Keizer’s small businesses may get some relief from a big jump in local policing fees after the Keizer City Council got briefed about increases scheduled for Sept. 1.
Councilors in a Monday, July 13, work session asked the city staff to consider adjustments to give that relief.
They reacted to a presentation showing dramatic increases in police fees facing businesses. The council already has approved a two-step increase to raise millions of dollars to cover policing costs.
While its focus was on business, the presentation showed that most of the new money will come from more than doubling the fee charged for homes. The monthly rate of $6.90 is scheduled to go to $10.62 a month beginning Sept. 1 and then increase again to $14.34 a month on Jan. 1. The fee appears on the city’s water bills.
Seniors and low-income households that qualify for a city discount will nonetheless also see a big jump. The current fee of $1.93 will jump to $7.17 by Jan. 1.
The city has charged the police fee since 2017 under a scheme that had businesses paying the same flat rate as homeowners. That meant a big box store such as the Keizer Safeway paid $83 a year to support police services, the same as a private homeowner.
Calculations by city officials presented Monday, July 13, show substantial increases for businesses, regardless of size or type of operation.
That reflects the intention of councilors to have businesses pay a larger share of policing costs since as a group they prompt hundreds of police responses a year. Figuring how to do that continues to be a work in progress.
“It becomes a very big challenge when you’re trying to shift some of the burden from residential to commercial,” said Tim Wood, assistant city manager.
Wood presented charts showing that 129 general businesses in Keizer would see their annual cost to support police work go from that $83 a year to $1,142. The city’s 34 restaurants on average would pay $906 a year while the seven retirement facilities would on average see their fee climb to $4,188.
The city proposes assessing the fee based on the size, and the Keizer Chamber of Commerce asked councilors to consider giving a break to about 50 small businesses. The business group suggested a formula that would assess those businesses at an average of about $121 a year, discounting the city’s proposed rate by as much as $241 a year.
Some councilors also were concerned about the hit on the community’s largest businesses.
City figures show that five big box stores would watch their annual cost go from $83 a year to $15,357 a year.
Councilor Lore Christopher acknowledged the increase is “stunning,” and put the blame partly on the council’s 2017 decision to charge businesses and homes alike.
City Manager Adam Brown said the city would monitor how much money the September rate increase generates. He said it’s possible the January increase could be smaller than now projected.
Brown and his staff were asked to consider formulas to reduce the burden on small businesses, to put a cap on increases for larger businesses, and consider whether churches and sports facilities that aren’t used daily should get a break.
The council turned to the police fee as a way to overcome budget shortfalls that would have required layoffs. Some councilors initially vowed that any increase would need to go to voters for approval. They abandoned that commitment in adopting the city’s new budget for the 2026-2027 budget year that started July 1.
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