Snohomish County Council Approves $20 Car Tab for Repairs

With a 3-2 vote on Wednesday, the Snohomish County Council voted for a $20 car tab to fund the Public Works Department’s road repairs efforts as the county struggles with the department’s $30 million deficit. In the same meeting the council unanimously voted to kick the proposed sales tax increase back to committee to iron out the details for the tax.

The $20 car tab is expected to raise roughly $6 million and will help fund road repairs that have been put off within the transportation benefit district (TBD). While that’s well short resolving the budget deficit, council member Strom Peterson pointed out that it’s one of the first steps in building out the new financial structure for the county.

But council member Jared Mead voiced concerns that pushing the car tab through would make it more politically difficult to utilize more effective tools that the county has at its disposal to increase funds for public works. These options are expected to be discussed as part of the budget process (just like he did for the public safety tax), especially since the $6 million doesn’t come anywhere near solving the deficit.

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There were concerns that were raised during the meeting that the longer the repaving and other repairs were put off, it would make repairs no longer feasible and force a complete rebuild of the roadbed. As construction cost have continued to spiral – from 2000 to 2020 these cost increased 70%, from 2020 to 2025 these cost increased another 70%; the county cannot afford to put off maintenance any longer and needs to raise the revenue to ensure public works is able to function without excessive cuts.

Council chair Megan Dunn pointed out that this tab brings the residents in the unincorporated part of the county up to par with residents in cities that are already paying car tabs to cover the cost of road maintenance in those jurisdiction. For her, it was about fairness in terms of the way road repairs are funded.

In the end, the vote passed 3-2 with council members Nate Nehring and Meade in opposition.

As for the 0.1% sales tax increase, at the behest of staff from public works, the county council sent that back to the public works infrastructure and conservation committee with a unanimous 5-0 vote and no conversation.