Businesses in Talent could see their public safety fees increase sharply under a proposal that would shift more of the cost of police and other city services onto commercial properties, churches and nonprofits.
Instead of charging a mostly flat fee, the city wants to base the public safety surcharge on how many trips a property is expected to generate. City officials say the approach better reflects demand for police and other public services. But some business owners say the formula unfairly assumes commercial properties require more police response.
City Manager Alex Campbell's proposal uses estimates from the Trip Generation Manual, an engineering reference that estimates how many trips different types of properties generate. Under the plan, businesses, churches and nonprofits would pay 25% of the public safety surcharge, up from about 4% today.
For some properties, the increase would be substantial. Talent Middle School, for example, generates an estimated 950 trips under the city's formula. Its monthly public safety fee would increase from about $23 to more than $700.
Campbell said properties that generate more trips also tend to generate more calls for police service.
“This is a pretty good proxy for police services,” Campbell said. “That's why Grants Pass has adopted it. That's why Central Point has adopted it in part.”
Several people who spoke at the meeting questioned how well the formula measures police activity.
Sweet Beet Station owner Awna Zegzdryn said police have been called to her restaurant only three times in the nearly 10 years she has operated it.
“If the city has data showing that businesses generate a disproportionate share of police calls, I believe that information should be made public before asking businesses to shoulder such a significant increase,” Zegzdryn said.
She said the restaurant currently pays about $11.32 a month in public safety fees. Under the proposal, that would increase to more than $90 a month.
Camelot Theatre Executive Director Dann Hauser said the higher fees would financially hurt many local employers.
“This is going to be devastating to a lot of businesses," he said. "They're already out of business. They’re struggling.”
Zegzdryn said more than half of Talent’s businesses were destroyed in the 2020 Almeda Fire, and those that survived faced financial challenges during theCOVID-19 pandemic.
She said some businesses are still finding their footing, and steep fee increases could make recovery more difficult.
Residents would also see their monthly public safety surcharge nearly double under the proposal, increasing to $10.50.
The City Council is expected to vote on the proposal in August. Council members also discussed referring the measure to voters in November.
