I was invited to speak at the 2021 Oregon Government Financial Officers Association Annual Conference and the 2020 Oregon Economic Development Conference specifically about the use of urban renewal in Wilsonville. Wilsonville’s careful approach to using urban renewal has served our city well, and other communities have been interested in learning about elements critical to our success, including the work of our Urban Renewal Task Force and practice of revenue sharing.
Revenue sharing is when parcels of the district are released to the tax rolls or under-levying occurs before the plan sunsets. This allows overlapping taxing districts to see additional financial resources during the life of the urban renewal plan. In the past, Wilsonville has used revenue sharing with two of our urban renewal districts.
The Wilsonville UR Task Force includes representatives from overlapping taxing districts including TVF&R, WLWV School District, Clackamas Community College and Clackamas County. Small business owners, community members and industry professionals also serve in this group. This task force directly contributed to the updated Urban Renewal Strategic Plan and the Town Center Urban Renewal Feasibility Study, which was the foundation for ballot Measure 3-605. I am incredibly grateful to the members of the task force for their thoughtful dialogue regarding the needs of our community as well as the long-term gains possible with an appropriate use of this financing tool. Their work is not to be discredited or ignored. I personally believe that voting YES on Measure 3-605 charts the course for shared benefits. www.wilsonvilletowncenter.com
Kristin Akervall
Wilsonville
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