Have you heard something about Spokane Valley, and wondered if it’s true?  E-mail us at mythorfact@spokanevalley.org and we’ll try to find an answer for you.

Did Spokane Valley pass a telephone utility tax?  YES.  The Spokane Valley City Council reluctantly adopted a six percent (6%) telephone utility tax that applies to all telephone service that took effect January 1, 2009.  The tax applies to all telephone services, whether it be provided via cellular, satellite, cable, land lines, internet, etc.  Expected to generate between $3-4 million per year, the revenues will be dedicated solely to help pay for the rising costs of basic street maintenance such as pothole repair, snow plowing,  street sweeping, etc.  Gasoline taxes currently provide about half of the funds needed for these maintenance services.  On a monthly telephone bill of $32, the impact of the tax would be about $1.92.

Is the City of Spokane Valley in debt?  In fact, we did have a start-up loan of $3.69 million dollars.  We had three years to pay it off, but actually were able to fully repay it by the end of 2004, 1¾ years after incorporation.  It’s true that we have outstanding debt; however, they were decisions that reflect a wise use of our citizens’ money.  First, we issued $7 million in bonds to build CenterPlace, a facility that was approved by voters as one of three projects funded by the Public Facilities District.  The money to repay the CenterPlace bonds comes from the PFD.  Second, we issued $2.43 million in bonds to leverage state and federal grants for various street capital projects in the City.  As a result of our successful grant applications, only about 18% of the cost of those street projects is paid for with City dollars.

Has our property tax rate gone up since the City incorporated?  NO.  Our property tax rate has not gone up – in fact, it’s gone down, because the unincorporated county road tax was higher than the City’s share of the total property tax bill.  The difference varies depending upon which Fire District you’re annexed to.  The dollar amount of your property tax bill may have gone up if the value of your property has increased.  The County assessor’s office is required under state law to periodically re-assess existing properties.

Council raised the stormwater fee, which appears on our property tax bills, to $21 per year for single-family households, which is the same as that charged by Spokane County.  (Multi-family, commercial and industrial properties pay an equivalent rate, depending upon the size of their buildings and parking lots.)  The City raised this fee so it could gear up its stormwater program to comply with state and federal stormwater requirements related to the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act.  Some of our upcoming activities include developing a schedule to clean and maintain our dry wells (the City owns about 5,600), swales (about 900), catch basins (about 1,900) and curb inlets (about 1,300).  This will cut down on flooding across certain roadways in times of heavy rainfall or snow run-off. 

Has the number of Police Officers in Spokane Valley been cut?  NO.  Through its successful partnership with Spokane County Sheriff's to contract with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement at the same service level, with the exception of crime check, which was a change that took place for the whole region.  In 2003, the City’s total law enforcement staffing was 101.5.  It changed slightly in 2004, to 100.767, due to a shift in the way regional drug investigations are handled.

Have City taxes increased my cable bill?  Since incorporation, Spokane Valley has been operating according to the County franchise with Comcast cable.  We have not made any changes to the franchise fee, or to the way that fee is calculated.  Cities and Counties have little control over the amount a cable company charges for its services.  According to federal law, local governments are only allowed to comment on the cost of Basic Tier services.  It is our understanding that Comcast’s charge for Basic Tier services is below the threshold amount allowed by federal law.