TriMet’s board of directors will vote on Sept. 16 whether to increase its tax on businesses.
Employers pay a tax to the transit agency based off their payroll, which funds 56 percent of TriMet’s $510 million annual operating budget.
If passed, the tax would get phased in over the next decade and increase from the current rate of about .007 percent to the final .008 percent on Jan. 1, 2026.
“What it means for the agency is that we can begin to address and continue to address and expand service around the region,” said Bernie Bottomly, TriMet’s executive director of public affairs.
As the economy has rebounded from the Great Recession, Bottomly said congestion in the Portland metro area has become worse, putting greater demands on public transportation.
TriMet had meetings with around 30 of the top employers in the region, as well as with smaller businesses to discuss the tax.
Bottomly said business leaders understand the need to invest in the system.
“They get it,” he said. “On the other hand, nobody’s going to throw you a parade for raising taxes.”
If the tax increase gets passed, TriMet will conduct an economic analysis in five years to look at the performance of the employer payroll tax.
If revenues grossly exceed the region’s transportation plans, the next increment of the payroll tax increase would be suspended for one-year, Bottomly said.
Marion Haynes, vice president for government and economic affairs at the Portland Business Alliance, said businesses support better transit.
"Especially with a focus on trying to get workers to employment centers," Haynes said.
But, she said, what TriMet's proposing amounts to a 14 percent increase in the payroll tax rate over time.
“It’s a fairly sizable increase and so that’s why some employers have expressed some concern," she said.
Haynes said if the payroll tax increase passes the five-year review, it could help determine whether it makes sense to increase it more.