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Wood Village begins planning for short-term public-safety funding as Gresham contract nears renewal
Summary
Councilors heard staff describe a possible 120% increase in Gresham’s proposed contract price for fire services. Staff presented stop-gap and longer-term options — cutting general fund services, raising franchise fees, creating a public-safety utility fee, or pursuing a local option levy — and discussed working with neighboring cities and a PR firm to coordinate outreach.
City staff told the council on Dec. 10 that negotiations with Gresham over the fire-services contract, which expires June 2025, have included an initial Gresham request described in the meeting as a 120% increase in the city’s payment. "The initial ask was to move to increase our payment by a 120%," staff said when briefing the council on the scope of potential cost increases.
Council and staff spent the bulk of the meeting examining short-term and long-term options to bridge potential budget gaps. Staff outlined three revenue possibilities and a spending-cut option: trimming general-fund services (staff said roughly $900,000 in currently non-public-safety general-fund items could be considered), increasing franchise fees on utilities (staff estimated a 5% increase on city-owned utilities could yield about $125,000 annually, and a similar bump on private utilities could raise roughly $330,000), implementing a public-safety utility fee, or pursuing a voter-supported local option levy.
Staff noted practical and timing constraints: franchise or privilege taxes generally require procedural review and public education; a local option levy would likely not generate revenue until the November 2026 election cycle; and any voter measure would require outreach and polling. Council members emphasized avoiding a "permanent temporary" fix and discussed using a short-term levy or phased approach that would be explicitly temporary while the three cities (Wood Village, Fairview and Troutdale) pursue a regional fire-district solution. Council asked staff to prepare proposals and sizing options to inform decisions once Gresham’s final ask is known.
The council also discussed coordination with neighboring cities and the possibility of hiring a public-relations or outreach firm to craft consistent messaging across jurisdictions. Staff said the city’s five-year forecast will be updated to model different bridging scenarios and that earlier work by consultant AP Triton will inform timing and potential district design. Council members requested follow-up analysis on timing, legal pathways for fees and voter measures, and draft outreach plans to begin community engagement in the new year.
