Caption: Five-Year Local Option Tax for Fire & Ambulance Operations
Question: Shall the District create a new five-year levy of $1.70 per $1000 of assessed value for five years beginning 2026-2027?
This measure creates new local option taxes which may cause property taxes to increase more than three percent.
Summary: The taxes will be used to meet the expenses Burlington Water District pays to the City of Portland Fire Department for emergency services (Fire and Ambulance)and to maintain a contingency fund for the future increased expenses.
An estimate of the total amount to be raised each fiscal year is:
$81,961 in 2026-2027
$84,420 in 2027-2028
$86,953 in 2028-2029
$89,561 In 2029-2030
$92,248 In 2030-2031
The estimated tax cost for this measure is an ESTIMATE ONLY based on the best information available from the county assessor at the time of the estimate and may reflect the impact of early payment discounts, compression and the collection rate. A property with an assessed value of $166,000.00, the average assessed value for the district, will pay an estimated $24 per month in additional property taxes.
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Burlington Water District (the District), a municipal corporation, provides water and emergency services to approximately 400 people in the Burlington area of Multnomah County. The District currently contracts with the City of Portland for emergency services (fire and ambulance) for its residents and properties. Those emergency services are paid for with tax revenues from properties within Burlington Water District boundaries.
In this election the District asks you to approve an additional tax levy of $1.70 per $1,000 of assessed value to cover rising costs for emergency services. Costs from the City of Portland Fire Bureau have risen 10% per year over the past four years, nearly double the average growth in property taxes. Current property tax revenue can no longer cover the costs of emergency services and the District has no other funding source to pay for those services.
This levy request has no impact on the District’s core function of providing water, or on District water rates.
Approving the levy would supplement the existing $3.4269 permanent rate and would raise an estimated average of $87,029 annually for five years. The average assessed value for a property in our taxing district is $166,000. For such an average property, the current monthly cost for emergency services is $47. The requested local levy option would add $24 per month for an average total cost of $71 per month.
These taxes are collected by Multnomah County and can only be used to pay for emergency services.
Submitted by:
Richard T. Lovett, Board Chairman Burlington Water District