Council Considers Street Maintenance Fee Increase
October 2008
The Street Maintenance Fee recommended by a citizen task force and established
by Ordinance No. 3-10
with collections beginning April 2004 has provided a stable source of revenue to
maintain City streets. The funding provided by the fee ensures that the City's
investment in the street infrastructure is protected through preventative maintenance
and repairs on the City's deteriorating street system. The monthly fee charges
for residential and non-residential users of the street system are billed through
the City's bi-monthly utility billing system.
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Seeking Citizen Input
Two open houses have been scheduled to provide
opportunity for public comment and input.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
in the Tigard Public Works Auditorium, 8777 SW Burnham
Street, Tigard
Thursday, December 11, 2008 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at
Tigard City Hall, Town Hall Meeting Room, 13125 SW Hall Blvd., Tigard
Emails, phone calls or letters providing input and
comment will be accepted at any time prior to formal Council
consideration.
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Revenue Generated is Not Sufficient
An updated review of the City's street network reveals that the annual revenue
generated by the existing fees is no longer sufficient to adequately maintain
the City streets. Timely maintenance extends pavement life significantly and
provides safer roads. Deferring maintenance on streets increases costs from
4 to 10 times more in the long run.
A significant increase in the annual revenue from the original $800,000
target to $2,200,000 is needed to ensure timely maintenance of the City streets.
Much of this increase is required because of the steep rise in the price of
asphalt. However, the new funding target does include a comprehensive
preventative maintenance approach to keep good streets good and gradually
improve the overall network condition over the long term. This ensures
that the City can continue to maintain the streets in a perpetual maintenance
cycle that includes a full range of treatments ranging from light street
seals to pavement overlays and minimizes highly expensive reconstruction
of existing streets.
The proposed fee increases include additional funding for right-of-way maintenance
on the City's major street network as a part of the overall street maintenance.
This additional funding would address the existing issue with uncontrolled
growth of weeds and other plants in the planters, medians, and areas between
sidewalks and property lines on the City's arterial and collector streets.
The funding required for this maintenance work annually is $300,000. The
combined total for both is $2,500,000 annually.
Proposed Fees
The fee increases are from $2.18 to $6.06 monthly for residential units and from
$0.78 to $2.44 monthly for non-residential uses. To lessen the immediate impact,
increases will be phased in from 2009 to 2011 so that by 2011, the fees
charged will be at the level needed to adequately maintain the streets
and rights-of-way. An inflation factor will be applied using one or more
recognized cost indices to keep up with cost increases or decreases.
City Council wanted to provide sufficient time for citizen and business
comments and input before considering the proposed changes to Ordinance
No. 03-10 and the recommended fee increases.
Opportunity for Public Comment
Two open houses have been scheduled to provide opportunities for public comment:
- Wednesday, November 19, 2008 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Tigard Public Works
Auditorium, 8777 SW Burnham Street, Tigard
- Thursday, December 11, 2008 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Tigard
City Hall, Town Hall Meeting Room, 13125 SW Hall Blvd., Tigard
The proposed changes to the ordinance are scheduled for Council consideration at
the business meeting on January 27, 2009. Council will conduct a public hearing
on the proposed changes prior to taking action on the proposed amendment. Public
comment and input through emails, phone calls and letters will be received at
any time prior to formal Council consideration. This input and the comments from
the open houses will be provided to Council for their information.
The establishment of a City long-term overall pavement condition goal and the
fee increases with phase-in schedule are scheduled to come before Council at
the February 10, 2009 business meeting. If Council adopts the fee increases,
they are expected to be effective no earlier than April 1, 2009, but may be
later depending upon the requirements for advance notice to rate payers.
A presentation was made to City Council on October 21, 2008 showing the current
status of the City's street network, the deterioration in overall network condition
if the existing revenue funding is continued, and the long-term picture once
the fee increases are in place. The presentation has been updated to reflect
the open houses and the scheduled dates for Council action on the amendment
to the ordinance and fee increases. Click here
to to view the updated presentation made to City Council (Adobe PDF format).
Street Maintenance Program
Fact Sheet: March 19, 2004
What is the Street Maintenance Fee?
- The Street Maintenance Fee is a monthly user fee designated specifically for use in the maintenance
of the existing city streets.
- The fee was approved through Ordinance No. 3-10 by the City Council on November 18, 2003.
- It will be billed as part of the bi-monthly utility bill that City residents already receive.
Who pays the fee?
- Both businesses and residences will pay the fee.
- For single-and multi-family units, the fee is $2.18 per unit per month.
- Non-residential customers pay $0.78 per parking space per month.
- Gasoline stations pay $0.78 per fueling pump station per month.
Do I have to pay the fee even though I live on a private drive that is not maintained by
the City? Why should I pay the fee because I don't drive on City streets?
