Eugene council directs stormwater fee increase to raise about $4.7 million, sets six‑year sunset

The Eugene City Council voted 6–2 on May 21 to direct the city manager to initiate a stormwater fee amendment that would generate approximately $4,700,000 in annual revenue and to schedule a fall work session to consider creation of an ad hoc citizen fiscal stability advisory committee.

The measure, as amended during the meeting, sets a six‑year sunset date of July 1, 2031 for the temporary revenue change. Councilors adopted the amendment to extend the sunset from the initially proposed July 1, 2029 to July 1, 2031 by a 5–3 vote before approving the full motion 6–2.

Council leaders and staff framed the action as a compromise to stabilize funding for a set of community‑facing services while the city pursues longer‑term revenue and expenditure reforms. City staff presented two principal revenue paths the council had previously asked them to analyze: (1) a new temporary city operations fee (options modeled at $6 million or $8 million in net revenue) and (2) an increase to the existing stormwater fee that staff estimated would raise about $4.7 million.

Assistant City Manager Rodriguez told council that the city had evaluated both approaches and identified a key constraint with the new fee option: Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) has, based on its legal counsel's advice, concluded it could…