City Staff Searching for Street Funding 

In the month of May staff will be attending the City’s seven Neighborhood Association meetings to talk about the state of the City’s roads.

Milwaukie’s streets are in a state of rapid decline, some have already failed, and funding is not available to turn the situation around. If nothing is done, the roads will continue to deteriorate and the cost to remedy the situation will skyrocket. 

The problem is that Milwaukie’s current funding only provides for temporary fixes and emergency patching, and these only act as band-aids for the much more serious condition many of our streets are in. Funding does not exist to treat these deeper problems, and in the meantime, more and more of our roads will fall into this state of disrepair. 

We need to find a funding solution sooner rather than later. Maintaining a road that’s already in good condition only costs $1.25 per square yard to maintain. Roads in poor condition can cost as much as $50 per square yard to repair. 

Staff is examining a number of options to raise the funding necessary to adequately preserve the City’s street system, which is valued at more than $65 million. Options include a property tax levy and a street utility fee, just to name two. 

These options will be reviewed and discussed at the Neighborhood Association meetings and all are strongly encouraged to attend.