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Council committee moves forward ordinance to let small telecoms pay taxes quarterly or annually; outreach requested
Summary
Finance Director Kelly Cochran proposed an amendment to RMC 5.44.060 to let telephone and cellular businesses file and pay utility taxes quarterly or annually rather than monthly, with an intended effective date of Jan. 1, 2026.
Finance Director Kelly Cochran presented a proposed ordinance to amend Redmond Municipal Code 5.44.060 to change filing and payment frequency for telephone, competitive telephone service and cellular telephone utility taxes. Cochran said the change would let businesses file and pay quarterly or annually depending on monthly gross income, and staff propose an effective date of Jan. 1, 2026, to allow notice and time for businesses to update accounting processes.
Cochran said the change is intended to reduce administrative burden for businesses and city staff where monthly tax payments are nominal; she told the committee that recent data showed about 25 to 30 businesses could be impacted. Cochran said the change “will have no impact on our cash flow.” She also said other cities use gross‑income thresholds to set filing frequency and that the city received a recent letter from a local telecom business requesting reduced payment frequency because their monthly tax amounts were roughly $5.
Several council members said they support the efficiency goal but asked for outreach and feedback from affected businesses. Councilmember Stewart and Councilmember Nueva Camino asked for clearer outreach to the business community; Stewart said he would be more comfortable seeing input from a sample of businesses before final council action. Councilmember Fields and Vice President Forsyth said the change expands options and does not remove the ability to pay monthly, and they were comfortable moving to consent sooner if language clarifying opt‑in/opt‑out is added. Councilmembers requested that staff either add a sentence allowing businesses to continue monthly filings or present comms/outreach plans before final council action.
The committee discussed scheduling: staff initially proposed April 15 but, after discussion, the committee agreed to schedule the ordinance for council consent on May 6 to allow staff to refine language and a communications plan. Staff committed to returning to the FAC with revised ordinance language and a communications plan and to send notices to affected businesses.
