Council holds first readings on multiple fee schedules; water, sewer and stormwater rates restored to earlier projection

Portland City Council conducted first readings on several fee ordinances affecting utility and transportation charges and permitting fees, and took no final votes. Councilors and staff discussed how committee amendments align with the mayor’s proposed budget and flagged one fee — the city’s transportation network company (TNC) fee — as out of alignment between committee action and the mayor’s budget proposal.

The council opened the consolidated set of fee items and asked staff to identify which, if any, could move forward without extended debate. Items included: revisions to the tree-permit fee schedule; water rates and water-related service charges for FY 2025–26; sewer and stormwater charges and rates; revised transportation fees, rates and charges; and updates to permitting and development fee schedules.

Jonas Beery, Deputy City Attorney and DCA budget finance, told council that, aside from one item, the ordinances before council are consistent with the assumptions in the mayor’s proposed budget. He said the water and Bureau of Environmental Services utility rates, parking, short-term rental and urban forestry fees in the ordinances were consistent with the mayor’s proposal, although he acknowledged staff had been checking the exhibits in the 48 hours prior to the meeting.

Councilor Greene and other members of the Finance Committee had earlier restored a higher combined water, sewer and stormwater increase than the mayor proposed. Councilor Greene said he offered an amendment in Finance to restore a prior projection — a combined 6.3% rate increase — after staff told committee the mayor’s direction to reduce increases would reduce bureau revenues by millions and harm asset-management projects. Councilor Greene said restoring the higher level increased average household bills by roughly 50 cents per month but preserved millions for bureaus’ capital work.

"By restoring this, we're increasing the rate to ratepayers by 50 cents a month for the combined bill, but we're giving back the bureau the several millions of dollars that they need to do their infrastructure upgrades," Greene said.

A key point of contention concerned the TNC fee (the per-ride fee applied to trip origins in the city). Councilors noted that the version that passed Finance sets the TNC fee at 65 cents per ride. Several councilors said the mayor’s proposed budget included $1.30 per ride, and Jonas Beery and PBOT staff confirmed that the 65-cent figure is what left the Finance Committee and is what appears in the posted exhibit. PBOT staff said about 8 million rides originate in Portland annually and that the fee may be used for transportation programs; staff also said the fee historically covered the bureau’s regulatory costs but can be directed to other transportation purposes.

Councilor Zimmerman said the TNC fee appears to have been added to the mayor’s proposed budget without prior committee discussion; council president and others said the council will have an opportunity on May 21 (the scheduled budget deliberation) to consider changes and — if adopted that day — add an emergency clause to make the change effective immediately. Jonas Beery confirmed the TNC fee was the one fee misaligned with the Finance Committee’s posting and the mayor’s published budget, and he said staff were planning to bring it into alignment through the usual budget amendment process.

Transportation fees and parking meter increases drew extended discussion. Councilors discussed price signals for turnover, business access, and whether parking rate increases could encourage use of garages or transit. Some councilors signaled they wanted larger increases in some places; others worried about the downtown business impacts and the optics of raising on‑street parking prices.

Councilor Smith, representing District 1 concerns, asked whether tallies of sidewalks and drainage disparities had been considered in stormwater rate changes; Finance leaders said that was not part of the rate discussion but acknowledged the equity implications of different neighborhood infrastructure needs.

The council closed debate on the committee-level first readings and did not vote. Staff and councilors noted these are first readings of nonemergency ordinances and will return for second readings and final votes; the council set the second-reading vote for May 21 at 9 a.m.

Ending: Councilors agreed to continue detailed fee deliberations during the remaining budget process, with the TNC fee specifically flagged for reconciliation between the mayor’s proposal and the Finance Committee version ahead of the May 21 votes.