Clackamas County Commissioners approve $5 vehicle registration fee

Clackamas County Commissioners approve $5 vehicle registration fee for Sellwood Bridge replacement, with provisions for sunset, jobs and a 2012 implementation date

After more than six hours of public hearings, the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners on Thursday approved an ordinance and resolution for a $5 per year county vehicle registration fee (VRF) to support construction of a new Sellwood Bridge near the Clackamas County line in Portland.

Commission Chair Lynn Peterson put safety and jobs at the top of the list of reasons for supporting it.

“We are all concerned about the safety of the bridge and we are all concerned about using our money wisely,” she said. “We are also responsible for ensuring a safe transportation system, and citizens have the right to feel safe as they travel in Clackamas County and throughout the region.”

In response to concerns from some that Clackamas County shouldn’t have to help pay for a bridge in a different county, Commissioner Jim Bernard listed the many ways in which Multnomah County and all Oregon citizens help fund needed programs and services available in Clackamas County.

“I hope our citizens don’t have to use some of these services,” he said, “but if they do we have schools, courts, drug and alcohol abuse prevention, jails and lots of other programs that we can’t afford to pay for on our own.”

The Board’s approval came only after addressing in the ordinance and supporting resolution a number of concerns raised by the public, including the following:
• The VRF will not go into effect until January 1, 2012.
• The VRF will not go any higher than $5 per year per vehicle and will end once Clackamas County’s $22 million share of the project is reached.
• The funds raised may only be used for replacement of the Sellwood Bridge and its approaches.
• The project will help provide jobs for Clackamas County residents and opportunities for Clackamas County businesses, to the extent allowed by law.
• The county will continue to search for opportunities to partner with Multnomah County on projects of significance to its citizens.

Commissioner Bob Austin thanked the many people (more than 200) who took the time to comment, call or testify about the proposed VRF in the past few weeks.

“I really appreciate the comments and questions raised by the public. They have helped shape the VRF to respond to concerns about whether the fee would keep going up, how long the fee would last and how the money would be used,” said Austin.

In approving this first-ever Clackamas County VRF, the Board of Commissioners was responding to an opportunity presented by the state legislature in 2009 that allowed counties with a population of 350,000 or more to enact a vehicle registration fee to support replacement of the Sellwood Bridge. Construction of the new bridge is scheduled to begin in 2012.

The Board held its first public hearing on the proposed ordinance on Nov. 24, and a second hearing the evening of Dec. 8.

The Sellwood Bridge, located about one mile from Clackamas County, serves as a vital connection over the Willamette River, and the only connection in the 12-mile stretch from Oregon City to Portland. Of the 30,000 cars that cross the bridge every day, 21,000 of them (72%) are going to or coming from Clackamas County.

The total cost of replacing the 85-year-old bridge is estimated at $290 million to $330 million, depending on what is done to the interchange on the west side of the bridge. In addition to $22 million from Clackamas County, other financial partners include Multnomah County at $127 million, City of Portland with up to $100 million, Oregon Department of Transportation at $30 million and the Federal Highway Administration.

The approved ordinance and resolution are available at www.clackamas.us.

Tags: clackamas county, multnomah county, selwood bridge, vehicle registration fee

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 9th, 2010 at 4:25 pm and is filed under Clackamas County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.