Tuesday on the doom loop
When the politicians preach about "affordable housing," I just have to laugh. Here in Portland, where all landlords are reviled as greedy and evil, the City Council thinks nothing of loading more and more financial burdens onto the backs of property owners, who of course have to pass the pain on to the tenants.
Here's the latest: Get the smelling salts ready, honey. Our already hideous water bill is going up substantially.
Whenever you see "City of Portland" on the return address of an item of mail, you know it's not going to be good.
So property owners in Portland have to pay BOTH a property tax to the new Urban Flood Safety and Water Quality District (which consolidated four drainage districts into one in 2024), as well as a separate fee on their
ReplyDeletesewer/water utility bill?
Portlandia “The Sh*tty that works you over”
ReplyDeleteThe Loop is spiraling.
ReplyDeleteOregonlive headlines today elegantly capture Portland priorities……..1 million now in total severance payments to fired city “executives”, 1,100 homeless beds eliminated in budget crunch and the obscure but multi billion dollar Oregon Health Authority pays out $630,000 to a terminated Equity director. Ha….they ain’t paying attention to our boring water bills.
ReplyDeleteReceived the same letter. I swear, all these "little" charges are really hidden sales taxes. The increased parking fees downtown, along with the transactional "equity" fee, the 10 bucks added to our utility bills every month, the hidden energy sales tax that seems to generate enough for a sizable slush fund. I've spent much of the past year in Boise (family matters), and it seems so much better run. Plus, one can drive 30, 35, even 40 on city streets, there's no messed up streets with cars parked halfway into traffic lanes, the bicyclists seem to be able to ride the streets just fine without thousands of gallons of green paint. Oh, and no one checks your receipt at Fred Meyer and their restrooms aren't locked. (The bathroom panty monitors likely won't show up in Boise.)
ReplyDeleteTook our recent graduate to Boise on a college visit a few months ago. She loved Boise State (even though she chose another school). We added it to our preferable-relocation-upon-retirement list.
DeleteSafety! Benefit! I like those happy words! I guess I should be grateful.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you want to park downtown near City Hall to complain about the higher water and sewer rates, you'll now have to pay more to park. According to The Oregonian, the City Council hiked the parking rates without even doing a projection as to how much additional revenue the increased rates will bring in. The parking rates should be lowered, not raised, to draw more people downtown to help revitalize it.
ReplyDeleteHey look. Water is very scarce around here. It barely ever rains and we have no mountains that get snow pack. Be lucky you get a drip to sip...
ReplyDeleteAnd the dopey Portland voters will shrug...and pay up. The mandarins know that the peasants won't revolt--it would be so impolite--so they keep on keepin' on...
ReplyDelete