Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said Thursday that he intends to seek a one-year freeze on nearly all planned or proposed city increases in taxes, fees and utility rates, a decision that could upend next year’s budget and lead to cuts or reductions across municipal services.
The one exception might be an increase in customers’ water bills, necessary to pay the debt for the city’s new federally mandated water treatment plant, he said. Wheeler hopes to dial back that rate increase but can’t cancel it as the city must pay its debts, he said.
