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St. Helens agency approves $743,056 urban renewal budget; mayor abstains
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Summary
The St. Helens Urban Renewal Agency approved a $743,056 budget for fiscal year 2025–26 and authorized levying maximum incremental tax revenue under state law. Officials discussed an existing IFA loan, a three-year delay before debt service begins and financial risks tied to the departure of a major employer.
The St. Helens Urban Renewal Agency on Monday approved a $743,056 budget for fiscal year 2025–26 and authorized levying the maximum incremental tax revenue allowed under state law; Mayor Jennifer Massey declared a potential conflict of interest and abstained from the vote.
The approved budget appropriates $100,000 in capital outlay for completion of riverfront-district streets and utilities extension work and for phase 1 of a riverfront lot project, plus $15,000 for audit materials and services, according to the agency’s budget message. Those projects are intended to extend utilities onto the city’s riverfront property and to support future public amenities and private investment.
Why it matters: The agency’s finances hinge on a state Infrastructure Finance Authority (IFA) loan and anticipated private investment on the waterfront. Agency staff and directors emphasized the need to build assessed value inside the urban renewal area to generate tax increment revenues sufficient to cover future debt service.
Agency staff said draws on the IFA loan are expected to total $14,556,856 by June 30, 2025, and that the agency’s maximum indebtedness (MI) is $62,000,000, a limit set in the agency’s adopted plan. “The loan has never increased,” said Gloria Butch, finance director and agency finance director, referring to an amendment that accounted for matching system development charges and grants but did not raise the loan principal.
Officials told the committee the first debt service payment on the loan will be due three years after the loan’s close, with interest accruing from the first draw through project completion and capitalized until the first payment. Agency staff recommended holding off on seeking reimbursement from the agency for prior city administrative expenses so reserves are available to meet the loan payments when they begin.
Public comment raised concern about the agency’s ability to repay the loan if expected private investment and employer payroll taxes do not materialize following the departure of Cascades Tissue, which the speaker said reduced the agency’s tax increment revenue. A member of the public said the sale of the old mill site was expected to close in June 2025 and could improve the agency’s outlook.
Board discussion also clarified how tax increment financing works for the agency: expenditures are limited by the agency’s maximum indebtedness adopted in the 2017 urban renewal plan, and project expenditures financed by system development charges are not counted against the MI. Staff noted that if the agency accrues assessed value—for example, an illustrative $45 million in assessed value for a developed block—tax increment revenues could rise by several hundred thousand dollars a year, which would help cover debt service.
The committee elected Steve Toske as chair earlier in the meeting and approved the URA minutes from May 16, 2024, before taking public comment and approving the budget. The budget motion passed; Mayor Jennifer Massey abstained, noting at the start of the meeting a potential conflict of interest because her husband is a St. Helens police officer.
More details and next steps: Staff said there are no near-term plans to borrow additional funds until the agency has accrued enough revenues to cover existing debt service. The budget message and project list are available on the city’s website for further information.
