Spokane County adopts higher public-works fees, phases increases over three years

The Spokane County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved amendments to the county’s public-works fee schedule and corresponding changes to Spokane County Code chapters 3.2, 8.03 and 9.14 at its Jan. 13, 2026 legislative meeting.

Public Works presenter Matt Zaracore told commissioners the county’s fees “have not been updated in excess of 10 years, some of them 15 years,” and said two factors drove the proposal: constrained, restricted revenues and limitations in the county’s new Workday system that make hourly billing impractical. Zaracore added that, as proposed, the road fund currently subsidizes the county’s fee structure “to the tune of about $1,000,000 a year.”

The staff presentation outlined increases across several areas. Planning fees would be raised and shown alongside public-works fees to compare the county’s charges with those of the City…