City of Portland: Leaf Me Alone

May 26, 2010

The Portland City Council thinks money grows on trees and indeed it does. Leaves translate into more money for the profligate spending crowd at the Rainbow City Council. I just found out I’m in a “leaf district.” I don’t have any deciduous trees on my lot that drop leaves on the street or require special leaf pick up, but guess what? I’m stuck for a new leaf tax passed last week by the city council.

The…2010-11 budget…includes a 6.3 percent increase in sewer and stormwater rates, and a 12 percent hike in water fees. Combined, the average residential utility bill would increase 8 percent, from $72.17 to $77.99 a month — or $234 every quarterly billing cycle.
The budget also includes a new $15 or $30 annual fee on homeowners who live in neighborhoods that receive leaf pickups in the fall, and a small increase in garbage rates.

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You may be aware that Portland City Council has approved a fee to help offset the costs of leaf removal programs in each of 28 specific routes (Leaf Districts) where significant numbers larger, more mature trees produce heavy accumulations of leafs, thereby impairing or preventing normal street cleaning operations. This fee applies only to those neighborhoods that receive Leaf District Program leaf removal services. This is to advise you that portions of your neighborhood include one or more Leaf District(s). Beginning in the fall of 2010, property owners in a Leaf District that receives two scheduled leaf pick-ups will pay a fee of $30 per year. Those in Leave Districts that receive only one scheduled pick–up will pay a fee of $15 per year. Businesses in Leaf Districts will also pay a fee ranging from $15 per year to $65 per year, depending on the amount of frontage occupied by the business.

At the same time, to increase program efficiency and to ensure that the areas that need our most aggressive levels of leaf removal services receive them, while containing costs wherever possible for those neighborhoods with lesser accumulations of leafs, we have redefined program service levels in some areas. Two new districts have been added and three have been removed. These changes may or may not impact your neighborhood. Attached, please find a table outlining specific service level changes, arranged alphabetically by district.

City of Portland: Leaf Me Alone

May 26, 2010

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