City of Seattle oversight leads to tens of thousands getting $10 checks
Jul 19, 2024, 5:13 PM
A recent study by Jason Stone Injury Lawyers has revealed that Washington ranks third-lowest in the country for miles driven per registered vehicle, with an average of just 7,464 miles in 2022. (WSDOT/Twitter)
(WSDOT/Twitter)
It doesn’t happen very often: the city government gives you money. But a curious turn of events unfolded in Seattle, leading to 44,000 car owners and businesses getting unexpected $10 checks. This peculiar refund was the result of : The city had increased a vehicle tab fee without providing adequate public notice.
The story begins with the which oversees a hefty operating fund exceeding $300 million earmarked for the city’s transportation services and infrastructure maintenance. Julie Johnson, the city鈥檚 Office of City Finance chief of staff, told that聽the refunds would be drawn from this fund. Despite the significant payout totaling $490,510, SDOT said there would not be an impact on department programs.
The plot thickens with a flashback to November 2022, when the 聽voted to raise the vehicle license fee from $40 to $50. This increase was projected to generate an additional $4 million annually, with the first $1.5 million allocated for safety enhancements on the Northeast 45th Street bridge over Interstate 5. These improvements were just one component of a grander scheme to earthquake-proof the bridge, supported mainly by the $930 million Levy to Move Seattle, which voters passed in 2015.
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The transportation benefit district itself was established in 2010 to fund city transportation projects. Initially, the vehicle license fee was a modest $20 per year. However, in November 2014, Seattleites voted to hike the fee to $60 and slightly increase the sales tax, thereby boosting King County Metro services and raising over $45 million annually.
Fast forward to the end of 2020, when the voter-approved fee expired, and the City Council, doubling as the benefit district鈥檚 administrators, implemented a $40 fee. Then, in a twist of fate, on November 29, 2022, the council decided to up the fee to $50, aiming to start collections by July 2023.
Fee increase notice came too late, leading to $10 checks
But fate had other plans. The city clerk posted the fee increase notice in the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce on Oct. 18, 2023, and the state Department of Licensing was set to begin collecting the new fee on Dec. 1.
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But state law mandates a 90-day gap between announcing an increase and its implementation. This legal requirement meant the new fee couldn鈥檛 be lawfully collected until Jan. 18, 2024. By then, it was too late; the increased fee notices had already been processed.
In the aftermath, nearly 50,000 vehicles renewed their tabs during the period from Dec. 1, 2023, to Jan. 18, 2024, and were thus eligible for the refund. This incident serves as a small chapter in the larger narrative of Seattle鈥檚 automotive landscape, which, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, includes approximately 460,000 vehicles.
Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X聽 and email him here.听
