craig Howard Splash Contributing Editor

When the Liberty Lake City Council heard a presentation on the implementation of a Transportation Benefit District (TBD) in March to raise funds for the construction, maintenance and operation of transportation facilities, it wasn’t the first time the taxing mechanism was featured on the community stage.

In the fall of 1999, residents of yet-to-be incorporated Liberty Lake approved a TBD – in the form of a slight increase to property tax –with resulting revenue earmarked for the construction of a vast trails network. The vote passed by nearly 70 percent and eventually raised over $2 million for trails after being grafted with a series of matching grants.

These days, City Council is focused on how the TBD could be used to address the existing and future inventory of municipal streets. Recent state legislation allows a TBD, in the form of a 0.1 percent increase in sales tax, to be installed with a simple council majority. On March 7, Finance Director Kyle Dixon told the governing board that such a tax could raise $615,000 annually for transportation infrastructure needs.

Nearly in the same breath, some on council have expressed interest in installing the TBD to replace the utility tax which carries a 3-percent levy on electric, natural gas, cable, solid waste and phone bills. Revenue from the utility tax generated $915,000 last year with all funds dedicated to a street budget that totaled $1.4 million.

“Utility tax goes solely to the street fund,” Dixon said. “It’s a critical revenue stream for us now.”

Council members like Jed Spencer have expressed support for removing some or all of the utility tax which was introduced in 2011 in response to a nationwide recession and a projected city deficit of as much as $700,000. First implemented at 6 percent, the tax was lowered to 3 percent in 2012.

“The utility tax was initially thought of as something that was going to be in place temporarily and the city was going to get rid of it if we could,” Spencer said. “The TBD is a mechanism that will mostly cover what we bring in through the utility tax and based on the surplus we have each year, I feel we could come up with the difference.”

Proponents of the TBD around the dais point to the benefits of an approach that would spread the tax obligation more fairly among those who use the roads and shop in Liberty Lake but don’t reside in the community.

Any percentage above 0.1 percent through the TBD would require a public vote as in 1999. The tax can levy up to 0.3 percent on sales tax or vehicle license fees.

Council Member Dan Dunne has yet to jump aboard the TBD bandwagon nor to push removal of the utility tax.

“I think the utility tax has served the city effectively and does not require significant change,” Dunne said. “I also don’t think the TBD represents a significant advantage. The city is facing a formidable set of expenses, including law enforcement, Trailhead and various capital projects. I don’t think now is the time to compromise revenue streams.”

Sales and use tax continues to be the cornerstone of the municipal budget, raising over $5 million a year. Shoppers in Liberty Lake pay 8.9 percent on most purchases with the state receiving 6.5 percent, Spokane County absorbing 1.6 percent and the city of Liberty Lake pocketing the remaining 0.8 percent.

Revenue from sales tax covers the entire $3.5 million budget to maintain and operate city parks along the balance of public safety costs not covered by property tax. Administrative services like payroll, IT, human resources and records management are also supported by sales tax.

The robust stream of sales tax stands in contrast to the city’s lesser reliance on property tax with Liberty Lake featuring the lowest rate of any jurisdiction in Spokane County at $0.96 per $1,000 of assessed property value. By comparison, Cheney residents pay $1.74 per $1,000 while property owners in Millwood and Airway Heights are charged $1.46 and $1.43 respectively for each $1,000 of property value.

“We are the least dependent on property tax than any other city,” said Dixon.

Dixon added that buildout of Liberty Lake in neighborhoods like Stonehill, the River District and Legacy Ridge have spread the property tax burden out and fed into lower rates.

Property tax revenue covers library costs to the tune of $650,000 with the remaining $2 million applied to the city’s public safety budget of $4.4 million.

Dixon is recommending that council proceed with adoption of the TBD while pointing out that another new tax being proposed by Spokane County – a 0.2 percent bump in sales tax that will be on the ballot in this November’s general election – will likely have an impact on which direction the city decides to go. If passed, the new tax would support public safety with the county retaining a maximum of 60 percent and the remaining revenue being parceled out to cities.

