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Troutdale staff report progress on fire‑service options; ballot measure planning under discussion
Summary
City manager Ray reported July 8 that Troutdale and neighboring jurisdictions continue work on potential fire‑service realignment, including analysis showing modest tax compression impacts for Troutdale but substantial expense relief if fire services move to a district.
City manager Ray reported to the Troutdale City Council on July 8 for the Public Safety Delivery Working Group (PSWAG), summarizing recent interjurisdictional work on fire‑service options and next steps for possible ballot measures.
Ray told the council that law enforcement contracting with Gresham is set on a three‑year contract but that the fire discussion remains unresolved. He said a recent fiscal analysis presented to the Gresham City Council indicated Gresham faces long‑term fiscal pressure supporting a fire department within its general fund and that joining or forming a fire district could materially change each city’s fiscal responsibilities.
Ray summarized studies and memos shared with the committee: Troutdale’s economic analysis estimating joining a fire district would likely raise Troutdale property tax “compression” costs by approximately $150,000–$180,000 a year (based on Troutdale’s roughly $7 million in property tax revenue); in return, shifting fire services to a district could remove about $3.2 million of expense from Troutdale’s general fund next budget year. Ray also said Gresham’s fiscal study estimated large savings if fire costs moved out of the Gresham general fund.
The group discussed polling and outreach: Clackamas County Fire District 1 provided funding for a $30,000 poll, managed by Wood Village, to test messaging and voter receptiveness. Ray said the committee has engaged Praxis, a political consulting firm, to advise on ballot planning, messaging and timing. Staff emphasized that the meetings described are staff‑level and not public hearings; council briefings and public outreach will follow.
Ray outlined a schedule of interjurisdictional meetings with other cities and fire districts in July and August and said staff would reconvene PSWAG in late August after those meetings so council could be briefed and consider specific options, including pursuing a May 2026 ballot measure. He said staff will provide executive summaries of staff meetings and return to council with recommended next steps in September.
