The City's utility bills include a Street Maintenance Fee (formerly Roadway Maintenance Fee). Below are some Frequently Asked Questions and answers about this fee.
Why a Street Maintenance Fee? In 2008 City Council determined that a stable and sufficient source of revenue was needed to ensure that West Linn could continue to maintain and improve the quality of its existing public street system. The council passed an ordinance (#1557) where occupants of developed property (residential and commercial) would provide funding for the maintenance of the city’s streets.
Who pays this fee? The party responsible for the utilities, unless another responsible party agreed in writing to pay on behalf of the occupant.
How is the fee calculated? The methodology of allocating the roadway maintenance fee on the basis of “trips”, appropriately balances costs between residential and commercial users.
Residential: Flat fee of $5.61/mo for single family residents. Multi-family residences are flat fee of $5.32/mo, multiplied by the number of units.
Commercial: The business structure’s square footage as well as the type of business is factored into a trip calculation. The city uses the most recently published edition of Trip Generation, prepared by the Institute of Traffic Engineers (ITE). When the number of trips is calculated, the trips are then multiplied by the trip rate:
0 to 50 trips flat fee of $5.61/mo
51-250 trips 0.63 per trip
251-500 trips 0.75 per trip
501+ trips 0.86 per trip, with a maximum of $495
Rates are as of July 2011
What does the City use the money for? Maintenance to:
1) Provide a safe street system
2) Properly maintain the street system and areas to maximize their use, utility, and longevity
3) Maintain certain landscaped areas within the street rights-of-way
4) Provide maintenance for streets used by pedestrians, bicyclists, and mass transit users as well as those used by vehicle drivers
5) Take any other action necessary to ensure that existing city streets are maintained at standards that support the needs of city residents, businesses, and institutions
For further information, please visit the below links to Ordinance No. 1557 or the Master Fee Schedule.