City council again turns to increase in Spokane's utility tax to balance budget

City council again turns to increase in Spokane's utility tax to balance budget

Spokane raised its utility taxes on Monday, bringing the tax rate to 21.5%, one of the highest in the state.Utility rates set the price city customers pay for water, sewer and garbage; utility taxes determine how much of that payment is diverted from the utility departments and into the city’s general fund, which pays for nonutility functions like police, fire, planning, parks and libraries.While council members lamented this week that the tax w…