The Kent City Council has delayed until November a vote about whether to increase the garbage tax for residents and businesses.
Council President Dana Ralph said she asked city legal staff for more specific language in the ordinance about how funds can be spent and more time is needed to write the revision. The council’s Public Works Committee, including Ralph, voted 2-0 on Oct. 6 to send the rate increase to the full council for approval.
“I asked for a revised ordinance to tightly define where the money is going,” Ralph said during a phone interview about the reason the ordinance won’t be voted on until Nov. 4 or Nov. 18 rather than the originally scheduled date of Oct. 21. “We’re waiting on that so we can pinpoint that it goes to neighborhoods and overlays rather than general transportation.”
If approved by the council, the solid waste tax rate will jump to 18.3 percent from 7.8 percent on each bill. The increase would raise about $3 million per year to pay for street maintenance.
Single-family residents who pay $17.04 per month for garbage, recycling and yard waste service, would see a new rate of $20.75 per month for a customer who has a 32-gallon weekly garbage pickup and up to a 96-gallon recycling and 96-gallon yard waste containers every other week.
Kent has about 26,000 garbage customers served by Republic Services. About 24,000 of those are residential customers. City staff rationalizes the tax increase because of the damage garbage and recycling trucks cause to roads.
The council asked city staff to come up with proposals about ways to raise more money for street repairs.
Public Works Director Tim LaPorte told the council committee there are 15 to 16 neighborhoods all over town where streets need fixing because of cracking. He said most need asphalt overlay to smooth out the roads.
Mayor Suzette Cooke proposed a $20 vehicle license fee per year in her preliminary budget to raise money for street maintenance, an estimated $1.6 million per year starting in 2016. The council has yet to decide about whether to adopt a vehicle license fee by forming a transportation benefit district. A council, under state law, can adopt a vehicle license fee of up to $20 without a vote by residents.
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