No one taking credit for giving county right to raise fees

Officials differ on how provision for two counties to increase car registration fee got into bill

By Shannon Wells

The Gresham Outlook, Jun 19, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (3 Reader comments)

Rick Metsger

Contributed photo

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Despite new legislative language giving the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners sole power to raise car registration fees, one commissioner is confident that residents will have a clear voice in the process.

“We are elected by the people to make a decision,” said Commissioner Deborah Kafoury. “We (now) have a few tools (in) our ability to raise the car registration fee. We do that through a vote following a public hearing. We’ll be having public discussions to get feedback from folks, and we’ll take a vote.”

A provision of House Bill 2001, which Gov. Ted Kulongoski recently signed, gives the county body primary authority to raise car registration fees until 2013 to pay for a replacement for the Sellwood Bridge. It eliminates the need for approval from a so-called “spider web” of 11 individual jurisdictions and county voters.

Clackamas County is also affected by the provision regarding car registration fees.

A 1994 study showed that 70 percent of trips across the Sellwood Bridge began or ended in Clackamas County, said Mike Pullen of the Oregon Department of Transportation. A more recent analysis of trip patterns predicts that 76 percent of Sellwood Bridge trips will begin or end in Clackamas County.

Section 40 of the transportation bill – an $890 million package including $24 million to improve the Interstate 84 interchange at Troutdale – appears to specifically benefit Multnomah County government in its long-running quest to replace the decrepit Sellwood Bridge over the Willamette River.

The Gresham, Troutdale and Maywood Park city councils – among the 11 jurisdictions whose approval was required – voted down the proposal last year, leaving the county unable to put the increase before voters.

Kafoury said she’s uncertain how language eliminating the jurisdiction and voter approval requirements made it to the bill. She and Ted Wheeler, county chairman, emphasize that many officials, lawmakers and bodies such as the Metro’s Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation exerted an influence on the bill’s ability to fund safety and transportation improvements.

“My understanding was that it’s something that’s been talked about for awhile,” said Kafoury, a former legislator. “It was part of a broader conversation with JPACT and others.”

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