Portland to hit residents with another new fee on top of historic water, sewer rate hike

Portlanders already facing the

largest combined water and sewer rate hike

in more than a decade will soon be on the hook for a processing fee as well.

City officials plan to slap a 2.95% surcharge on all customers who pay their utility bill with either a credit or debit card beginning June 3.

For a typical Portland household, that will amount to about $56.74 a year on top of the $1,923.48 annually they are set to pay starting in July.

The Portland City Council last week approved a combined water and sewer rate hike of 6.34% — the largest annual increase since 2011.

The transaction fee has long been charged by the city’s payment processor, Invoice Cloud, and absorbed by Portland’s water and environmental services bureaus, said Water Bureau spokesperson Felicia Heaton.

By passing the surcharge directly on to ratepayers, the city expects to save about $2 million a year that can be used for critical infrastructure projects, Heaton said.

Some of those projects, such as the Bull Run water filtration plant,

have ballooned in cost

and led to a series of steep rate increases in recent years.

An average Portland household paid nearly $500 less annually for water and sewage at the start of the pandemic than it will pay after the city’s latest utility rates kick in.

Portland utility customers can avoid the new processing fee by paying their bill in person, by mail using check or money order or directly from their bank account.

“We understand that all costs add up,” Heaton said. “We want to retain the convenience of using cards to pay bills, maintain service and limit increasing rates to all customers.”

For more information visit:

https://www.portland.gov/water/customer-service/pay-your-utility-bill/credit-and-debit-card-processing-fees

— Shane Dixon Kavanaugh covers Portland city government and politics, with a focus on accountability and watchdog reporting.

Reach him at 503-294-7632

Email at


skavanaugh@oregonian.com

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