Beaverton City Council Work Session on Fiscal Recovery, October 21, 2025

The Beaverton City Council met on October 21, 2025, to conduct a consent agenda, hold a first reading of a land use ordinance, and participate in a work session on the city's fiscal recovery follow-up. The work session focused on revenue options, budget balancing strategies, and service prioritization to address a structural deficit.

Consent Calendar

• Item 3.5 was pulled from the consent agenda per the mayor's request. The remaining consent agenda items were approved unanimously (7-0).

First Reading of Ordinance

• A first reading was held for an ordinance amending the Beaverton Comprehensive Plan Land Use Map to adopt boundaries for the Raleigh Hill Town Center and Sunset Town Center (LU42025-00608/CPTA42025-00718). A public hearing is scheduled for November 18, 2025, during the regularly scheduled city council meeting.

Work Session: Fiscal Recovery Follow-Up

• City Manager and staff presented a detailed update on the fiscal sustainability plan, building on a September 9, 2025 work session. Key points included:
  • Revenue research: Six out of seven similarly sized Oregon cities (Beaverton, Bend, Eugene, Gresham, Salem, Medford) have considered or passed new revenue to address property tax limitations. Hillsboro is the exception due to a long-standing local levy and high industrial property values.
  • Revenue tools categorized by timeline: Short-term (within 1–2 years) includes local option levies and monthly service fees; medium-term (2–5 years) includes franchise fees and transient lodging tax (TLT) increases; long-term (beyond 5 years) includes property tax reform and insurance pooling. Payroll taxes and targeted sales taxes were not recommended at this time.
  • Deficit estimate: Approximately $10 million. A local option levy of $0.76 per $1,000 assessed value would generate $10 million, with a monthly impact of $17.51 for the average single-family homeowner. A monthly fee could range from $16 to $35.50 depending on structure. A blend of both ($5 million each) would reduce the levy impact to $0.38 per $1,000 and the fee to $8–$17.75.
  • Reserve targets: Current policy requires 11% of general fund operating expenses at budget time and 17% by fiscal year-end. Staff recommended a temporary 1% reduction to provide flexibility while new revenue is implemented.
  • Service prioritization: Staff proposed a framework to categorize general fund services by direct/indirect, mandated/discretionary, and cost coverage to aid council in making reduction decisions.

Council members expressed diverse positions:

• Councilor Hartmeyer-Prigg supported a blend of levy and fee, noting the fee provides flexibility and the levy offers voter buy-in. She also supported TLT increase and careful consideration of franchise fee impacts on local businesses.
• Councilor Tivnon supported a blend, citing easier communication with a levy and the streamlined collection of fees. He also supported moving TLT to short-term and temporary reserve reduction.
• Councilor Duggar supported a mix of levy and fee, emphasizing the need to provide future councils with tools. He was uncomfortable with reserve reduction without a reinstatement timeline and called for strategies on healthcare, PERS, and Cooper Mountain cost containment.
• Councilor Hussen leaned toward a fee only, citing community appetite for a levy as low and expressing concerns about public safety and police reform. She supported TLT increase, shared services, and a study on police needs. She also supported temporary reserve reduction.
• Councilor Kimmy supported a blend but stressed the need to know the exact deficit amount before deciding on fee structures. He asked about permanent fixes and was interested in indexing fees to inflation.
• Councilor Teeter supported a levy as the primary tool, with a possible blend to make it more feasible. He wanted to move TLT to short-term and supported temporary reserve reduction. He also emphasized using the TLT increase to shift burden to visitors.
• Mayor Beatty advocated for a blend of levy and fee, noting the need to go to voters in May 2026 to avoid deep cuts. She cautioned against sequential implementation (levy then fee) and highlighted the importance of a unified council message. She also noted that franchise fees are difficult to implement and that TLT increase is a good option. She called for a massive communication outreach and asked staff to refine financial analysis.

Key Outcomes

• Council direction: Strong interest in pursuing a blend of a local option levy and a monthly service fee (public safety or city operations fee). Councilors also expressed support for increasing the transient lodging tax (TLT) and moving it to the short-term timeline. A temporary 1% reduction in reserve targets was generally supported, with the condition of a reinstatement timeline.
• Next steps: Staff will refine the five-year financial forecast using updated property tax data (expected November 2025), develop specific fee structure options and levy amounts, and create a communications and engagement plan. Council will hold additional work sessions in the coming months, with a goal of referring a levy to voters in May 2026 and implementing a fee by mid-2026. The mayor committed to working with Councilor Hussen on additional information regarding police services and public safety reform.
• No formal votes were taken on the work session items; the meeting was a discussion and direction-setting session.