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Troutdale budget panel approves budget with $25 public-safety fee, urges levy for longer-term funding
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Summary
After three nights of review and public comment, the Troutdale Budget Committee approved the FY2026-27 budget as amended, setting the public-safety fee at $25 per month and recommending a five-year $1.60-per-thousand property tax levy for the council to consider placing on the November ballot.
The Troutdale Budget Committee on April 20 approved the city's FY2026-27 budget as amended, including a $25-per-month public-safety fee and a recommendation that the City Council refer a five-year local-option property tax levy of $1.60 per $1,000 assessed value to voters in November.
The committee moved through a package of reductions staff presented earlier in the week and voted to remove a number of discretionary items, including the summer "movies in the park" program and a planned facilities van, to reduce general-fund spending. Staff said a combination of those reductions, use of a $750,000 Buxton property allocation and other non-general-fund cuts helped lower the fee originally projected at $32 to a $25-per-month recommendation.
"If you look at the graphic here, if we stayed with the Multnomah County IGA status quo, you're looking at almost $72," a staff presenter said, summarizing the staff's five-year projections; staff contrasted that with a proposed limited city police budget near $5.0 million and the county contract around $5.7 million. Committee members and citizens repeatedly asked how the city would pay for any start-up costs: resident Jack Glass said, "How are we gonna pay for this police department if you don't increase taxes?"
City staff told the committee the budget includes a one-time ramp-up appropriation (roughly $690,000—693,000 in staff estimates) that would remain in the general fund as an authorization only; if the council decides not to start a city police force, the appropriation would not necessarily be spent. Staff emphasized that the budget adopted is a fiscal framework and that specific decisions about service delivery (including whether to start a department or remain in an intergovernmental agreement) rest with the City Council.
On a related front, the committee voted to ask the council to place a five-year operating levy on the November ballot at $1.60 per $1,000 of assessed value. Staff characterized the levy as a longer-term option that could replace or reduce the utility-based public-safety fee if voters approve it; committee members noted the levy process would require additional legal and administrative work before a ballot placement decision.
The committee also voted to reclassify $1 million of contingency into unappropriated fund balance to strengthen the city's fiscal cushion. Several members said the move was intended to preserve a rainy-day balance while still approving targeted cuts to show fiscal restraint before seeking voter approval for new long-term revenue.
The budget package approved by the committee will go to the City Council for final consideration. The council will also receive the committee's recommendation on the November levy; the council can choose whether to place a measure on the ballot and, if so, finalize its amount and timing.
The committee heard several hours of public comment before approving the package, with residents urging both caution about tax increases and more transparency on police and fire service options. Staff and committee members said the May public-safety working-group meeting and additional council deliberations will provide further detail before any final decisions about service delivery are made.
