Multnomah County briefing frames fee policy as small share of budget ahead of budget season

Christian Elkin, Multnomah County budget director, told the Board of County Commissioners on March 11 that countywide fees and user charges make up a very small portion of the county's revenues and that the county seeks to apply a consistent policy when considering fee adjustments.

"Countywide fees and user charges make up less than about 1% of our total operating budget," Elkin said, framing the briefing as background for upcoming discussions on restaurant inspection fees and land-use fees.

The Central Budget Office presentation said the county budgets roughly $18 million in fees across all funds and that most county fees are governed by a combination of federal law, the Oregon Revised Statutes and administrative rules, and Multnomah County code. Elkin said many department directors set fees under county code, while other fees are driven by state or federal law.

The county's stated policy aims to recover up to 100% of the cost of providing a fee-funded service, with exceptions when ability to pay or the public benefit argue for partial subsidies. "We try to calculate the full cost of the user fee and then figure out where we want to set the recovery rate related to that," Elkin said.

Budget staff also described recent policy choices that affected fees: the county paused routine fee increases during the governor's moratorium on tax and fee increases, and departments have deferred some adjustments since 2020. Elkin urged commissioners to consider which fees should remain administrative and routine and which require more in-depth policy review.

The overview noted several program-level changes in recent years that reflect the county's approach. The library system eliminated youth late fees in 2016 and broadened the change in 2020; the county shifted supervision fees for community corrections after determining the fee disproportionately burdened people on supervision; and the sheriff's office budget included a general-fund backfill for expensive in-custody phone fees that had been charged through private contractors.

Commissioners were briefed that the Central Budget Office will provide more detailed fee schedules and department-level briefings during the April-May budget work sessions, and that proposed fee changes will be included in the chair's budget when it is released. Commissioner questions during the briefing focused on when specific increases would be visible in the budget and what processes would be used to notify affected businesses and residents.

Ending: The county budget director said staff will provide department-by-department fee reviews in upcoming budget work sessions and is available to meet commissioners individually about items on the fee schedule.