If voters agree, Gresham officials plan to have their firefighters work for Multnomah County Fire District 10, which would protect Gresham and areas to its east and south.
Though Gresham would be the largest Oregon city to join a regional fire district, it's not alone. Since December, five Willamette Valley cities have discussed joining regional fire districts to provide budget relief and more efficient service.
``This is going to be impacting all cities,'' said consultant Clark Worth, author of a 2002 report on Oregon cities that struggle to pay for basic services.
The push to regional districts for fire, parks and library services is driven by money pressures. Voters in the 1990s approved two statewide measures to limit growth in property taxes. In addition, Oregon cities are dealing with a so-so economy and the rising costs of salaries and health insurance premiums for public employees.
For residents in Gresham, the switch to a fire district would lead to higher property taxes because Fire District 10 would begin taxing city residents to pay for its operations. At the same time, Gresham would continue to tax its residents to pay for parks, police and planners.
The city would reduce its tax bill, but not enough to make up for District 10's new tax. The city faces a projected $5 million general-fund shortfall next year.
If voters approve the transfer in March 2005, Gresham residents' property taxes are expected to go up $1.13 for every $1,000 of tax-assessed home value, or $113 more on a $100,000 home.
That could be the proposal's undoing, according to a poll taken this summer.
If the transfer provided long-term financial stability for public safety, a majority of residents said they would support it. But fewer than half said they'd back a switch if it cost $138 for every $100,000 of tax-assessed value.
As Jeanne Magmer, a city public relations consultant, told city and community leaders last month, ``When you attach a price tag to that, the support just vanishes.''
