Urban Road Maintenance District

The Urban Road Maintenance District (URMD) provides preventive road maintenance services for public roads within its boundaries (see map), except roads that are designated as arterials or collectors on the Washington County Transportation System Plan. About 430 miles of neighborhood streets have designated URMD maintenance funds.

The Urban Road Maintenance District (URMD) was created by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) and approved by voters in urban unincorporated Washington County in 1987. It is a county service district, formed under ORS Chapter 451. URMD Ordinance No. 4

Voters in the urban unincorporated area approved an ad valorem property tax levy of $0.365 in 1994, which became a permanent rate of $0.2456 upon approval of Ballot Measure 50 in 1997. Property owners in the URMD pay $0.2456 per $1,000 assessed value. The owner of a home with an assessed value of $300,000 pays less than $75 per year for URMD.

What URMD Maintains
Roads within the URMD boundary are routinely inspected and scheduled for preventative maintenance. Maintenance includes, but is no limited to, either paving a road or performing slurry seal, which is a treatment where cracks and voids in the road are filled in. For efficiency purposes, treatments are alternated each year (paving one year, slurry seal the next). Our Road Maintenance Program provides a list of all maintenance activities for the year.

URMD Pedestrian and Biking Improvement Projects
Since 2011, URMD funds are also used to build pedestrian and biking improvement projects. These are small-scale projects such as sidewalks, pedestrian crossings and bicycle-related improvements.

Sidewalk Repair Grant Program

The URMD funds financial assistance for approved sidewalk repair and replacement through the Sidewalk Repair Grant Program.

How to Get Involved
URMD is governed by the Urban Road Maintenance District Advisory Committee (URMDAC). Committee members work with us and advise the BCC on issues related to road maintenance. Members also review the proposed URMD budgets annually. Learn more.