EAST WENATCHEE, WA – August 16, 2020, Beginning January 1, 2023 citizens of the City of East Wenatchee will no longer pay the additional $20 vehicle licensing fee that has
funded the City’s Transportation Benefit District (District) since 2013. At the August 16th City Council meeting the Council voted to repeal the car tab fee, and then passed a 0.1%
Sales and Use tax to continue funding the District. This change is expected to save the average family in East Wenatchee approximately $41 per year. Notable items exempt from
sales tax include most groceries, prescription drugs, utilities, gasoline, and real property.
Investigating the effect of transitioning from car tabs to a sales tax model was initially identified as a strategic plan goal by the City Council in 2021 due to the overwhelming popularity
of Initiative 976 (I-976) in the November 2019 election. I-976 passed with 68% of the vote in Douglas County and would have limited all vehicle licensing fees to $30. I-976 was ruled
unconstitutional by the Washington State Supreme Court in February 2020. During a May 3rd public hearing pertaining to the proposed North-South annexation, a consistent point of
opposition to the annexation was the City’s $20 vehicle licensing fee.
All revenues collected by the District are reinvested back into the City’s roads, with a focus on local access streets. These streets typically are ineligible for state and federal grants
and rely on the District to fund essential maintenance. Since the Districts inception in 2013, the City has completed approximately 5.4 miles of overlays (resurfacing) across 28
streets using District funds. In addition to saving the average citizen money, revenues to the District are expected to increase by approximately $150,000, or 57%, allowing the
District to complete more streets each year.
The transition from licensing fees to a sales tax removes the burden of maintaining City streets from the citizens and instead distributes it to all everyone that uses the City’s streets
to reach its commercial centers.
Original source can be found here.