Mayor Cris Kaminskas said that while council has discussed the TBD replacing the utility tax completely or in part, “it doesn’t mean they’re going to act on the switch right away.”

“The TBD would spread the tax burden out to everyone who shops in our community and uses our roads,” Kaminskas said.

Part of establishing a TBD includes holding a mandatory public hearing to determine citizen interest in such an approach. No date has yet been set to collect feedback.

“We wouldn’t just do this to raise more revenue,” said Spencer of the possible introduction of the TBD. “We’d be keeping the promise to residents that we were eventually going to do away with the utility tax.”

City now podcasting with “The Liberty Lake Deep Dive”

The sounds of the city of Liberty Lake are now streaming over the Internet for listeners of City Hall’s new podcast “The Liberty Lake Deep Dive,” which premiered April 11.

The new podcast series provides listeners with topic-centered episodes that spotlight the people, programs, activities and life of the Liberty Lake community. New shows will be posted about twice a month, following the weekly releases of the first three episodes during April. Each episode runs

Survey responses needed for fiveyear strategic plan

Liberty Lake’s city staff wants to know YOUR priorities as the process begins for developing the new strategic plan that will guide the city’s next phase of development for the next five years.

Making your voice known is as easy as going to the city’s homepage right now at www. libertylakewa.gov.

Throughout May and June, the city is inviting all residents – as well those who work at Liberty Lake businesses – to provide their input on a short survey to guide the look of the 2024-2028 strategic plan. This is an opportunity for the public to share their voice about what they value, what they are concerned about and what their hopes are for the future of Liberty Lake.

A link to the short survey is available on the city’s homepage. People will also be able to provide survey responses at the Farmers Market on Saturdays or can scan in a QR code there to take the survey later on their own. All responses will remain confidential.

Survey items were generated approximately 15 minutes, and even includes a regular city trivia quiz segment.

“This is one strategy, among many, of the City Council’s wider vision to promote more proactive public engagement,” said Liberty Lake City Administrator Mark McAvoy in the debut installment of the new podcast series. “The podcast seemed like a great idea, just from the fact that they’re more prevalent now. And, so it seemed like a great way to dip our toe into the engagement water.”

The Q & A with the city administrator for the podcast’s first episode was followed by installments about some of the most popular checked-out books at the Liberty Lake Municipal Library, as well as a look at student and school safety with the Liberty Lake Police Department’s Sgt. Mark Holthaus. Later installments will include previews and inside information about some of Liberty Lake’s community events, such as a segment later in May about the return of the downtown area’s Hometown Heroes banners.

“We want this to be a program that is not only information-based but also something that’s going to be fun and entertaining to listen to,” said David Goehner, the city’s communication specialist who is also hosting and producing the new podcast series. “Some of that fun will be in the variety of topics and people we interact with from show to show as we provide something that hopefully echoes the friendly defining nature of this community.”

Installments of “The Liberty Lake Deep Dive” are made available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other outlets. New episodes are also being posted on the city’s Facebook site and will be archived on the new “City Podcast” page under the “Our Community” section of the city’s website at www.libertylakewa. gov.

Text in a trash toss-out

Waste containers throughout Liberty Lake’s city parks and trail areas have a slight enhancement this spring: Green stickers containing info people can use to send in an alert for a cleanup!

The stickers are the latest addition to the city’s TextMyGov service, through which residents can use text messages to obtain automated responses about some specific city services or initiate questions with city staff about other topics. Text phone users can alert parks staff about any overflowing containers by texting the words “WASTE BIN” to the city’s 509-255-7445 TextMyGov number.

from a workshop by the Liberty Lake City Council during March. After the public survey closes at the end of June, city staff and the City Council will begin reviewing the findings and use the result to develop an action plan to guide how the city makes decisions, allocates resources and delivers services for the next five years. https://www.facebook.com/libertylakewa

Through the TextMyGov system, residents can also use that same number to receive automated responses on where to find information on the city’s website and elsewhere by typing in numerous terms such as “broken sprinkler,” “zoning,” “animal control” and “library events.” Residents can also use the system to receive personal responses on more specific questions or topics and can sign up to receive alerts through TextMyGov.