SPOKANE, Wash. — During Monday night's legislative meeting, Spokane City Council conversed over a variety of topics, including establishing a local program to assist landlords and tenants, capping delivery fees from food delivery services and a property tax levy.
Local Program to Assist Landlords and Tenants
City Council says this proposed ordinance is a reflection of some of the key issues and needs identified by stakeholders. The ordinance will call for universal background and credit checks, proactive code enforcement, requiring business licenses for landlords, residential rental property damage mitigation funds, legal services and relocation funds and anti-retaliation protections.
Many members of the community spoke against the ordinance establishing a local program to assist landlords and tenants in the Spokane area. Various landlords at the meeting voiced their disapproval of the ordinance, citing it as "cryptic at best" and that many smaller landlords would be pushed out of business with its approval.
Capping Delivery Fees
This ordinance aims to cap delivery fees at 15% of food orders from apps such as DoorDash and Uber Eats. City council says those fees can be 30% or more of the total cost of the order.
For example, if someone were to order a $10 burger from Jack in the Box, the total would come out to over $17.
Spokane isn't the only city to enforce this type of cap. San Francisco, British Columbia and Seattle have all passed 15% caps as well.
Property Tax Levy
City Council voted 6-1 to override Mayor Nadine Woodward's veto of an ordinance that would increase revenues by an average of $8 per household. According to the city, this ordinance originally passed 5-2 on Nov. 14 before being vetoed by the mayor on Nov. 18.
The 1% property tax collected in 2023 will be close to $1 million, the city says.
“City Council responded to the police and fire departments’ requests for critical vehicle replacements,” said Council President Breean Beggs. “In the 2023 budget, the Mayor proposed $1.3 million to fund police capital; however, her veto of the ordinance undermines those proposed public safety upgrades. Council’s decision to override the veto secures funding for vital police and fire that would likely have gone unfunded if Mayor’s veto were to stand.”
“With inflation, residents and businesses are challenged to meet financial obligations; we all feel it,” said Finance Committee Chair Council Member Betsy Wilkerson. “This 1% increase can help the entire City in many ways: public safety, paying our deserving city employees, and homelessness issues. This 1% increase continues to invest in people and is fiscally prudent.”
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