The council and city manager during Monday’s work session on a new fee to pay for city services.
A new utility fee averaging $9 a month for residences and $18 for commercial accounts would raise around $2.7 million a year toward supporting city services, the Albany City Council was told on Monday.
During a work session, the council heard from consultant Deb Galardi about four different options for charging such a fee. City Manager Peter Troedsson is asking the council to pick one of the options so the fee structure can be prepared in case the council wants to impose a utility fee, or send it to the voters to decide.
Troedsson says the fee will be needed if the council wants to avoid layoffs and service cuts in coming years, because expenses continue to outpace existing tax income.
At its regular meeting Wednesday, the council will be asked to pick one of the options for structuring a city service utility fee. If and when it decides later to impose the fee, it will also have to set rates.
A basic residential fee of $9 a month was used in Monday’s presentation because it’s the average amount in seven Oregon cities the consultant compared. Large commercial and industrial utility accounts would be charged much more, with the largest hit for more than $1,000 a month.
(Some small towns charge much more for single residences. Jacksonville, for example, not one of the seven in the comparison, adds $58 a month to its water and sewer bills: $3 for parks, $35 for fire protection, and $20 for police protection. The Oregon Supreme Court, following up on a 1993 Roseburg case, upheld the Jacksonville service fees in 2007. The court said the fees did not amount to an unconstitutional property tax.)
Albany is getting $9.37 million from Uncle Sam in the recently passed Covid relief act. Troedsson said some of that cash can be used to offset revenue losses due to the pandemic. But he stressed this is one-time money and no solution to the city government’s structural imbalance between income and expense.
On Monday, Councilwoman Marilyn Smith made the point that the new city fee would be paid by churches, schools and other nontaxable utility customers. It would be added to the monthly water and sewer bills, which already include a stormwater fee.
Last year, a council majority was against imposing a service fee without voter approval. But this council has four new members, and the chances are good that an ordinance imposing the additional fee without an election would pass.
It will take several weeks to work out the details. Then, an ordinance imposing the fee is likely to come before the council later this spring. (hh)
Enough with these “Fees/Taxes”!
I’m a single senior, living alone in my home. My water bill is already averaging $110.00 a month. This just normal usage for laundry, dishwasher, and bathing… I can’t afford to water my yard in summer months.
I have a limited income that I budget… the city needs to learn to do the same, and quit spending…and threatening cuts!
I agree .We seniors just can’t keep getting these hits in the wallet. $15.00 raise of social security doesn’t begin to cover the costs of everything I mean everything that’s going up especially since Jan 20th
If they impose this fee to fund : $3 for parks, $35 for fire protection, and $20 for police protection, I will never vote yes on another police/fire levy, obviously this fee would take care of police, fire, and parks and there would be no need for anymore levies.
Patrick… that’s wishful thinking… and I’d love if it were possible… but we live in La La land of Albany with deep pockets of unending pilferage of its residents… a tax rich city/county/state.
With all of these multi-dwellings (apartments) and single housing units being built on every available open lot/acreage just within our city limits… can you imagine what they all are paying each month to city utilities??? A LOT… where is it all going??
I am guessing that these fee estimates will follow the current water/sewer fee increases of 2% on the March billing and 3% increase on the July billing.
Hasso could you do a follow up article on the disbursement of the $9.37 million covid relief funds.
Individuals already complaining rents are high… well… welcome to a higher rent increase to max out the allowable base plus index. It is time for the abuse to stop.
With the new covid money coming its time to renegotiate our public salaries.
What are they going to do for those seniors that are not able to pay this extra money? Some are already saying they don’t have the funds to absorb any more debt. In addition rents increasing and medicine as well as food costs have increased. Yes social security gave 1.3% increase which medicare took most of this. I would hope council will consider these people. If not we will be needing more living space for more homeless.