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Section 6 of online open house on local transportation funding, aligned with in-person open houses Feb. 19 - March 3, 2026.
What is it?
A monthly fee charged on existing public utility bills to residents and businesses to pay for basic road maintenance and safety improvements like fixing potholes. Similar fees exist in 31 cities in Oregon.
How would it work?
- The city would collect this fee using existing public utility billing systems
- This would generate substantial revenue at relatively low cost per household/entity paying
- Implementing the fee would be cost-effective because it would use an existing billing system
- Revenue would not be tied to fossil fuel consumption
- The fee would provide stable revenue unaffected by changes to how people use the transportation system
- Low-income households can use existing financial assistance programs through the public utilities
Cities with similar fee
The chart below lists Oregon cities in the Portland metro area with a transportation utility fee and the year they were implemented along with 2026 figures for monthly fees charged for single-family homes and multifamily units. The chart is organized from smallest fee to largest, noting the regional average.
| City (year implemented) | Single-family home monthly fee (2026) | Multifamily monthly fee per unit (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Newberg (2017) | $6.60 | $3.79 |
| Tualatin (1990) | $7.74 | $6.46 |
| Tigard (2003) | $9.11 | $8.92 |
| Hillsboro (2008) | $10.10 | $9.09 |
| Wilsonville (1997) | $11.24 | $7.30 |
| Regional average | $12.08 | $9.49 |
| Milwaukie (2007) | $12.13 | $9.86 |
| Oregon City (2006) | $16.47 | $11.23 |
| Lake Oswego (2003) | $16.80 | $12.01 |
| West Linn (2008) | $18.53 | $16.73 |
What fees would go toward
Oregon cities use revenue from transportation utility fees in different ways, primarily for basic operations and maintenance such as:
- Paving (from crack sealing to full street reconstruction)
- Signs
- Striping
- Sidewalks
- Safety improvements
- Bicycle infrastructure improvements
- Street sweeping
- Winter operations, such as snow removal
Scenarios
The following chart lists three possible rates based on 50%, 75%, and 100% of the regional average. Multifamily residences would pay 70% of the single family rate because, on average, they generate fewer trips per property. Non-residential and commercial properties would pay a percentage of their utility bill.
Estimated annual net revenue is based on estimates of trip generation wherein 70% of total revenue would be paid by residential properties and 30% would be paid by non-residential properties
| Property type | Scenario A: Monthly fee at 50% regional average | Scenario B: Monthly fee at 75% regional average | Scenario C: Monthly fee at 100% regional average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single family | $6 | $9 | $12 |
| Multifamily | $4.20 | $6.34 | $8.40 |
| Non-residential and commercial | 2.2% of utility bill. Average: $31 | 3.3% of utility bill. Average: $46 | 4.3% of utility bill. Average: $61 |
| Estimated net annual revenue | $22.6 million | $34.7 million | $46.7 million |
Low-income discounts
One advantage of this type of fee is it would be easy to administer low-income discounts. Discount programs are already offered through customers' water, sewer, and stormwater bill.