Bend advisory board reviews Phase 2 of transportation fee; staff seeks business input before spring decision

City staff briefed the Bend advisory board on plans to move from Phase 1 to Phase 2 of the city’s transportation utility fee, saying Phase 1 is producing expected revenue and improving pavement conditions while Phase 2 will add a business-intensity factor to nonresidential charges and raise the program’s annual revenue target.

Sarah Hudson, a city staff presenter, told the board the fee “is adopted. It’s been effective as of July 1,” and said staff are working toward an anticipated effective date for Phase 2 of July 1 next year. David Addis, director of the Transportation and Mobility Department, said Phase 1 investments helped stabilize the city’s road network: “Phase 1 was instrumental in getting our conditions turned back around onto an improving trend.”

Why it matters: Phase 2 would raise the annual revenue target from $5,000,000 (Phase 1) to $10,000,000 and will change how nonresidential accounts are charged. City staff said the change is intended to more closely align fees with a property’s impact on the transportation system by…