Dean Marriott, the director of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), has a message for the city’s transportation workers: Don’t clean up on account of us.
Marriott, struggling like all bureau heads to lop money from next year’s budget, is making the case BES shouldn’t have to help pay for street sweeping services. The bureau currently kicks in a little more than $1 million to help the Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) scrub Portland throughways. It’s a $4 million program altogether.
The thinking is PBOT’s helping to improve the city’s water quality by scrubbing the roads of detritus that might otherwise find the sewer system. Marriott says that’s not the case. BES has pointed to a 1989 study that suggested street sweeping improves stormwater quality by only 7 percent.
“If we’re the customer, we’re no longer interested in having them do it,” Marriott tells the Mercury. “Why should we pay 28 percent the cost of street sweeping in Portland?”
The BES director is advocating slicing that money from the his budget altogether, which would result in a rate decrease for utility customers.
PBOT, as you can well guess, has another take, spelled out in a recent City Budget Office (CBO) report: “PBOT, on the other hand, maintains that street sweeping is primarily a stormwater / water quality issue and has suggested that BES’ current $1.1 million contribution was not adequate and that they should assume 90% to 100% of the costs.”
The budget office recommended council form two task forces and commission a study on street cleaning, to be complete by next year’s budget season.
Asked about PBOT’s position, Spokeswoman Cheryl Kuck largely deferred to the CBO report, saying in a statement:
“We would gladly participate in a conversation with the various bureaus that benefit from these services to help determine how the services should be managed and funded. At a time when money is tight, it’s healthy to discuss how best to use the money we do have.”
The bureau may have something less canned to say on the matter tomorrow morning at 10, when PBOT officials are scheduled to go before council to talk about the CBO’s analysis of its budget.
For his part, Marriott expressed exasperation with the call for further study.
“This is supposed to be a year where we’re making significant choices,” he said. “When you’re in a difficult financial time, somebody needs to make some decisions.”