On a City Council agenda packed with development and infrastructure issues, only one item inspired debate at the Aug. 6 meeting. Tucked at the end of the consent agenda—typically a cluster of items approved collectively by a motion with little fanfare at the start of the meeting—was a contract amendment authorizing the city to spend […]
City Council
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Mark Capell Says He’ll Run for a Third City Council Term
Mark Capell announced today that he will run for a third term on the Bend City Council. He was first elected to council in 2006 and made headlines in 2012 when he bucked tradition and publicly declared his interested in serving as mayor. Capell currently serves as chair of the Bend Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Bend Urban Renewal Agency and is […]
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City Water and Sewer Rates Will Increase in October
City Council voted 4-3 tonight to increase water and sewer rates by 5 and 9 percent effective October 1. The rates were anticipated to increase as of July 1, but Mayor Jim Clinton and Councilors Sally Russell, Doug Knight, and Jodie Barram expressed concerns about hitting ratepayers with the increase before the October 15 end of irrigation […]
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Tapped
Concerns bubble up over rate increases
For those receiving City of Bend services, water and sewer rates are about to go up. Just how high will be determined at the upcoming City Council meeting on June 18. The reason for the controversial increase are somewhat invisible infrastructure improvements, such as the Environmental Protection Agency-mandated membrane filtration system. City Manager Eric King […]
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Council Proposes Water and Sewer Rate Increases
Long showers, green lawns, freshly laundered clothes—these are the luxuries that come with affordable water and sewer rates. But what if those rates weren’t so affordable, or if you could save money by using less? In a work session tonight, members of the Budget Committee and City Council discussed possible water and sewer rate increases […]
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You Could Be 1/7 Boss of the City
This could be you. Three seats on City Council will be coming vacant at the end of this year—Jodie Barram, Mark Capell and Scott Ramsay are currently keeping them warm—and you could be just the guy/gal to fill them. Do you make bold, colorful fashion statements?Do you know you want to be the mayor?Do you […]
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City Council Roundup: New Fees, New Jobs
Assistant City Manager Jon Skidmore explains the role of city staff in the planning of OSU-Cascades. The City of Bend is slowly, but surely, rebuilding its staff following the recession of 2008. Last night’s City Council meeting provided a considerable boost to those efforts with the unanimous approval of nearly 21 additional full-time staff positions, […]
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Wrapping Up Business
City Council’s final meeting of year considers AirBnB
In its last work session of the year, City Council received the results of an audit of vacation rentals—and the results were better than anticipated. The audit had been sparked by a perception that rentals of private homes through sites like AirBnB were not largely ducking out on the transient room tax code, explained City […]
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Vacation Rentals Get Audited (and Other City Council News)
Some vacation rentals aren’t paying into the Transient Room Tax, a city audit reveals. City Council got the results of an audit of vacation rentals during its work session Wednesday and the results were better than anticipated. The audit was sparked by a perceived widespread noncompliance with the transient room tax code and concerns about […]
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Bend City Council Votes to Pursue Preservation of Mirror Pond
Photo by Corbin Gentzler. Mirror Pond—before the leak—at sunset. The Bend City Council added its voice to a growing chorus of support for the preservation of Mirror Pond when it voted at the Dec. 4 council meeting to move forward along a pro-pond path and continue discussions with Pacific Power about the future of the […]