Local folks and business owners may see another hike on their utility bills if the Bend City Council votes for the proposed Transportation Fee Phase 2 on May 7.
The City of Bend uses fees to finance its transportation operations and maintenance, which includes pavement restoration and street preservation.
During Phase 1, a single-family household pays $5.60 each month. Phase 2, which would begin July 1, would bring that to $10.50. For non-residential properties, monthly fees, which presently begin at $6.25, will have their transportation impact factored in. Businesses with smaller traffic footprints may pay less than those with bigger ones, says Sarah Hutson, Bend’s senior management analyst. The full list of Phase 2 fee rates is found on the City of Bend website.
“I think some people will see that their rates are staying the same, depending on the business type,” Hutson said. “And other business rates will go up.”
“It’s not new that Phase 2 is coming,” she added.
The City of Bend originally floated the transportation fee in September 2023, the Source Weekly reported. Phase 1, which began on July 1, 2024, is on track to generate $5 million for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The City expects Phase 2 to gather an annual revenue of $10 million. That money will be funneled to the operational and maintenance needs of the transportation system.
The City invites the public to an information session to be held in the Council chambers on April 24 at 5 pm. The session will go over the fee changes in Phase 2, particularly to non-residential properties.
In addition to road repairs, the fees also maintain the City’s ADA ramps and provide upgrades to speed radars and traffic signals. Signage, road striping, sidewalk and other concrete work, along with bicycle lane enhancements are also covered.
David Abbas, the City of Bend’s transportation and mobility director, reminds residents that proper street maintenance is a never-ending cycle. Sun and heat oxidize roads, which become brittle. Some roadways need more extensive treatment than mere chip sealing. Timely improvements to road surfaces save taxpayers money in the long run.
“It’s kind of like your house,” Abbas said. “You want to put a coat of paint on it before your siding rots away.”
This year, road sections picked for improvement include Pettigrew Road on Bend’s east side, which the City will chip-seal with hot oil and rock material. On the west side, NW Mt. Washington Drive, near Rivers Edge Golf Course, will also get chip sealed. And residential roads near Discovery Park are slotted for a slurry treatment, typical for low-traffic roads, according to the City’s Street Repair and Preservation map.
Road improvements funded by Phase 1 fees include NW Milwaukee Avenue, which accommodates a Neighborhood Greenway. A section of Bear Creek Road received a sidewalk installation. And a portion of NW Galveston Avenue was chip-sealed near 10 Barrel Brewing’s westside location.
“We try to use the most cost-effective preservation treatments we can,” Abbas said. “We maintain our system because once the roadways get into a more fail-type situation, they are extremely expensive to repair. We don’t want to get to that point.”
City councilors will consider adopting Phase 2 rates following a public hearing at their May 7 meeting. People can email comments to transportationfee@bendoregon.gov that will be given before the public hearing on May 7. Comments will also be taken at the hearing, in person or online. Councilors will then cast a vote.
The City has previously relied on the state gas tax, along with a slice of local property taxes, to pay for street operations and maintenance. That funding is no longer keeping up with Bend’s transportation maintenance needs, according to officials.
Bend voters passed the Transportation Bond Measure 9-135 on Nov. 3, 2020. The $190 million bond measure provided funding to initiate priority projects throughout Bend, improve east-west traffic flow and road safety. Additional funding for street repairs was anticipated by the City in its 2020 Transportation System Plan.
This article appears in Source Weekly April 17, 2025.
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The City of Bend is the most corrupt/inept City government in the State. Period.
In this case, completely inept. Locals just continue to get squeezed out in an area that is a tourist mecca. Of course, the City can’t get creative enough to fund ANYTHING with tourism taxes……..it ALWAYS falls back on strapped locals.
Doubling this fee, (and they will increase it again next summer) on top of the increases coming from the state in vehicle registration fees, gas taxes, maybe a tire tax, maybe an electric vehicle fee (tax), the proposed doubling of the current transit tax – oh and the city has a tax on your Pacific Power bill also. We are ruled by a party that continually says they will “make the rich pay their fair share”, but they keep soaking the working class at every turn. What hypocrisy!
Ah yes, the Bicycle Mayor. Incompetent but Bend deserves her.