(The Center Square) - While a formal proposal has yet to reach the city council, Spokane is looking at doubling the $20 “car tab” fee that residents pay, and one official says it's not a matter of if, but when.
Last month, a Facebook page called “Shame on Spokane” said that the council voted on June 23 to double the city’s vehicle registration fees from $20 to $40. Some residents corrected the page, since the city’s transportation commission hadn't issued a recommendation and there isn’t an official proposal yet.
Councilmember Michael Cathcart told The Center Square that voters should have the final say on this.
“I've been told essentially that it's going to happen,” Cathcart said on Tuesday, “The question is when.”
The conservative said the council majority would likely adopt it before Mayor Lisa Brown proposes her next biennial budget this fall. The council implemented the fee in 2011 to fund the city’s transportation benefit district, but the value of the resulting revenue has eroded due to inflation over the last decade.
When The Center Square requested an interview, Jon Snyder, the city’s director of transportation and sustainability and the commission's secretary, responded via email that the council has better insight.
“The topic of increasing car tab fees has been discussed by the Transportation Commission, but there is no current proposal to do so. I recommend you reach out to the City Council, as they would be the body to bring forward a proposal if there was one,” Snyder responded in a Monday email to The Center Square.
On June 17, the commission expressed support for increasing the car tab fee after the topic came up in council committee meetings on April 13 and June 8. City staff said $20 in 2011 is worth roughly $30 in 2026, but due to inflation, the actual purchasing power of that revenue from the $20 fee is closer to $15.
Synder told the commission during the June 17 meeting that the council could replace the fee with a sales tax increase. He ultimately directed staff to tell the council during a committee meeting later this month that the transportation commission is interested in increasing the city’s vehicle registration fee.
“What could be done with the doubling of that money? Perhaps there's a larger list [of maintenance and preservation projects] that you're looking at to expand next time,” Abigail Martin, the city council’s manager of neighborhood connectivity initiatives, said during the commission’s meeting on June 17.
Car tabs currently generate about $3 million annually for Spokane, but revenue has declined as fewer people register their vehicles, even as the population grows. The issue isn’t unique to Spokane either; CARFAX ranked Washington among the states with the most expired registrations at the start of 2025.
State lawmakers considered proposals earlier this year that would’ve allowed officers to ticket parked cars for expired car tabs and expanded state law to subject more vehicles to transportation benefit district fees. Both proposals stalled before reaching either chamber floor for a vote, but lawmakers could bring them back in 2027.
Voters have approved three statewide ballot initiatives seeking to cap annual car tab fees at $30, but the courts have stepped in each time. Under state law, the Spokane council can double the fee to $40 without voter approval, and once it’s in effect for at least two years, the council can increase it again to $50.
“We shouldn't be increasing it at all when we know for a fact that our taxpayers, ratepayers, citizens are all maxed out, and there are big asks coming, both on the public safety front, on the libraries, on transit, all these things that people are being asked to fund and/or continue funding,” Cathcart told The Center Square.
“I don't think it's the appropriate time to do that, but if we are going to do it, it should go to a vote.”
