Their "street fee" of $144 per year will be conveniently split into fourths and add only another $38 to the quarterly water/sewer bill that presently runs to around $350 per homeowner. This is desperately needed money because City Hall has been peeing away so much money on bioswales, bike paths, and other stuff that they kind of never got around to maintaining the streets.
But it gets much better:
KOIN TV reported last night that businesses and churches and government offices and schools will all see big new "fee" expenses as well - $3,435 a month for an office building, $1,854 a month for a hospital, $2,791 per month for each school or university building, $1,011 for each church building, $971.00 a month for each daycare facility.
Because, you know, daycare's way too cheap as it is.
So in addition to paying the $144 a year, homeowners who do business of any sort in Portland can look forward to paying higher rates as companies pass the costs along. Yep, good old "business-friendly" Portland City Hall strikes again. Even better, 20% of their "street fee" goes to streetcars and light rail.
Note: The Oregonian claims it'll cost $140, rather than $144 for homeowners; not sure where they got the lower figure, but they probably figure folks will be happy with the "lower" figure because they can use the "extra" money to buy a latte.
Note: Portland City Hall can raise the "fee" any time they want.
Note: Despite Streetcar and Novick's insistence that this is not a tax, that's precisely what it is. A fee is what you pay when you use a tollway or a campsite or an entry fee. A tax is imposed by government whether or not you use their alleged "service". Expect this new tax to be in litigation, along with the "arts tax", which is still tied up in court.