- The Street Maintenance Fee is not intended to have residents and businesses pay to maintain
only that portion of the street in front of their home or business. It is intended to share equally
the cost of maintaining the entire Tigard street system which we must all use to get to our homes,
jobs, or businesses.
Why is the Street Maintenance Fee needed?
- Timely maintenance of streets extends pavement life and provides safer roads.
- Deferring maintenance on streets increases costs 4 to 5 times more in the long run.
- This fee will provide the revenue necessary for timely maintenance of City streets.
- There is over a $4.0 million backlog of street repairs that need to be completed.
How much money will the City receive from this fee?
- The City estimates that the fee will generate approximately $800,000 per year so that the
City can begin working on maintenance projects.
Does the City have the right to charge this fee without a vote of City residents?
- The Tigard City Council under the City Charter and Tigard Municipal Code has the authority to
establish fees and charges for services provided by the City.
Why didn't I know sooner that the City was going to begin charging this fee?
- The Transportation Financing Strategies Task Force made up
of local residents recommended the adoption of this fee to ensure that streets are maintained and
the City's infrastructure is protected.
- All meetings of the task force were open to the public.
- There have been several articles in the Tigard Times and The Oregonian.
- Public hearings were held by the City Council. The date, time, and location of the meetings
were posted on the City website and listed in the Tigard Times along with other Council
meeting agenda items.
Additional Detailed Information:
At its meeting on November 18, 2003, City Council passed
Ordinance No. 3-10
establishing a Street Maintenance Fee for the City of Tigard. The fee is based on an
approach that links the rates to the City's long-term street maintenance program. It
assigns responsibility for the arterials to commerical and industrial uses, splits the costs
for collectors between residential and non-residential uses, and assigns responsibility
for the neighborhood routes and local streets to the residents.
Because deferred maintenance costs 4 to 5 times more in the long run, timely maintenance
is essential. Timely maintenance provides safer streets and protects the City's
investment in the street infrastructure by extending pavement life significantly. The new
Street Maintenance Fee will address the City's $4 million street maintenance backlog
spanning several years by providing a stable source of revenue that can be used to schedule and
perform street maintenance in a timely manner.
The fee, as originally proposed by the Transportation Financing Strategies Task Force, was based
on trip generation rates for various land use categories. The scope encompassed four
maintenance elements (street maintenance, rights-of-way maintenance, sidewalk maintenance,
and street light and traffic signal maintenance). The Oregon Grocery Association (OGA)
proposed an alternative approach at the June 19 2003 meeting with the Task Force that
addressed the street maintenance element only. A modified version of the OGA proposal
was approved by the Task Force at a meeting on July 21, 2003 and submitted for Council
approval at the August 12th meeting. The ordinance passed by in November 2003 Council
addresses the street maintenance element only.
The key concepts in the establishment of the Street Maintenance Fee are as follows:
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Ties the street maintenance element of the fee to a 5-year maintenance and
reconstruction plan prepared by the City of Tigard
- Uses actual road repair projects
- Tailors the fee to the local data
- Sets a target revenue goal of $800,000 annually
- Allocates the costs of the arterial projects to the commercial and industrial uses
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Splits the costs for the collectors on a 50-50 basis with residential and
commercial and industrial uses sharing the costs equally
- Allocates the costs for neighborhood routes and local streets to residential uses
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Allocates the costs for residential uses on a per unit basis for both single family
and multi-family units.
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Uses the minimum parking space requirements based on the Tigard Development Code for
non-residential uses with a 5-space minimum and 200-space maximum. This approach takes
into account businesses that draw from a larger area than just Tigard.
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Includes City overhead costs, as well as engineering design and construction management
costs, related to the management and operation of the street maintenance program.
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Sets the rate for the first three years based on a 5-year average of the projects to be
implemented. Includes a review of the program after three years and re-establishes the
rate at that time based on a 5-year plan that adds three more years to the program.
Allows for new street maintenance funding received through legislation from the State to
offset the revenues and reduce the rates at the time the rates are re-established.
The resolution to set the Street Maintenance Fee rates was approved by Council at their meeting
on February 24, 2004. The current monthly rates are: $2.18 per unit for residential uses (both single
family and multi-family units), and $0.78 per parking space or fueling position for commercial
and industrial, with a 5-space
minimum and a 200-space maximum. Implementation of the fee began in April 2004.
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For comments, concerns, questions, input or additional information,
please contact:
Gus Duenas
City Engineer
503-718-2470
gus@tigard-or.gov
Mike McCarthy
Project Engineer
503-718-2462
mikem@tigard-or.gov
Send Written Comments to:
City of Tigard
Attn: Gus Duenas
13125 SW Hall Blvd.
Tigard, OR 97223
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