Portland Courant

Mayor Wheeler convened Council as Budget Committee on Wednesday, May 18. He introduced amendments to the FY 2023-24 Budget to help reduce taxes and fees for Portlanders. 

Here is a brief summary of Mayor Wheeler's proposed amendments:

• SDCs: No increases
• PBOT parking: No increase (originally a 40cent increase was proposed)
• BES: 3.15% (originally a 5.15% increase was proposed)
• Water: 7.7% (down from 8.9%)

Mayor Wheeler's proposed amendments 

“My colleagues on the City Council and I met over the past week to strategize ways we can 'hold the line' at the municipal-level as business owners and residents across the city struggle to keep up with collective increases in government taxes, utility rates, and fees. Portlanders are paying a premium and they expect more from us. Today, I introduced amendments that cut fee and utility rate increases in my annual proposed budget. I am grateful for the tough conversations and partnership with my colleagues as we seek to relieve some of the burden citizens are feeling," said Mayor Wheeler.

You can view the budget session here

Last week, Mayor Wheeler convened a meeting with regional leaders to kick off a conversation about rate increases. The predominant goal of this initial meeting was to discuss recent tax impact studies and establish a group of stakeholders who will continue meeting in the coming months to further strategize on this issue.

Representatives from the City of Portland (including Commissioner’s offices and CBO Director Tim Grewe), TriMet, Multnomah County, PGE, PPA, and the Portland of Portland participated in the meeting.

Original source can be found here