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The Clackamas
County Board of Commissioners has approved an ordinance setting a $30 per
year countywide vehicle registration fee (VRF). The action followed a
second public hearing Thursday.
The VRF will apply
to cars, pick-up trucks, vans and other passenger vehicles registered in
Clackamas County. The fee for motorcycles will be $15 per year. Since
Oregonians pay vehicle registration fees two years at a time, that is a
potential increase of $60 every two years for most motorists and $30 every
two years for motorcyclists.
By state law, the
fee will not apply to the following vehicles:
·
Registered
farm vehicles
·
Travel
trailers, campers and motor homes
·
Heavy
trucks (which pay state weight-mile taxes)
·
Snowmobiles
and Class I all-terrain vehicles
·
Fixed-load
vehicles
·
Vehicles
registered to disabled veterans or former prisoners of war
·
Vehicles
registered as antique vehicles or as vehicles of special interest
·
Government-owned
or operated vehicles including school buses or school activity vehicles,
and law enforcement undercover vehicles
Commissioners
approved the ordinance following years of analysis and discussions with the
community, businesses and cities in the county.
By state law, 40
percent of the VRF revenue will go to cities in the county. Of the
remaining 60 percent, which normally would all go to the county, 10 percent
will be paid into a strategic investment fund for the county and cities to
fund multi-jurisdictional projects and the remaining 50 percent will go to
the county for the unincorporated areas.
Transportation
& Development Director Dan Johnson said the county will use its funds
to relieve congestion, maintain local roads and implement safety
improvements. “We have a long list of needed projects in our
Transportation System Plan that was created with extensive public input
several years ago,” he said. “Between that list, our urgent need to
maintain local neighborhood roads, and to make needed safety improvements,
these local VRF funds will allow us to provide transportation improvements
on roads throughout our county.”
Johnson also noted
that staff will work closely with residents and businesses throughout the
county to determine which projects will receive funding. In addition, the county
will set up a special program to help the public track the revenue the
county receives from the VRF and how that money is spent.
Clackamas County
vehicle owners will pay the additional registration at the same time they
pay the state fee when they register their vehicles every two
years. The state will send the revenue from the new county VRF to the
county and the county will distribute 40% of it to cities in the county,
based on population.
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