Act Now: Oppose Gresham's Astronomical Fee Increase

We need all hands on deck to fight the latest bad proposal in Gresham – even if you don’t live in the city or provide housing there, please consider helping those who do.

On December 12th the city is proposing an astronomical increase — in some cases, more than 3x the current rate — in the annual per-unit rental fee, which funds the citywide rental inspection program. Especially for larger housing providers in Gresham, this represents a more than 350% increase.

Already one of the highest such fees in the state, city staff are asking the council to approve this increase for all housing providers for a number of reasons:

1. Capacity to create a “corrective action plan” for housing providers that are not compliant. Law-abiding Gresham housing providers should not be required to fund enforcement efforts for the few housing providers that don’t comply. Additionally, the city, state, and country all have existing laws on the books that regulate the condition of rental units. A corrective action plan is wholly unnecessary.
2. Transition funding for the Housing Resource Coordinator position from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to a city-funded position. Once again, housing providers should not be footing the bill for the city’s mismanagement of resources. If the city of Gresham wants to fund this position, it should come from the general fund.
3. Create an inspection program for homeless transitional shelters. Finally, while this new program is not problematic on its face, it’s another example of something that should be managed through existing city resources – and if more resources are truly needed, should not have to come solely from private housing providers.

The bottom line is this: Gresham housing providers are already paying a relatively high per-unit fee that funds an inspection program that the vast majority of housing providers are compliant with. If the city has a need to increase its resources, it should not do so on the backs of housing providers that are already facing record high increases in expenses – from utilities, to insurance, to labor, and maintenance.

Gresham has long been a more welcoming alternative for development than its neighbors in Portland and throughout the Willamette Valley — which has resulted in a relative affordability that other cities strive for. But if the cost of providing housing continues to rise, that will certainly change. Tell the Gresham city council: Now is not the time for fee increases.