Council Member Jonathan Bangle said the Spokane City Council approved three major measures at Monday’s meeting: a commercial parking tax that adds 12% to parking charges citywide; a 0.5% utility tax applied to water, sewer and garbage; and the adoption of the city’s budget for the next fiscal year.

“First and foremost, we established a commercial parking tax that will add 12% onto parking charges throughout the city,” Bangle said in a brief recap. He also said, “On top of raising taxes there, we also added a half percent utility tax to your water, sewer, garbage, all of your utilities and your bill will be going up.”

Why it matters: the two tax measures increase revenue linked to parking and utilities. The council also adopted the budget for next year; Bangle did not provide the budget’s total dollar amount or a breakdown in the recap. No vote tallies, ordinance numbers or motions’ movers and seconders were cited in the summary he provided.

What the council did

• Commercial parking tax: According to Bangle’s recap, the council established a commercial parking tax that will add 12% to parking charges throughout the city. The recap did not include an ordinance number, who introduced or seconded the motion, or how council members voted.

• Utility tax: Bangle said the council added a 0.5% utility tax that will apply to water, sewer and garbage accounts. He described the change as a general utility tax increase but did not specify exemptions, effective date, or whether the tax is temporary or permanent.

• Budget adoption: Bangle said the council adopted the budget for the next year. He did not state the budget total, program-level changes, or whether the adoption included amendments.

Documents and next steps

Bangle urged residents to watch the full council meeting recording and check the city council website for supporting documents. He closed the recap by reminding viewers to contact their council members with questions.

The recap provides a high-level summary of actions taken; viewers seeking details on vote counts, ordinance language, effective dates and fiscal specifics should consult the official meeting materials on the council’s website or watch the full meeting video, as Bangle recommended.