Tri-Met needs to learn how to run a profitable business before they get to suck at the teat of Portland taxpayers yet again.
The Historical Society? Same rules. What have they done to encourage attendance and lucrative private events.
I'm going to spend my tax dollars on retired school teachers and public sector employees. Sorry Fire Dept. nothing left for you.

Run a profitable business? Brilliant. So rather than kick in an extra $3.33 a month (if you have a $500K house), you'd cut transportation services for thousands.

Hell, let's get credit card readers on the fire trucks. You pay, we spray.

Dub, if Tri-Met stopped pouring money into streetcars and the little used MAX (relative to usable capacity) and focused on the buses that actually serve the people of Portland they wouldn't be asking for more money. So no, I'd rather not "kick in" an extra $40 per year on my already inflated property taxes.

These measures all add up. Let's see. $40 for Tri-Met, $24 for the Historical Society and $67 for the Fire Dept. That's an increase of $131 this year plus the county will raise my property taxes even though property values are still declining. Tack on a water bill that is going to be over $100 per month due to the increase this last July (my water is only $18 per month, the rest is "drainage" and taxes). With the highest income-tax in the nation these measures are becoming incredibly burdensome to the average homeowner in this town.

Look at the cost to benefit ratio. Services are being cut, our roads are ruddy with potholes, human feces spill into the Willamette river every time it rains. I'd like to see responsible use of the money I am already paying before I give more.

Oops, I forgot to include the forest conservation measure that gives state lottery money to non-profits instead of giving it to the state agencies that actually care for our forests and parks.

Please stop voting "yes".

"Little used MAX?" Are you kidding me? I ride MAX every day and it is PACKED.

No to the FD tax! Mult Co response model is outdated and expensive. Fire Departemnts prop up their numbers to justify their existance by responding to ALL medical calls in addition to car wrecks, fires, and the cat up in the tree. We citizens don't need fire fighters on 90% of the calls that they respond to. We already get an ambulance with two trained paramedics. Unless the patient is on fire, people dont need them there. It is wasteful and redundant. Most fire stations in Mult Co can boast about over 50,000 calls per year! My question is, how many were they needed on. Answer, about 10%. The European Model of EMS does not do it this way. It is way more inexpensive to have an ambulance repsond to medical and leave the firefighters response to fires and care wrecks. We could probably get by with less than half the fire stations! Fire trucks have at least three to four guys on that million dollar rig, getting about five mpg repsonding to thousands of unnecesary calls / year. Waistful. All those firefighters are drawing on health insurance, pensions, and annual salaries of over $75K / year. We can do better as a community. I know some school districts and teachers that could shure use those waisted dollars.