For the next two years, vehicle license fees are increasing to $40 in the city of Snoqualmie.

The Snoqualmie City Council at its March 9 meeting passed an ordinance authorizing a vehicle license fee of $40. The ordinance temporarily increases the current fee of $20 to $40 for two years. At the end of the two-year period, it will return to $20.

The revenue generated from the temporary increase is estimated to equal the amount the city is paying the state for a temporary Interstate 90/state Route 18 on-ramp that opened in December 2019 (the city’s portion is about $422,000).

Only the additional $20 will go toward the on-ramp project, and the money from the initial $20 fee will still be used as it is now — kept in reserve to be used for future road infrastructure and repair projects. The additional $20 fee would generate about $200,000 annually, and so it would likely yield more than an estimated $400,000 in the two-year period.

A sunset date of April 1, 2022, is built in, along with the action to stop the $40 fee and return to a $20 fee, so no council action will be required at that time in order to revert back.

The ordinance passed 6-1, with councilmember Peggy Shepard dissenting.