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Councilors signal support for COLPAC dues increase but push back on automatic inflation indexing
Summary
Astoria’s COLPAC delegate asked for council feedback on a proposed increase in annual dues from $250 to $1,500; councilors generally supported raising the city’s contribution but expressed reluctance to accept automatic inflation indexing and asked staff to press COLPAC to consider Astoria’s classification.
Councilor Davis asked the council for guidance after attending a COLPAC (Columbia Pacific Economic Development District) meeting where the regional organization proposed raising municipal dues for the first time in about 30 years. The proposal would move Astoria’s current $250 annual dues to $1,500 under COLPAC’s 'large city' rubric.
Councilors acknowledged COLPAC’s grant‑capacity role and the return on investment it can bring to member jurisdictions, but several members voiced reservations about automatic inflation indexing and the city’s classification as a "large" city for dues purposes. Councilor Adams said she was "in favor" of an increase but not comfortable with an automatic inflation adjustment. Mayor Fitzpatrick urged colleagues to continue advocating that Astoria be recognized as a small city for dues calculation. Councilor Davis said he would report the council’s feedback back to COLPAC.
The discussion did not produce a formal vote; Councilor Davis asked for a straw poll and indicated he would represent the council’s position back to COLPAC.
