City Services Charge

City Services Charge

City Services Charge

The City Services Charge began in January 2023 and is a new item included in your utility bill. The utility bill's first page has the totals divided in two sections: "MW&L Services" and "City Services." The City Services amount includes utilities provided by City of McMinnville and the city services charge. To see those itemized, go to the second page of the utility bill.

To view the more information about the City of McMinnville's work on sustainable revenue options, related meetings, timeline, or to leave a comment or question - please visit the City's Community Engagement platform at:

https://iheartmac.org/en/projects/city-services-charge

 

What is the City Services Charge?

The City Services Charge is intended to help us maintain existing staffing, programs, and services in our library, parks and recreation, police and fire, and administration – the City's core services which are funded by our General Fund.

Most residents are surprised to learn that revenues from property taxes alone are not enough to cover these vital programs and services for our community. Many Cities must rely on supplemental funding such as state-shared revenues, franchise fees, state and federal funding, grants, program registration fees, sponsorships, private donations, and other non-property tax resources.

At the City, we understand the need to be good stewards of our resources (Stewardship is even one of our City values!) and we work hard every day to optimize those resources. Even with the most efficient processes (and people) in place, its seldom enough to close the gap and avoid the need for new revenues.

What other options have we considered?

After thorough evaluation of potential revenue sources, McMinnville City Council directed staff to pursue the most viable options for providing this much-needed funding, including the feasibility of implementing a city services charge.

We intend to use revenues generated by this fee to help us balance the community's desire for programs and services and to help us plan for sustainable, long-term solutions for a growing McMinnville.

Questions about the City Services Charge and want to chat with someone about it?

Email: CityServicesCharge@mcminnvilleoregon.gov

For questions about your McMinnville Water & Light bill, to make payment arrangements, or for other questions about your account, please visit their webpage to contact customer service directly. 

Are you being charged the single family rate but live in a multi-family home?

If you live in a multi-family home or a mobile home you are eligible for a 25% discount rate on the City Services Charge. Please fill out the webform to get the process going for correcting the residence type designation.