City Takes Steps to Reopen to the Public
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As most people now know, on Saturday, May 23, Clackamas County entered
Phase 1
of the Governor’s reopening framework, which includes the limited reopening of restaurants and bars, personal services, gyms, and malls. The State's requirements and guidance for businesses opening under Phase 1 can be found
here
. The public is also advised to follow the Governor's
guidelines
on actions we can all take to protect ourselves and others.
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, the City of Sandy has worked to develop safe and responsible ways to keep serving our residents. This has included continued transit service, curbside library service,
virtual public meetings
, and holding building and planning meetings by appointment (among numerous other services), all with appropriate precautions and virus mitigation measures in place.
The City is working to reopen our facilities to the public as soon as it is possible to do
so
using the same safe and responsible practices that have defined our approach throughout this public health emergency.
In addition to following and implementing the state’s guidelines and requirements, a significant part of our plans includes procuring and installing protective barriers (supplied by a local business) to
ensure safety for the public and City staff
; a process that is currently underway.
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Did You Know? Basics of City Fund Accounting
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Did you know that Oregon budget law requires cities to track revenues and expenditures based on use? As such, the City of Sandy operates under the “fund accounting” structure, which means revenue and expenses are accounted for in different funds to ensure they are used properly.
The City cannot legally take money from one fund and spend it in another area.
Remember,
the City's budget is a public document
that is available for anyone to access.
Feel free to take a look
and see how our collective dollars are being put to good use.
The pie chart below shows the relative size of the City's major funds. As you can see, the General Fund is by far the largest, as it pays for police, parks maintenance, senior services, the library, and more.
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Relative Size of Major City Funds: 2019-2021
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Take a moment to
learn more about the different types of City funds
:
General Government Funds
- General Fund: The General Fund has two main sources of revenue - property taxes and franchise fees. Property taxes are paid by property owners within the city limits, while franchise fees are fees paid to the city by other utility providers who offer service within city limits (for example, PGE and NW Natural). These funds are typically used to offer essential city services, including police services, parks maintenance, recreation programming, senior services, library services, and general administration.
- Street Fund: The Street Fund has three main revenue sources – state gas tax, city gas tax, and system development charges (SDC). SDCs are only eligible to be used on expanding street facilities, while state and local gas tax revenue is used to maintain and light our existing streets.
- Transit Fund: The Transit Fund has two main revenue sources – transit tax and federal grants. Businesses operating within city limits pay a quarterly payroll tax of 0.06% of eligible wages. The tax and grant revenues pay for the operations of the City of Sandy’s transit system (SAM) and the purchase and maintenance of the transit vehicle fleet.
- Aquatics/Recreation Fund: The Aquatics/Recreation Fund has two sources of revenue – a contribution from the City’s general revenue and customer charges. This revenue pays for the maintenance and operation of the Sandy Community Campus, which includes the currently closed pool.
Business Type Funds
- Water Fund: The Water Fund has two main sources of revenue – customer charges and SDCs. These revenue sources provide the financial means to maintain and operate the City’s water utility, delivering drinking water to over 11,000 residents.
- Sewer Fund: The Sewer Fund has two main sources of revenue – customer charges and SDCs. These revenue sources provide the financial means to maintain and operate the City’s sewer utility, collecting and treating wastewater from over 3,600 households and businesses.
- Stormwater Fund: The Stormwater Fund has one main source of revenue – customer charges. This revenue pays for the maintenance and operation of the stormwater system, which collects rainwater runoff and other drainage throughout the city.
- Telecommunications Fund: The Telecommunications Fund has two main sources of revenue – contributions from the City’s general revenue and customer charges. These funds are used to pay for the construction, maintenance, and operation of the City of Sandy’s internet service provider, SandyNet. Over 70% of eligible households and businesses currently utilize this valued service.
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City Partners with AntFarm for Meals on Wheels
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Throughout May, the City has been partnering with
AntFarm Cafe' and Bakery
to prepare food for the Meals on Wheels program. Seniors have told us they are thrilled to receive these
fresh and deliciou
s meals sourced from a local restaurant
.
AntFarm Café and Bakery is staffed by local youth through their nonprofit
YouthCore
program, which teaches young people kitchen, coffee, and customer service skills to advance their careers.
Sandy's
Community Services Department
continues to serve meals on wheels to over 80 seniors. The program typically served hot meals Monday - Wednesday & Friday with frozen meals for Thursdays and the weekends. While the Community Center
remains closed
due to COVID-19 precautions,
we are committed to continue providing this vital service for our local seniors
.
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Get the Latest Info from Sandy Recreation
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The City of Sandy
Recreation Division
publishes a Community and Recreation Guide three times per year, as well as occasional e-newsletters. The newsletters include a wealth of information about
upcoming events, camps, community programs and more
!
With the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, the next Community & Recreation Guide will not be published until the fall, but in the meantime e-newsletters will be sent more frequently. Included will be
updated information about available programming
, and when and if we are able to open registration for summer camps and other programs.
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Learn More About Sandy Land Use Applications
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Did you know the City publishes a comprehensive database of active land use applications, complete with links to documents, maps, staff reports, and other materials?
We know many Sandy residents are interested in proposed developments and have input to share with the Planning Commission and/or City Council, but not everyone knows where or how to
access publicly-available information on these proposed projects
.
Take a moment to
bookmark the
Active Land Use Application Matrix
to learn more about the proposals being processed by our planning staff, as well as opportunities for you to
take part in the decision-making process by submitting your own testimony
. City staff keep the matrix updated as often as possible, so everyone can stay in the loop on what applications have been received and where they are in the process.
For example, on May 27 the Planning Commission considered and recommended that the City Council approve updates to the portion of the City Code governing annexations.
Learn more about the proposal here
.
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Get the Latest on Major City Projects
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The April edition of
The Sandy Source
highlighted some of the significant projects underway at the City, and now you can get all the latest updates on these and many more on the new
Current City Projects webpage
!
Some of the notable projects featured on the new page include:
- The 362nd Street / Bell Street extension, which will allow traffic from the northwest part of town to reach Highway 26 and the commercial areas at the west edge of Sandy without having to use the Bluff Rd./Highway 26 intersection
- Sewer collection system rehabilitation, which will improve mainlines and laterals in the oldest portions of the system, shaded in green on this map
Keep an eye on the
new page
as we continue to add more information and additional projects. We want you to be in the loop on everything we're doing to keep Sandy running smoothly!
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Be a part of the process!
Members of the public are always welcome at meetings of the City Council and other boards and commissions.
During COVID-19 restrictions, the City Council is conducting meetings virtually via the Zoom video conference platform. Learn more about the variety of ways you can still participate by visiting our
electronic meeting information page
.
Click the image below
to access Sandy's public meeting calendar and learn more about everything your city government is doing to serve you better!
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