Wheeler defends Sellwood Bridge bill provision

Local leaders unhappy with change for car registrations

By Shannon Wells

The Gresham Outlook, Jun 16, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (12 Reader comments)

Legislation that transferred power over car registration fees from voters to county leaders took some East County officials by surprise, but perhaps it shouldn’t have.

That’s the suggestion of Ted Wheeler, Multnomah County Board of Commissioners chairman, when asked if the provision was effectively an “end run” to thwart the will of city leaders who objected to fees being raised to repair Portland’s Sellwood Bridge.

A provision of House Bill 2001, which Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed last week, gives the county body sole authority to raise car registration fees for four years, thus eliminating the need for approval from individual jurisdictions and county voters.

The transportation bill represents an $890 million package that designates $24 million to upgrade the Interstate 84 interchange at Troutdale, among numerous other projects.

Troutdale Mayor Jim Kight said the provision was clearly intended to transfer funding power in a behind-the-scenes manner.

“It was an end run,” he said, “and I think a particularly egregious one.” The cities and voters “were unceremoniously cut out of the process. There was a divorce, but no one served the papers.”

Troutdale Councilor Norm Thomas was even more direct.

“I think it’s a real slap in the face to the cities and voters of the county,” he said. “They’ve lost all their voices in charging taxes.”

Section 40 of the bill appears to specifically benefit Multnomah County government in its long-running quest to fund the repair or replacement of the decrepit Sellwood Bridge.

The Board of Commissioners was unsuccessful in its 2007-08 campaign to nearly double car registration fees for 20 years to fund bridge improvements. Gresham, Troutdale and Maywood Park city councils – among the 11 jurisdictions whose approval was required – voted down the proposal, leaving the county unable to put the increase before voters.

According to Section 40 of the legislation, “a governing body of a county with a population of 350,000 or more may enact an ordinance establishing registration fees for the purpose of designing, replacing … and constructing a bridge … that crosses the Willamette River in the city of Portland.”

It also suspends a clause that delivers 40 percent of car registration proceeds to the 11 jurisdictions if they approve a fee increase.

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