Newberg City Council refines multi-year goals, orders staff studies on land tax, traffic cameras and road funding

The Newberg City Council met in a Saturday work session to review and revise its multi-year strategic goals, instruct staff to research several potential policy tools and confirm follow-up steps on public-safety and infrastructure projects.

The council left a consolidated list of project goals on the table and asked staff for specific studies and timelines: look into the legal feasibility of a vacant industrial-land tax, restart procurement for a red-light/speed camera program after terminating the current contractor, and produce a report within roughly a year on revenue options from a local gasoline tax and EV-charging fees that could supplement or replace the city—s utility line item for road maintenance.

Why it matters: Council goals will shape the city—s work plan and capital priorities for the next several years, including where staff focus scarce grant-writing and engineering resources. Several of the items discussed — expanding the urban growth boundary, new permitting software and potential new local taxes or fees — carry legal, fiscal and community- engagement implications that the council asked staff to scope in writing before any formal ordinance or ballot measure.

Council direction and key decisions

- Goals and process: Councilors spent the session working through a draft goals list the staff had posted for the meeting. The list separates project goals with finish targets from ongoing aspirational objectives; the council approved keeping the set of goals and asked that staff return a draft resolution suitable for the consent calendar summarizing the final list.

- Vacant industrial-land tax: The idea of a tax on underused industrial parcels was discussed as a way to spur development. The council did not adopt the tax but by consensus authorized staff to research its legal feasibility and report back. The council specifically asked staff to return legal analysis and options rather than advance immediate legislation.

- Urban growth boundary and industrial land: Councilors agreed to a revised timeline to pursue land for light industrial zoning. The target was adjusted to seek an application to bring land into the urban growth boundary and zone for light manufacturing within five years; staff said additional required studies (housing capacity/production) and the statutory review process will affect timing and that appeals can add years.

- Red-light and speed cameras: City staff said the contract with the camera vendor (referred to in the meeting as the vendor formerly known as Conduit / Elevate) has been cancelled and a termination letter was sent. Legal staff advised the council the city cannot legally skip to the next-ranked bidder; the city must restart procurement with a new RFP. Staff estimated the new procurement process would take a minimum of three months for RFP drafting, a 3—4 week bid period and subsequent review.

- Customer service and permitting: Council kept a goal to create departmental customer-service standards and to continue streamlining permit issuance. Staff noted implementation of an OpenGov enterprise permitting and licensing platform is part of that work; the council retained a July 2026 target for department-level customer-service standards.

- Roads and gravel-street conversions: Council discussed a new objective to explore converting small sections of gravel streets to paved roads. After debate about costs, mobilization fees and right-of-way requirements, the line was softened to read that staff should "explore the concept" rather than promise immediate conversions. Staff estimated the city has roughly 3 miles of gravel streets and gave a high-level cost range of about $2—3.5 million to fully upgrade those sections (engineering, sidewalks and pipe work could add to costs); they warned piecemeal work is less cost-effective and can raise mobilization fees.

- Downtown revitalization and Main Street: The council approved a goal to "revitalize and beautify the appearance and utility of Newberg—s downtown area." The first action item is to work in partnership with the Newberg Downtown Coalition (NDC) to seek grant funding and to pursue reinstatement/implementation of the Oregon Main Street Program locally. The council asked staff to include the chamber and other stakeholders in outreach.

- Grants and staffing: Councilors discussed the city—s grant-writing capacity. Staff said current practice is to bring proposed grant projects to the manager for approval before pursuing applications. Council instructed staff to consider a municipal fee-schedule line that could allow the city to recover staff time for grant-writing support to private or business-led downtown projects, if the council later chooses to invoke it.

- Fiscal policy and communications fee: Council reiterated an ongoing objective to reduce and prudently manage the city—s debt while maintaining essential services. Staff noted the sinking-fund strategy for the communications tower debt and said the plan to remove a small communications line item from customer bills depends on revenue and debt paydown; staff said the utility line item tied to that debt is roughly $35 per year per account (staff to bring the exact number to a future council session) and that the sinking-fund target is a material factor in timing.

- Gasoline tax and EV charges study: Council asked staff to prepare a fiscal report over the coming year modeling revenue options from a local gasoline excise and from EV- charging fees (time-based or per-kWh models) to determine whether such options could supplement or replace the current utility line item used for road funding. Staff accepted a 12-month target to return a written analysis and modelling of likely revenue ranges and implementation considerations.

What remains discussion/not decided

- The vacant industrial-land tax: authorized only for staff research; no legislative action or ordinance was proposed at the meeting.

- Red-light camera procurement: the contract has been terminated; council did not award a replacement contract and directed staff to run a new RFP.

- Gravel-road conversion scope and finance: council moved the objective to —explore— rather than to commit to an implementation schedule; staff was directed to return options on community engagement and funding mechanisms (local improvement districts, capital- improvement scheduling, or phased approaches).

Context and next steps

City staff will compile the session—s edits and return a formal draft resolution of council goals suitable for a council meeting consent item. Staff was instructed to produce specific written reports on the vacant-industrial-tax feasibility, a procurement plan for cameras, and the gasoline/EV-charging tax revenue report within roughly a year. The council expects separate follow-up on the OpenGov permitting implementation, the department customer-service standards timetable (July 2026 target), and the downtown Main Street grant pursuit.

Quotes and attributions in this story come from participants in the workshop and from staff remarks recorded in the session transcript. The full goals list and the staff—s written reports will be returned to the council for review before any ordinance, fee change or ballot measure is proposed.

Ending

Councilors agreed the draft goals list should be returned as a prepared consent resolution at a future council meeting so members can read the language and pull individual items for discussion if they wish. Staff will present the studies and timelines the council requested before the council takes any formal legislative steps.