The record
- A road fee nearly doubled without a public vote. On May 7, 2025, the Bend City Council voted 7-0 to adopt Phase 2 rates for the city's Transportation Fee, which is charged on monthly city utility bills. For a single-family home, the fee went from $5.60 to $10.50 a month starting July 1, 2025, nearly double. The council adopted the fee itself, without a public vote. The minutes list 29 public comment emails, and one of their main themes was that the fee is a tax that should have been put to a public vote. The minutes record every member present voting yes: Mayor Melanie Kebler; Mayor Pro Tem Megan Perkins, who made the motion; Councilor Gina Franzosa; Councilor Ariel Méndez; Councilor Mike Riley, who seconded it; Councilor Megan Norris; and Councilor Steve Platt. No one voted no, abstained or was absent. Their side: The city's chief operations officer said the fee "is not required to be put out to the voters" and that the council decided it was the council's call. The city says the money pays for street operations and maintenance because gas-tax revenue is declining. In 2023, Mayor Kebler said it is called a fee "because that's what it is legally," like stormwater and sewer fees. In 2024 she said the Transportation System Plan, "which a large group of citizens worked on," saw the fee as an integral part of planning. Also in 2024, Councilor Riley said, "We don't go out to voters on every sewer and water fee." Before the May 2025 vote, Councilor Méndez said he would support it but wanted to look at other funding options before a third phase. At a Sept. 10, 2025 work session, the six members present (Councilor Riley was excused) gave unanimous support to pause indefinitely the planned third phase, which was meant to raise $15 million a year. Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
- Committee code now says public comment is not required. On May 20, 2026, the Bend City Council voted 7-0 on the first reading of an ordinance that updated city code for advisory boards, committees and commissions. Among other changes, it rewrote the line saying committee meetings "shall be an opportunity for public involvement" to say they "are an opportunity for public involvement," and it added a new sentence: "However, an opportunity for public comment is not required by this chapter." Voting yes on May 20 were Mayor Melanie Kebler, Mayor Pro Tem Megan Perkins and Councilors Gina Franzosa, Ariel Méndez, Megan Norris, Steve Platt and Mike Riley. No one voted no. On June 3, 2026, the council passed the ordinance on second reading 6-0 in a roll call vote. Kebler, Perkins, Franzosa, Méndez, Platt and Riley voted yes, and no one voted no. Councilor Norris did not vote on June 3. The minutes say she recused herself from an earlier item that night, the climate pollution fee, and was excused for the rest of the meeting. The city's side: In an email reported by The Bulletin, the city said, "This is not a change as the committees have never been required to have public comment." The email also said the change "does not change the flexibility that committees have always had to decide whether to allow public comment," and that it brings city code in line with state law. City staff told The Bulletin the changes clarify the status quo. The Bulletin's editorial board agreed that committees were never required to allow public comment, that their flexibility is unchanged and that the change matches state law. According to The Bulletin, Mayor Kebler wrote that its editorial about the change "got it wrong." Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
- An $18 million building, first discussed at a public meeting the night of the vote. On Sept. 16, 2026, the Bend City Council voted 6-1 to authorize the city manager to sign a $17.95 million agreement to buy the PacificSource office building on NE Conners Avenue. Mayor Melanie Kebler, Mayor Pro Tem Megan Perkins and Councilors Megan Norris, Steve Platt, Ariel Méndez and Mike Riley voted yes. The Source Weekly reported that Councilor Gina Franzosa cast the only no vote. In a separate vote the same night, the council approved up to $25 million in bonds to buy, improve and furnish the building. No published report gives the count on that vote, and as of Oct. 4, 2026 the city had not posted written minutes of the meeting. The Source Weekly reported that the purchase was not discussed at a public meeting until that night. Five days before the vote, Franzosa told the Source in a text message that "all conversations have been held in executive session." She added that the public had a week to comment before the council voted. At the meeting, Mayor Kebler said she understood that the purchase came up quickly for people. She said the council could not discuss it publicly before then because it was a real estate deal, and that she had seen a private buyer purchase a property the city was looking at before the city could, which drives up the cost. The city says the deal still depends on an appraisal, inspections and other conditions. It also says buying and improving the building should cost less than one-fifth as much as a new City Hall, which it estimated at more than $145 million, and that the financing is not expected to require new taxes, fees or utility rate increases. Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
- Raising pay for their own seats. In May 2024 the Bend City Council voted to raise councilor pay from $9,770 to $30,000 a year and the mayor's pay from $19,540 to $50,000 a year. The raise comes with yearly inflation adjustments starting in 2026, a $3,000 yearly health and wellness stipend, and the option of city health and dental insurance. The amounts were recommended by a nine-member citizen committee chaired by Judy Stiegler, which the council itself appointed in September 2023. City documents call it an independent advisory committee. At the first reading on May 1, 2024, Mayor Melanie Kebler and Councilors Barb Campbell, Ariel Méndez, Megan Perkins, Mike Riley and Megan Norris each declared a potential conflict of interest, and all six voted yes. Councilor Anthony Broadman was excused. At the second reading and adoption on May 15, 2024, all seven declared a potential conflict of interest. Kebler, Campbell, Méndez, Perkins, Riley and Norris voted yes, Broadman abstained, and no one voted no. The minutes give no reason for Broadman's abstention. Broadman had been excused from the May 1 meeting and that night also abstained on another ordinance first read on May 1. Councilors Gina Franzosa and Steve Platt were not yet on the council; both were elected in November 2024. Campbell and Broadman are no longer on the council. The ordinance set the new pay to start in January 2025 for Positions 1 through 4, the seats on the November 2024 ballot, two of which were won by Norris and Perkins. For Positions 5, 6 and 7, which include the mayor's seat, it starts in January 2027. Anyone appointed to fill a seat gets it sooner. The ordinance says Oregon law requires an election in between so that voters decide who receives the new pay. Their side: city staff confirmed that a sitting councilor would have to run again and win to receive the increase. The council said the raise would reduce financial barriers so more people can run for office. The Bulletin quoted Mayor Kebler saying the change "will make serving on the council more accessible to more people." Councilor Méndez told KTVZ that no one should get rich from serving, but pay should not stop people from serving. Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
To be fair: none of these votes broke any law, every member who had a conflict of interest announced it, and the state ethics commission's published decisions name none of them. Every item was checked against city minutes, state records and news reports in October 2026.
What you can do
Sign the petition on Change.org and share this page. See also: Mayor Kebler's record · How the council voted · Councilor Norris and Hayden Homes