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Wilsonville adopts stormwater rate increase after heated hearing; sewer rate hearing continued
Summary
After an extended public hearing and debate, Wilsonville City Council adopted resolution 3230 (option 2) to raise stormwater utility rates and add an annual inflation adjustment; the sewer-rate hearing (resolution 3229) was continued to March 16 for additional staff analysis on affordability and projections.
Wilsonville City Council adopted new stormwater utility rates on Feb. 2, 2026, voting 3-1 to approve resolution 3230 using staffs Option 2 schedule. The council continued the separate sewer-rate hearing (resolution 3229) to March 16 to allow staff time to refine population projections and affordability measures.
City engineer Zach Weigel presented the adopted stormwater case to the council, citing the 2024 Stormwater Master Plan and a list of priority projects to address deficient pipelines, localized flooding and federal/state water-quality permit obligations. He described multiple high-priority repairs — including work in Charbonneau and the Miley Road stormwater improvements — and showed photographs of pipeline deterioration and emergency repairs. "Three weeks after that pipeline picture was taken, during a heavy rainstorm, the bank of the Willamette River collapsed right at that pipeline location," Weigel said, noting the cityhad to declare an emergency and perform temporary fixes.
Staff presented four rate alternatives and modeled the revenue and project-delay impacts of each. Option 2, the council-chosen option, flattens increases over a three-year period to reduce the size of later-year spikes while maintaining revenue sufficient to avoid multi-year delays to priority projects. Weigel said slower or smaller increases would reduce near-term revenue by millions of dollars and could delay priority projects in Charbonneau and other areas by several years.
More than a dozen residents testified during the extended public comment period. Testimony urged fiscal prudence and fairness: several speakers said households on fixed incomes and neighborhoods not currently receiving full stormwater service (such as Old Town and parts of Montgomery Way) should not bear large increases; others urged the city to seek additional grants, low-interest loans or green-infrastructure alternatives. "The rate increases being proposed are extreme," resident Steve Gashler said. Doris Wheeler asked why ratepayers should subsidize growth-related costs, saying "Growth needs to pay for growth."
Council discussion weighed the urgency of replacing failing pipes against affordability concerns. Several councilors stressed the need to pair rate decisions with expanded rate-assistance or affordability programs for low-income and fixed-income residents; staff said they would return with options for income-based assistance and other program details. Council President Berry moved to adopt resolution 3230 with option 2; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote, 3-1. The sewer-rate public hearing (resolution 3229) was formally continued to 7 PM on March 16 to allow additional staff analysis on population projections and assistance programs.
