A grand canyon in miniature: Southwest 16th Avenue east of Umatilla Street on Oct. 10, 2024.
Now that Albany has a city law calling for a monthly street maintenance fee, though not yet the fee itself, let’s review a couple of things that law says.
Once it is established, the fee will be added to monthly city bills for water and sewer service plus storm water management and the city services fee.
The first detail worth noting is what the street-fee money is for. The ordinance says:
“The primary use of the funds shall be to perform maintenance of the city transportation system through pavement preservation and street reconstruction activities. Funding is also approved for ancillary improvements including bicycle and pedestrian improvements, striping, sidewalk and curb ramps meeting the requirements of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA).”
But don’t expect your particular street to be repaired just because you paid the fee. The ordinance adds:
“It is not necessary that the expenditures of the Street Maintenance Fee revenues specifically relate
to the parcel or property from which the fees are collected.”
Another point worth noting is who is supposed to pay the fee. According to the law’s text, the fee will be “imposed on the owner, tenant, agent, or other responsible party of developed property in amounts set forth by City Council resolution. The fee shall be based on the developed property’s direct and indirect use of, or benefit derived from the use of, the City’s transportation system and is reasonably related to the cost of providing these services; it is not a property tax.”
At this week’s city council meeting, on Wednesday, Councilwoman Matilda Novak brought up, in an unelated context, a provision of the ordinance that calls for civil fines of up to $1,000 per day on anyone who a hearings officer finds has “willfully or negligently failed to comply with any provision of this chapter, and the orders, rules, and regulations issued hereunder.”
I can’t think of a circumstance where this penalty might be applied. The language seems to be common in other ordinances related to utilities, but there is no reason for it to be included in this one.
The only way not to comply is to ignore your utility bill, and if you do that the city has ways to collect on delinquent accounts. And if someone can’t afford to pay his water bill, there’s no way a civil penalty is going to help.
The council passed the fee-authorizing ordinance on Sept. 25 on a vote of 4-3, with Mayor Alex Johnson II casting the deciding vote.
If it wants to go ahead with the fee, the council must still approve a resolution setting the amount and determining the rates for different types of utility customers based on their presumed “trip generation.” Preparing all that will take months.
In July, consultants told the council that a street fee of $16 per month on the average household would yield about $6 million a year. The consultants recommended that the city set a goal of rebuilding or repaving 52 blocks of local streets in the first year.
Achieving that amount of repaving would be an accomplishment so huge that even people who object to the fee might be pleased. (hh)
Dark purple streets on this map from Albany’s city website are said to be in “poor” condition.
When I started my retail establishment some time ago, the SDC street fee was substantial. The city did not expend a dime on maintenance or improvements related to my project. I have no idea where that money went. Happy to pay my fair share for street maintenance, but before I do someone is going to have to explain where that SDC money went.
Your 27 Nov 2023 report identified the “funding” needed to fix Albany streets “will cost $12.8 million per year for 40 years.”
Now you report that the average $16/month “fee” will yield about “$6 million a year.”
I’m not a Math major, but based on your reporting $6 million a year means the street problem won’t be solved for about 80 years.
And you conclude that “even people who object to the fee might be pleased.”
Huh?
p.s. A fee based on “property” is a “property tax”, regardless of what the city lawyer wrote into the ordinance. And per state law a property tax requires voter approval. This ordinance appears ripe for a legal challenge.
You’re right Gordo you’re not a math major. You also don’t even live in Albany or the state anymore. Do some basic research. Do you think maybe the $6m is on top of the $7m currently available for street repairs? Or do you honestly think what you wrote? What I read online (Google it) was that the council told staff to fix the major roads first while the roads in front of people’s houses in the older parts of town (from Hasso’s map) fall apart from years of council twiddling their thumbs and spending money that used to be spent on roads to police and fire instead. That would be the “I pay taxes” crowd. Easy to find this info but zero or our property taxes go toward maintenance of our streets. Some used to but now I guess most of it goes to public safety. I’m sure you’ll disagree with the basic facts. Hopefully you’re recovering from the Hurricane damage in North Carolina.
I stand corrected if your assertion of $7M is correct.
So instead of 80 years, the problem will now be fixed in about 79 years. Thanks for the clarification.
“Achieving that amount of repaving would be an accomplishment so huge that even people who object to the fee might be pleased. (hh)”
Doubt it! Considering the amount of inconvenience of waiting for a flagger. Exhibit A would be your post a few days ago.
Side note. Albany’s Util billing system is still screwed up. I pay every month. Still my mailed bills show i owe more. Checking online… I owe ZERO.
Absolutely absurd this council is is an embarrassment to Albany.
Corvallis has many fees on their “city services bill” including street maintenance, sidewalk maintenance, transit (pays for gas for the city’s fareless bus system), urban forestry, as well as public service fees for police and fire. There is also a low income assistance fee. These fees can be raised or lowered at any time. My understanding is the fee is a way to “get around” the limit on property taxes as everyone has to pay the fee. With property taxes, non profits don’t have to pay. Of my monthly bill, approx 44% goes to these fees. Do I like them? No!!!! They can call them “fees” and then they don’t need to be voted on. If they called them a “tax” it would have to be voted on to increase or decrease.
And, speaking of Corvallis, their Chamber of Commerce head, who made a good salary, had to to back to North Carolina, because, even though her salary was much larger than her salary in North Carolina, her cost of living in Corvallis went up by 55% from what it was in North Carolina. She said she preferred to stay in Corvallis, but she could not afford to.
WHAT THE ? This is outrageous. We already pay taxes for this. Where is that money going to? Personally I can’t afford more tax/fee on my bills. Fixed income. Perhaps city councilors and whom brought this up in first place need to step out. Tired of We the people getting stepped on
Who would decide what streets would be worked on I see streets being repaired close to business.
Not on streets in neighborhoods.In my neighborhood most of the damage is done by City busses and large trucks taking a short to deliver to stores on 34 Ave
I live on 28th Ave off of Marion.
As I stated before, nonprofits like the shelter get funding, donations, pay no taxes and the increased costs of running the city has to come from somewhere. Maybe they thought that the smoke shops would contribute enough money to help pay for all the extra city services and offset the money spent on the nonprofits and the problems they cause. Everyone I know expects to pay because they have no choice and are disparate for relief from the flood of crime that the city has invited to the city. The city made a camp where drug use was allowed despite the crimes that were being committed. The shelter wanted to offer low barrier beds to get more funding which brought more homeless that expected to continue using drugs without consequences. The traffic cams, all these extra fees are a way for the city to recoup their losses. No one cared how the city would suffer for these expensive acts of compassion or the costs to the people that live here. No matter what fees we pay, we will still have potholes and chronic homelessness. It’s like the old joke about out running your friend, not the bear. The mayor, city manager and council don’t have to out run their problems, they just have to out run us.
No matter how you word it, it is TAX!
Should we continue to push to the future repairs of our streets such as our former councilors did or do we bite the bullet and pay for it now and into the future. A couple of years ago a gas tax was submitted to a vote and it was voted down. Why? One comment
was We would by our gas elsewhere. Let’s not push the repairs of our streets any further down the line. Councilors keep proceeding with the processing of the utility fee.
I have been under the assumption that the taxes we pay went towards repairs needed for road maintenance. What has been funding it up until now? To add another “Fee” on our utility bill will be the straw that breaks the camels back for many on a fixed income. This propensity to circumvent the voters on issues like this has to stop.