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Street utility fee will go up Medford residences will pay more beginning in March By Jessica Smith Homeowners can expect to pay up to $2.60 more a month on their utility bills in coming years to help pay for road improvements in Medford. The City Council on Thursday voted to raise the street utility fee from $2.97 per household to $5.57 over the next three years. For a single-family residence, the increase will be 74 cents a month beginning March 1, 2001, and another 93 cents a month in the two years following. Councilman Bill Moore said he was pleased to see the increases take hold. Revenue generated will be used to help fund 17 of the city�s most pressing transportation needs, he said. "We should stick to our guns," Moore added. "This is a promise we made to the community ... We should move ahead." The increases are necessary, the council said, because of declining state gas tax revenues. Typically, the city uses gas taxes to pay for street maintenance. But voters turned down a proposed gas tax increase in May, meaning the city won�t get the money it needs to fund its 5-year-old list of transportation projects. To offset the gas tax loss, city engineers proposed raising street fees and development fees, which are paid by builders. The council in September agreed to raise development fees $1,630 per residence. Charlie Hand, of Medford, argued developers should carry a larger financial burden for transportation projects. "The just way to fund projects that come about through growth is through systems development charges," Hand said. According to Cory Crebbin, public works director, fee increases for homeowners and developers are in proportion to their effect on city streets. Crebbin also pointed out that about $2 of the fee increase sunsets in 15 years after the city has raised enough money to pay for the 17-project list. Also Thursday: The council set aside $50,000 to purchase art for public places. A park commission subcommittee is developing the program, initiated by the city�s year-old "vision" document. Council members approved raising the hotel-motel tax from 6 percent to 8 percent effective Jan. 1, as approved by voters in November. Money from the increase will fund the city�s parks master plan, which includes a regional sports park. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.