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Local politics, the county, and the world, as viewed by Tammy Maygra Tammy’s views are her own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bill Eagle, his wife, his pastor, Tammy’s neighbors, Brady Preheim, Marty Rowe, President Elon Musk, President Trump, Jerry Falwell Jr., Mike Johnson, J.D. Vance, Vlad Putin, Ted Cruz, Kamala Harris, Trump’s MAGA followers, or my neighbor’s dogs. This Tammy’s Take (with the exception of this disclaimer) is not paid for or written by, or even reviewed by anyone but Tammy and she refuses to be bullied by anyone. See Bill’s Standard Disclaimer
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Joe Corsiglia, a St. Helens resident and former Council member, and County Commissioner says he and others are frustrated by the usage of utility fees statewide
Utility Fees and Voter Suppression
I had a conversation with a friend the other day, the conversation was centered on the term “Voter Suppression” Now what do folks consider to be voter suppression? Some people believe its stopping people from voting, or making it harder for people to vote, cutting down voting times, or throwing votes out under the ruse of some small error on a ballot, or reducing voting machines and reducing voting spots. A small error which changed the presidency between Al Gore who actually won and George Bush who was appointed by the Supreme Court. Because we had pregnant chads, dimpled chads, torn chads, all became thrown out through a legal fight. My belief was that as long as the spot was pushed in it shown intent on whom they were voting for. It was a form of voter suppression. With that example finished, let’s talk about voter suppression in another way. How about the idea that the city can actually collect a tax, although they call it a fee, it’s still a tax charged to the taxpayers without their consent. A charge they have to pay because the greedy, sneaky cities of Oregon have devised a plan through the legislature that they can charge costs/ fee’s to a water bill. When this plan was devised it was to allow cities to charge the taxpayers a fee/tax to fix a broken water system or a broker sewer system. A system which required a mass amount of money to fix and in a time line that the city could not adhere to. Because the project to fix the issue was immediate and could not wait for the time it takes to get a levy done and voted on. In short it was an idea to get money fast for emergencies. I agree with that action. Bu I don’t agree with how they manipulated the bill. Unfortunately there was no safe guards written in the bill to stop the cities for putting whatever they want on the water bill, and many of the cities in Oregon have done just that, putting whatever they want on the water bill. Now I would consider this voter suppression in a different form. But still voter suppression. The city got a tax without the voters ok, they have to pay the fee on the water bill. If they don’t pay the fee then the city simply shuts their water off. They are holding the citizens hostage, either pay the fee/tax or no water. Bulling tactic. Now what if you didn’t support a new police dept. building, well that’s too bad, you don’t get to vote no, or yes if you support it. You just get to pay for whatever the city demands. There is no cost restrictions either. The city can put anything on the water bill at any time and you will just have to pay it with zero say. They can put parks on it, beautification projects, and signage, whatever they think they want. I would consider that voter suppression at its finest. Don’t you? People need to voice their outrage at the mayor and the city council. It needs to stop. These people are not being accountable as stewards for the populace. They are being dictators. And are showing no regards to the taxpayers. According to a 2021 survey, 78% of Oregon cities that responded charged for drinking water services. In addition to water rates, many Oregon cities also charge utility fees to cover other services.
Utility fees Some Oregon cities charge utility fees for services like police, fire, transportation, and street maintenance. Albany - Multi-Use Utility Fee - $9/month for single-family and variable commercial, public safety, parks, etc. Ashland - Transportation Utility Fee for street usage, $9.56/month for single-family residence and variable, effective 2021 Bend - Transportation Utility Fee, $5.60/month for single-family units, expected to double in 2025, effective 2024 Central Point - Public Safety Utility Fee, $2/month for residential and commercial accounts, increased in 2023 Coos Bay - Transportation Utility Fee for street maintenance, $10/month for residents and $20/month for businesses Creswell - Transportation Utility Fee, $4/month for single-family residence and variable rates, effective 2023 Corvallis - Various Utility Fees, roughly $45/month for single-family for police, fire, street, sidewalk, transit, urban forestry Dallas - Public Safety Utility Fee, $12.50/month for police, fire and EMS, increased 2024 Glendale - Utility Fee, annual increases expected per survey response to League of Oregon Cities, latest effective 2024 Grants Pass - Public Safety Utility Fee, $12.36/month for single family residence and variable, effective 2025 Gresham - Public Safety and Parks Utility Fees - $15/month for single-family households, mostly for police and fire, effective 2012 Hermiston - Public Safety Utility Fee, $5/month on all city utility bills for officers, effective 2024 Hillsboro - Transportation Utility Fee, $10/month for single-family residential, longstanding fee with annual increases Independence - Public Safety Utility Fee, $20/month and decreasing over time, effective January 2025 Jacksonville - Public Safety Fee, $79/month or less based on income for police and fire, longstanding fee updated frequently Keizer - Public Safety and Parks Utility Fee - roughly $11/month for single-family residences for police and parks, increased 2024 Lebanon - City Services Utility Fee, $18/month for residential customers library, court, parks and police funding, effective 2025 Lake Oswego - Street Maintenance Fee, $16.80/month for street repairs, longstanding fee updated annually Medford - Various Utility Fee, $12/mo. public safety, $5.35/mo. parks, $2/mo. street light, etc. Updated annually McMinnville - City Services Fee, $13/month for single-family homes for public safety, parks, library and admin, effective 2023 Milwaukie - Transportation and Street Maintenance Fees, $12/month for single-family homes Monmouth - Public Safety Utility Fee - $10.25/month for residences and businesses for police expenses Newberg - Transportation and Public Safety Fees, about $10/month for single-family homes North Bend - Public Safety Utility Fee, $15/month for police funding North Plains - Transportation Utility Fee, $5/month per residential dwellings, increased in 2022 Oregon City - Pavement Maintenance Utility Fee, $16/month for single-family residential, longstanding fee increased annually Salem - Various Utility Fees, $15.88/month for city operations and $2.80/month for streetlights, increasing annually Sandy - Public Safety Utility Fee - $4.50/month for additional police officers St. Helens - Public Safety Utility Fee, $10/month for a new police station effective 2023, increased from $3/month for parks Toledo - Street Lighting Utility Fee, $2/month for lighting longstanding fee Turner - Police Utility Fee, $3/month flat rate for public safety Veneta - Public Safety Utility Fee, $4/month for police and other needs, effective 2022 West Linn - Street Maintenance and Parks Utility Fees, $40/month for roadway and other improvements, increasing annually Winston - Public Safety and Transportation Utility Fees, roughly $9/month for single-family residential
VOTER SUPPRESSION AT ITS FINEST Statewide.
Tammy
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