Albany City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance on May 27 renewing the Downtown Economic Improvement District through June 30, 2029. The assessment rate holds at $0.80 per $1,000 of real market value. Nineteen percent of properties remonstrated — well below the one-third threshold that would have stopped the district.
Updated May 28, 2026
Source review completed May 28, 2026
Albany City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance on May 27, 2026 renewing the Downtown Economic Improvement District for a three-year term beginning July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2029.
The EID is a voluntary assessment district authorized under ORS 223.112–223.132. Property owners within a defined downtown boundary are assessed annually based on the real market value of their property. Funds go toward economic development activities, business promotion, downtown events, public area maintenance, and parking improvements.
The assessment rate for the new term is $0.80 per $1,000 of real market value — unchanged from the prior term. Individual assessments carry a $50 minimum and a $500 maximum per property, with a $750 cap per property owner. Estimated annual district revenues are $36,900 in 2026–27, $38,700 in 2027–28, and $40,600 in 2028–29.
The final assessment roll listed 162 properties in the district boundary. Twenty-nine submitted valid written remonstrances and are excluded from assessment, leaving 133 properties assessed for the new term. The remonstrance rate was approximately 19 percent of the proposed total — below the 33 percent threshold that state law requires to stop the district.
Two members of the public testified at the May 27 hearing. Will Vellinga raised questions about downtown affordability and the need for free or low-cost community gathering spaces. Ilona Capacci, representing the Albany Downtown Association, spoke in support of the district and described its role in funding downtown beautification, business events, and community programming.
Vellinga's testimony belongs in the Healthy Economy lane, not just the EID lane. If ARP needs to follow up with him or verify the public-comment record, the clean next step is a targeted request for the May 27 public-comment sign-up and submitted-comment records, with private contact details handled through redaction review before anything is published.
The full assessment roll — including property address, owner name, land value, improvement value, real market value, and annual assessment amount — was attached as Exhibit B to the ordinance and included in the May 27 council agenda packet. The public can use that roll to see which properties are assessed, which remonstrated, and what each owner pays annually.
The records to watch going forward are annual assessment notices to property owners, revenue and expenditure reports from the Albany Downtown Association, and any changes to district boundaries or rates that would require a new public hearing.
Source for this draft: the ordinance, assessment roll, and staff memo in the May 27, 2026 Albany City Council agenda packet.
This article is supported by public records, source review, and neighbor-funded records work. Source gaps stay visible until the next record closes them.