Newberg staff recommend modest stormwater and transportation fee increases to fund CIP work

City of Newberg staff told the Rate Review Committee on Feb. 10 that modest rate increases are needed to sustain stormwater and transportation capital work and to preserve reserves.

Staff presenter (Speaker 6) said the stormwater utility currently bills roughly $19 per equivalent dwelling unit and recommended a 4.5% annual increase, which “results in less than a dollar increase on the stormwater bill,” to fund near-term capital improvements without taking on debt. Speaker 6 added that the stormwater system has no outstanding debt and that updated capital planning and SDC revenue support a cash-funded approach.

On transportation funding (TUF), staff recommended a 4% increase. Speaker 6 summarized the effect on a typical residential bill: the TUF fee would rise from about $6.86 to $7.14 and then to $7.42, and the combined utility bill for an illustrative typical household would increase from about $182 to roughly $186–$187 under the proposed scenarios.

Speaker 3 and Speaker 6 framed the increases as a balance between maintaining infrastructure and affordability. Speaker 3 said the city had refined its capital improvement plans and could present lower-than-projected rate increases compared with earlier estimates, while cautioning that deferring maintenance would produce larger future reconstruction costs.

The committee was told staff plan to publish detailed rate schedules and that the next meeting will be a public town hall where residents can testify on the proposals before the committee issues a recommendation to city council.

The committee did not take a formal vote at the Feb. 10 meeting; the town hall will be the next chance for public input and for the committee to finalize a recommendation.

Ending: Staff will publish the detailed rate schedules and hold a public town hall to gather community feedback before the committee forwards a recommendation to city council.