Troutdale council discusses $15 public-safety fee, fire-district option amid rising police and fire costs

Troutdale City Manager Ray Young told the City Council at a March 18 work session that the city is facing a large, likely unavoidable increase in the cost of police and fire services and asked councilors whether they want staff to prepare revenue proposals, including a proposed $15-per-month public-safety fee on utility bills.

Young said the city’s best current estimate is “somewhere in the neighborhood of a $1,500,000 increase in our fire and police costs for next budget year,” and that the proposed $15 fee plus discontinuing a $175,000 annual rent credit on the city building would let staff present a budget that preserves existing services for a year.

The discussion matters because Troutdale’s general fund has limited remaining flexibility after recent cuts and capital needs. If the council does not identify new revenue, staff warned that deeper cuts to parks, facilities and other services would be required to cover the increased public-safety cost.

Most of the meeting centered on short-term and long-term options outlined by staff and raised by councilors and residents. Short-term choices discussed were a flat monthly…