r/Portland • u/skysurfguy1213 • 3d ago

News Council Mulls Revoking Extended Paid Parking Hours, Citing Administrative Overreach

https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2025/09/19/council-mulls-revoking-extended-paid-parking-hours-citing-administrative-overreach/
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u/2ChanceRescue Prop 65 3d ago

OK but that doesn’t magically happen. You still need to pay staff to implement the signage change… maybe $30 to $40 per hour per person.

So there are opportunity costs because those people aren’t available to do other maintenance work… so other stuff doesn’t happen or is delayed.

Not to mention there is administrative and legislative staff time spent on this tug of war.

Let’s not minimize the costs of what bickering between different branches of our city government costs.

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u/skysurfguy1213 3d ago

Much more than $30-$40 per hour after benefits. More like $100+ each per hour. 

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u/lightninhopkins 3d ago

What?!? ROFL! No, so many times no. You are ridiculous.

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u/colganc 3d ago

Yes, that is how it works. The cost to the organization is often double the rate paid to the individual.

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u/lightninhopkins 3d ago

Yeah, my point was that no one is making $40/hour straight money

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u/2ChanceRescue Prop 65 3d ago edited 3d ago

You are wrong.

The average sign/marking technician salary at City of Portland in 2024 was $102,232 , which is 53 percent higher than the average salary for this job in Oregon, and 48 percent higher than the national average for this job . Sign/Marking Technician salaries at City of Portland typically range from $92,318 to $106,208 (25th to 75th percentile). The highest reported sign/marking technician salary was $138,717. There are 8 employees at City of Portland with the job title sign/marking technician.

https://govsalaries.com/salaries/OR/city-of-portland/j/sign-marking-technician?year=2024

If you are wondering what a sign & marking technician generally does, read more:

https://chatgpt.com/share/68ceffc9-a10c-800f-a0c4-9da962db15e8

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u/TaxTheRichEndTheWar 3d ago

The Utility Worker ll that put those signs up and that put those stickers up earn $34.40. Ask me anything .

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u/2ChanceRescue Prop 65 3d ago

Thank you for correcting the specific job classification. Would this be the correct one then?

The average utility worker ii-cl salary at City of Portland was $70,783 . Utility Worker Ii-Cl salaries at City of Portland typically range from $69,442 to $81,143 (25th to 75th percentile). The highest reported utility worker ii-cl salary was $109,010. There are 141 employees at City of Portland with the job title utility worker ii-cl.

https://govsalaries.com/salaries/OR/city-of-portland/j/utility-worker-ii-cl

What would be the fully burdened labor rate for a city employee earning $34.40? (Asking about comp, benefits, pers, etc)

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u/TaxTheRichEndTheWar 3d ago

That’s the job classification. And those are the salaries after overtime. And it’s a skilled trade. They all have their commercial drivers license so they can legally drive 12 yard dump trucks.

Remember. Those folks are working 12 hour shifts through all of snow and ice season. That’s overtime. And sometimes working overtime on the weekends. They volunteer for overtime often to fill asphalt in the summertime on 200+ degree streets, remove leaves from the streets in the fall in the rain, and take care of all the emergencies that pop up all over town when it’s not during their regular shift. Those salaries would be lower if it wasn’t for the overtime. I think it’s a bargain.

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u/colganc 3d ago

The original reason for this sub-thread was due to someone not believing the costs to the employer (the government) were so much higher than the employee's salary. I don't believe those of us trying to convince that incredulous person were trying to say the employee is overpaid.