CUB Testifies on Portland Utility Bureau Budget Proposals
Posted on March 17, 2015 by Janice Thompson
Tags, Water/Wastewater
CUB provided extensive written testimony along with summary comments to the Portland City Council at a public utility rate hearing on March 12, 2015.
Highlights of CUB’s written testimony included:
- A recommendation to allow the Bureau of Environmental Services to charge developers the full sanitary sewer system development charge allowed by state law. This charge was frozen several years ago and steps were not taken to bring this charge back to its legally allowed level. Therefore, full revenue from this source has not been realized for several years. For example, if the full sanitary system development charge was assessed in the current 2014-2015 fiscal year, an estimated $2.5 million in additional revenue would likely be collected.
- A recommendation to allow improved recovery of Bureau of Environmental Services fees to review land use and building permit plans.
- Identification of upcoming long range planning that could result in major capital construction projects and continued upward rate pressures.
CUB will be monitoring City Council action on our utility bureau budget suggestions.
Portland Budget Process Background
The budget process began last fall with development of proposed budgets by the Bureau of Environmental Services and Portland Water Bureau in consultation with each bureau’s budget advisory committee and Commissioner-in-charge Nick Fish. The requested budgets were submitted in early February to the City Budget Office. This office manages the budget process for the City Council and prepares reports analyzing requested budgets from each city agency that were released on March 9. CUB was able to incorporate some information from the City Budget Office reports in our March 12 testimony. CUB’s testimony also included recommendations to avoid this tight timeline during next fiscal year’s budget procedures, along with other improvements.
The next step in the current budget development process is a City Council work session next month on the utility bureau budgets. Then Mayor Charlie Hales will release his proposed budget at the end of April. Final utility rate setting hearings will be held in May.
Questions or suggestions: Contact Janice Thompson at (503)227-1984 x24 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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04/27/17 | 0 Comments | CUB Testifies on Portland Utility Bureau Budget Proposals