Portland city Commissioner Dan Saltzman unveiled a formal pitch to create an independent panel of volunteers who would propose city utility rates.
Portland city Commissioner Dan Saltzman unveiled a formal pitch to create an independent panel of volunteers who would propose city utility rates.
The proposal is in response to rising sewer and water bills in Portland.
Saltzman’s plan, now out for public comment for three weeks, calls for the Portland auditor to appoint five people to staggered terms on his proposed Independent Utility Commission. Three of those volunteers would have to have financial expertise under Saltzman’s plan. Together, the panel would propose utility rates and monitor all spending of ratepayer dollars. Portland city commissioners would still have the final say.
But the new commission would have more power than the watchdog group of Portland volunteers who currently oversee the budgets of the Portland Water Bureau and the Bureau of Environmental Services. The Portland Utility Review Board would continue to operate, Saltzman says. But its role would expand to include advising the new commission as well as the council, he says.
Read more at OregonLive.com.
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