Portland Street Repair Fee Delayed

The Portland City Council has postponed Wednesday’s vote on a street fee that would cost households more than $100 per year.

The chief supporters of the fee – Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and City Commissioner Steve Novick – said Tuesday that the vote will be pushed back to November.

Nearly half of Portland’s most traveled roads are in poor or very poor condition, and Hales and Novick say the Oregon city needs additional revenue to repair them.

Scores of opponents complained at a public hearing last week that the proposal should be put to a public vote.

Novick cited the concerns of small business owners and the poor as the reason for the delay.