Who paid/pays for the tram in South Waterfront?
This is the first in a series, aiming to post concise, clear information about who pays for what in Portland projects. See previous post for a summary of the main components of the South Waterfront district improvements, and Willamette Week‘s list of who paid for them. Note: the initial posts are my best effort at documenting information from on-line sources, in the amount of time that should reasonably be expected to produce results. I will be updating the main article, based on corrections received. Please cite sources. I will note times of revisions at the top of each post.
I won’t be drawing any conclusions about whether levels of public subsidies are appropriate. I believe Portlanders are thoughtful people who can make that determination independently – IF we have accurate information on which to base our decisions. The goal of the series is merely to provide that information, as best I can gather it. My main conclusion is that Portlanders shouldn’t have to work so hard, to find out what our government is spending our money on.
Updated 8/1/07 22:07 – see below first table of cost-shares
And 8/1/07 22:45 – see above Operating Costs
Tram Capital Project Budget: $57,000,000
OHSU – [$40,200,000] $36,800,000
South Waterfront Property Owners – $5,800,000
North Macadam Investors (developers) – $2,500,000
Portland Development Commission (Tax Increment Funds) – [$8,500,000] $11,900,000
Source: OHSU
Updated 8/1/07 22:07:
[Portland Development Commission’s Exhibit I-1 (pdf) of the Eighth Amendment to the North Macadam development agreement breaks down the costs carried by private property owners slightly differently. It has
$30,500,000 Local Improvement District
$13,500,000 OHSU
$2,500,000 North Macadam Investors
Is OHSU also paying $26,700,000 in the Local Improvement District, bringing their total to their claimed $40.2 million and leaving “only” $5,800,000 to be paid by other property owners in the South Waterfront tram LID?]end of update
As noted in a comment on a previous post, some of the “property owners” are public entities – TriMet, the State of Oregon, and the Portland Development Commission. That’s us. They pay their assessments for the tram with money from taxpayers. I would like to know, and will post if anyone can give me, the breakdown of the tram costs to the “South Waterfront Property Owners” that actually come from public entities rather than private property owners. Those costs should be re-designated to note the use of public money.
“Tax increment funds” are generally considered “new money”. It’s argued the taxes in the district wouldn’t have been generated but for the urban renewal district and its improvements. That is true to some extent. But there is also an assessment for urban renewal on the annual property tax bills of every Portlander. For many of us, it’s several hundred dollars per year. I’d like to know how much of the “Tax Increment Funds” is really “new money”, and what proportion of it is from taxpayers outside the district. Anyone?
Update 8/1/07 22:45:
[ In reviewing the Exhibit I-1 (pdf) of the Eighth Amendment to the North Macadam development agreement, I see a line item of an additional $3,400,000 of Tax Increment Financing money going to an “OHSU-Directed project”. A footnote says that “OHSU has elected to apply this funding to their tram obligation”. So in fact, the City paid $11,900,000 towards the tram, not $8.5 million. And OHSU paid $10.1 million, plus their share of the LID – at most $36.8 million rather than $40.2m. I’ll explain about the “OHSU-Directed project” clause in another post.]end of update
Tram Annual Operating costs: $2,400,000
Source: Portland Tribune
OHSU – $1.3 million, estimated as 85% of annual operating costs
Source: PortlandTram.org
Rider fees: $600,000/year (estimate)
Revenue in February 2007: $32,736. Source: KGW. Rounded up to $50,000/month, = $600,000/year.
City of Portland: $239,280
Source: CommissionerSam.com
These numbers don’t add up to the $2.4 million estimate, but that and the components are all from different sources so it’s hard to know which are incorrect. Paid tram ridership will be key. It costs $4 round trip, $100 annual pass, good on both the tram and Streetcar. TriMet annual/monthly passes, OHSU tags provide exemption from payment. It will be interesting to hear reports after the summer, to see if tourists paid for tram rides in significant numbers.