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Portland city councilors indicated on Thursday they will support a proposed construction excise tax when it goes to final vote next week.

Much of the discussion at the council meeting involved specifics about the tax: how the money will be spent, whether developers of brownfield property would be taxed and whether multifamily property would be classified as commercial or residential.

The tax as currently devised would assess developers of residential and commercial properties 1 percent of total assessed value. It would generate between $47 million and $57 million by 2035, according to Kurt Creager, director of the Portland Housing Bureau.

Under a plan proposed by Commissioner Dan Saltzman, 100 percent of that revenue would go toward efforts to build more affordable housing for families earning 60 percent of the area’s median family income. Previously, a different plan proposed by Mayor Charlie Hales called for the proceeds to also go to police and programs fighting homelessness.

Supporters of affordable housing who crowded into City Hall on Thursday waved papers that read, 鈥淒ear City Hall, Do the Right Thing on CET 鈥� Keep it 100,鈥� to encourage councilors to not divide the tax’s revenue among other budget areas.

鈥淚 think this is a momentous day,鈥� Commissioner Nick Fish said. 鈥淢y sense now is there is strong support up here on dedicating the full 100 percent.鈥�

The tax was enabled by a new state law that came out of the 2016 legislative session. The package, which struck down a 17-year ban on inclusionary zoning, also included a law allowing construction excise taxes.

The proposed Portland construction tax was supported by everyone who testified at the Thursday meeting, including developer and Portland Housing Advisory Commission member Dike Dame.

Fish said he had gotten some letters from some trade associations opposing the tax.

鈥淲hat is your reaction to some of this pushback?鈥� he asked Dame.

Dame responded that he 鈥渨asn’t interested in listening to people gripe 鈥� this is something we have to do.鈥�

鈥淲e all live here,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e all have an obligation to help our community be a good place to raise a family, and if we are going to push people out because they can’t afford to live in the same city they work, then we’re not really doing that.鈥�

Commissioner Amanda Fritz returned repeatedly to the question of whether multifamily developments 鈥� traditionally classified as residential properties, could be considered commercial in this instance. Fritz said doing so would potentially send $778,000 per year to the city, rather than the state.

According to the city’s comprehensive plan, which the council approved earlier in the week, Portland has 13,500 affordable units, with 1,500 in production. There’s a shortage of 24,000 affordable units, and 10,000 more will be needed by 2035.