Politics
Centrum City Council Approves 2027 Infrastructure Levy, Directing Road Funds to Northern Districts
The 6-3 vote raises the local property tax rate by 1.8 percent from January 2027 to repair 48 miles of streets in the Elmwood and Hilltop zones while leaving southern neighborhoods without new allocations.
How we reported this
Centrum City Council passed the 2027 Infrastructure Levy on July 7 with a 6-3 vote, directing $52 million in new revenue to pavement and drainage upgrades on 48 miles of streets in the Elmwood and Hilltop districts. The measure adds 1.8 percent to the property tax rate for all residential and commercial parcels starting in January 2027. Property owners in the two northern zones will receive the first round of resurfacing contracts, while addresses south of the river receive no scheduled work under the current five-year plan.
Why the levy reached the floor now
The vote followed the release of the city engineer’s March 2026 pavement condition index report, which rated 62 percent of streets in Elmwood and Hilltop as poor or failed. City code requires council action on any tax measure exceeding $40 million within 90 days of the report. Council members cited the index data and the 2025 bond capacity remaining after prior water projects as the immediate triggers for the July session.
Under the approved ordinance, the levy revenue will be deposited into the dedicated Street Maintenance Fund and cannot be diverted to other accounts. The legislation also requires quarterly public reports on contract awards and completion rates. Residents in the funded zones can expect crews to begin work on the first 12-mile segment along Elmwood Avenue by March 2027, according to the capital projects timeline attached to the ordinance.
Effects on daily costs and services for residents
A median-value home assessed at $285,000 will pay an additional $214 annually once the rate takes effect. Households in the southern districts, where no road work is scheduled, will still remit the higher rate without receiving corresponding street improvements in the first funding cycle. Local transit riders in Elmwood will gain new curb extensions at eight stops, shortening walking distances during construction seasons, while commuters from the south side continue to use existing routes unchanged.
The legislation states that 15 percent of the levy proceeds must be spent on sidewalk repairs adjacent to the selected road segments. City records show 4,200 linear feet of sidewalk in Hilltop currently listed as hazardous; those segments are now scheduled for replacement in the 2027 work package.
The council directed staff to return in October 2026 with a supplemental list of candidate projects for the remaining southern districts, using any unallocated bond capacity identified in the next annual audit. No timeline for additional tax measures was set in the ordinance.