Residential rates rise to $10.62 per month while commercial properties move to a fee based on property size.
A new police fee structure takes effect in Keizer on Sept. 1, increasing monthly charges for residents while changing how businesses are billed for police services.
Under the city’s fiscal year 2026-27 budget, single-family and multifamily residential units will now pay $10.62 per dwelling unit each month. Previously, single-family homes paid $6.90 per month, while multifamily units were charged $5.95 per unit.
For businesses, the change works differently.
Commercial properties will continue to be charged $6.90, but instead of paying one flat fee per nonresidential location, they will be billed based on the number of Equivalent Service Units, or ESUs, assigned to the property.
The city defines one ESU as approximately 3,000 square feet of impervious surface. That means the impact on a business will depend on the size of the property rather than simply whether it has a commercial account.
For example, a property assessed at 10 ESUs would pay $69 per month under the new structure, compared with the previous $6.90 monthly charge for a nonresidential location.
The change could make the increase considerably more significant for larger commercial properties.
Keizer expects to collect about $2.83 million through the Police Services Fee during the 2026-27 fiscal year. That is roughly $1.63 million more than the city projected under the previous structure.
Police fee revenue is restricted to police-related expenses, including employee wages, insurance, retirement costs, uniforms, equipment and vehicles.
City officials have said the fee adjustment became necessary after Keizer used one-time federal American Rescue Plan Act funding and city reserves in previous years to delay increases. The city also points to Oregon’s property tax limitations as a constraint on its ability to keep property tax revenue in line with rising public safety costs.
The Police Services Fee was first implemented in 2017 at $4 per month and had risen to $6.90 before the latest restructuring.
Another increase could follow next year.
Keizer’s budget includes a potential increase to $14.34 per residential unit and per commercial ESU beginning Jan. 1, 2027. However, the budget states that the January change remains subject to further review by the Keizer City Council.
Businesses can estimate their number of ESUs by reviewing the stormwater charge on their city services bill, since Keizer already uses the same measurement system for stormwater billing.