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The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

City Budget Includes Fee Increases—and We’re Not Talking about Parking

City Hall, Politics   November 1, 2010 at 5:37 pm Erica C. Barnett

While most of the focus on Mayor Mike McGinn’s proposed 2011 budget has been on his controversial proposals to raise parking fees and taxes, a number of other fee increases have gone under the radar. Here are some of the fee hikes the city council is considering to help close a $67 million budget shortfall:

• Permits from the Department of Planning and Development, including building development fees, land use fees, electrical fees, and other fees, many of which are switching from a base fee to an hourly rate of $177, raising $920,000 in both 2011 and 2012 (full list here).

• Fees for owning cats, which (unlike dog fees) are going up across the board, raising $85,000 in both 2011 and 2012 (full list here).

• Fees for false alarms that result in police dispatch, raising $147,200 in 2011 and $94,000 in 2012 (full list here).

• Fees for for-hire drivers licensed in Seattle would go down (from $100 to $75), but the city would end an exemption from the city fee for drivers who are also licensed in King County—a change that would raise $100,000.

Of course, the entire budget will likely be thrown into disarray come November 3, when the city will have to figure out how to deal with the impacts of Tuesday night’s election. Three statewide initiative—I-1107, I-1100, and I-1105—could, if they pass, cost the city $3.5 million in revenues next year and $8.2 million in 2012, a city council analysis concluded.




  • ixnay ius licensius felinus

    But cats are so small, they don’t use up the roads much!

  • Anonymous

    Building permit fees, cat and dog fees, false alarm fees, “for hire driver” fees, but I did not see any fees for professional sportsmen using either one of the publicly owned stadiums. Why not a business and occupation license fee for any major sports player who “earns an income” from a public facility if his/her gross income is in excess of, say, $200,000?

  • eric

    The City should be bending over backwards to help encourage investment and job creation. Instead they’re doing things like eliminating the ability to ask a land use question for free. Now you need to book a 1 hour appointment with a planner at a cost of $120, soon to go up to $177. This will do two things, neither of which will help our local economy. Less people will bother doing a remodel or expansion due to the cost to ask questions of the City. And more people will simply do these projects without any permit at all, thereby denying the City any fee revenue.
    Apparently our Mayor only knows of one way to generate revenue. Increase taxes and fees. Someone should let him know that a growing economy will generate magnitudes more revenue over the long run.

  • pay for what you use

    Those fees pay for the planner’s salary, duh. Without the fee, no planner, no permit, work work. I don’t understand why people believe they are entitled to services that they shouldn’t pay for.