Did Lake Oswego Dodge a Financial Bullet? New Audit of Streetcar Says Yes!

To All COLA LO Members,

This week the results of a financial audit of Portland Streetcar were released.   It provides a stark reminder of many of the issues discussed during the proposals to bring a streetcar to LO from Portland.  

Much of the concern was about who would actually operate the streetcar, how much it would really cost, and how much of the cost the city of LO would have to pay.    All of which was never really answered by Streetcar's proponents.  

The audit released clearly establishes these issues as being core to the current operations in Portland.   In the article released in the Oregon is the statement:  

The bureaucracy behind Portland’s $251 million streetcar system is "convoluted and confusing," according to a new city audit, and no more money should be spent expanding it until city leaders set clear goals.

The article can be found at:  Convoluted

In the actual audit the auditor claims the "City bears the financial risk"   just as many LO residents believed when the LO streetcar was proposed with total costs exceeding $200 million.   Its a stunning clarification showing the core concerns of opponents to Streetcar were valid.  

The actual audit can be found at Portland Streetcar Audit.    Its clear from this document that LO would be taking on enormous financial risk with the project as proposed under the Hoffman administration and supported by former Mayor Hammerstad.  

While many may say hindsight is 20/20 its very valid in this case and residents should seriously consider what approval of Streetcar may have done to LO financially.   To his credit Councilor Jeff Gudman showed these details consistently in council sessions.  

Please notify all members contacts and friends.