Coos Bay and North Bend have been trying to pass new gas taxes to repair the roads (I wonder if PERS has something to do with it ).

They keep failing.

Coos Bay added a $10/month "Transportation fee" to water bills to fix the roads. From what I understand, North Bend has a $30/month "Public Safety Fee" to pay for cops.

Several people in town have told me this is illegal, but can anybody cite a law that makes it illegal for the councils to add a fee to water bills in lieu of legitimate tax increase?

Newberg has done the same thing.  Stormwater $11.23 (even though the nearest storm water drain to me is over a mile away) Public safety fee $3.00, Communications Officer fee $2.13, and Transportation Utility Fee $4.99.  Along with higher property taxes than Los Angeles, CA and Sewer charge of $26.16 + $8.65/cubic foot of the winter average of your water usage.

Any idea if this is legal? If it's not, I will bring it to my city councilors and possibly seek a lawyer. I find this to be a huge pile of BS. The public said, emphatically, NO to them taking more of our money, and they do an end-run around the will of the people with this nonsense.

Send an itemized list of what you are paying.

Tell them, like Popeye (1980 movie) that if they charge what they feel like charging then you pays what you feels like paying.

A member of the community has tried this. They eventually shut his water off.

It won't stop until/unless a court tells them to stop.

A law suit will need to be initiated that shows the court how the agencies are instituting "fees" after tax levies failed.  They can show the court that the fees are a not very cleverly disguised way to collect money that voters refused.

or, voters could use the initiative petition to have a law passed that says no agency may institute new taxes FEES, SURCHARGES, or any other increase in money collected from customers without an approving vote from the voters, and that all fees, surcharges etc prior to XXX(insert date here) will be rolled back and cancelled.

Same shit in Corvallis.
Fees in place of taxes.
Hmmm, I've I never use the service and I'm charged for it.
It's a fucking tax.

I just moved out of Coos county. I lived in north bend and it started at $5 and kept going up i believe it was at $30 when I left. Last I heard someone was paying the water bill minus the public safety fee and they eventually shut off his water.  Last I heard he is taking it to court.