City Attorney Blocks Olympia’s Columbia Street Assessment
A legal opinion found that street grading and planking done without contracts could not be charged to abutting owners beyond $500—putting more than $2,000 in assessments in doubt.
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At the meeting of the city council last night, the city attorney submitted an opinion to the effect that the proposed assessment of $2,175.12 against the abutting property for the grading and planking of Columbia Street, from Third to Fifth, would be illegal, as the work was done by the street commissioner and not by contract, and that no assessment can be made for such improvement in excess of $500, the statutory limit of expenditure on all city work not done by contract. He made a like report with reference to the proposed assessment of $546.18 for grading Franklin Street from Third to Fourth, which improvement was also made under the direction of the street commissioner.
The opinion was referred to the ways and means committee.
“No assessment can be made for such improvement in excess of $500, the statutory limit of expenditure on all city work not done by contract.”
In 1891, Olympia tried to charge abutting property owners for street improvements that had been done without contracts; the city attorney said the law capped such assessments at $500. The question of who pays for streets, sidewalks, and public infrastructure—and whether public work follows contract rules—still shapes local government today.
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