Voters approve three percent cap on city taxes
City officials concerned about implications of Measure 3-346
City of Estacada voters approved Measure 3-346 with 56 percent in favor of the tax measure that will require voter approval for any tax, fee or rate increase of more than three percent. The measure also rescinds any rate increases above three percent made since August 2008.
Estacada resident and chief petitioner Dora Morgan spearheaded the effort to gain voter support for the tax measure and received support from Americans For Prosperity-Oregon to collect enough signatures to place the measure on the Nov. 3 ballot. Morgan’s supporters included former Estacada School Board candidates Ralph Hatley and Mark Luedtke, former Estacada Mayor Tom Nelson and former City Council Member Kay Nelson, among others.
Morgan declined to comment when contacted by the Estacada News last week about the outcome of the election, and Tom Nelson only acknowledged that the measure passed when reached by phone.
“I think it’s great that it passed,” Nelson said. “I have nothing more to say to you. Goodbye.”
But the Americans For Prosperity-Oregon claimed another victory when the measure passed and issued a statement regarding the outcome of the election in a press release.
“The voters of Estacada have spoken,” said AFP-Oregon State Director Jeff Kropf. “…They want to reclaim control of their wallets. In these difficult economic times, governments across Oregon should be searching for ways to reduce the burden they impose on citizens. The city [of Estacada] will now have to work collaboratively with voters to determine what programs are worth funding, and what sources of revenue make sense. It’s a new fiscal era of responsibility and discipline in Estacada. I can’t thank our AFP-Oregon volunteers enough for the tremendous effort they make.”
Measure 3-346 is modeled after similar measures approved in Damascus in March 2008 and Cascade Locks in 2007. Both measures also received endorsements from AFP-Oregon. Measure 3-346 limits the ability of city officials to raise rates, fees or taxes of any kind by more than three percent without voter approval.
And while supporters encouraged voters to vote yes on the measure to repeal a three-cent per gallon gas tax approved by the City Council earlier this year, the gas tax became a separate issue in the days before the Nov. 3 election. Voters will decide the fate of the three-cent gas tax proposal designed to provide a funding source for road repairs and improvements in March 2010. While the outcome of the gas tax issue remains to be decided, city officials are concerned about the implications of Measure 3-346.
“I’m disappointed that it passed,” Mayor Becky Arnold said. “I think a lot of people were confused about what they were voting on. … and we’re going to fight it.”
Arnold said she will discuss the implications of the measure with the City Council and the city’s attorney and may consider legal action to overturn the decision.
Twenty-six people signed the argument in opposition to the measure in the voter’s pamphlet and the group Citizens For Our Estacada was established to oppose the measure. The group created the website www.citizens4ourestacada.com, talked with voters and distributed informational materials to gain support for a no vote, but wasn’t able to keep the measure from passing. City Council Member Brent Dodrill was among those who signed the argument in opposition to the measure.
He’s also one of two City Council members who voted no on the proposal for a three-cent gas tax because of concerns about how the proposed tax would influence the outcome of the Measure 3-346 election.
“Another one of the reasons that frustrated me about the gas tax is that as long as I’ve been on the City Council, I’ve felt like we have never been anxious to raise any fees,” Dodrill said. “We’ve made every effort to protect citizens from increased taxes, except for the three-cent gas tax. That’s another one of the primary reasons I voted against the gas tax, but I also knew it would be used as a major leveraging tool by Measure 3-346 supporters to get people to pass the measure.”
It’s been more than a year since a tax measure similar to Measure 3-346 was approved in Damascus with an estimated 70 percent approval, and City Manager Jim Bennett said it’s required adjustments to balance the city’s budget. In Damascus, the measure was retroactive two years, lowering rates and fees that cut the city’s annual budget by an estimated $200,000. Bennett said the implications of the measure have also forced city officials to limit street improvements and an attempt to return fees and rates to present-day value was rejected by Damascus voters in November 2008.
“In Estacada, I think the measure will make funding things a little more of a challenge,” Dodrill said. “It’s going to require us to dial back our budget in some areas, and I’m sure that will be a topic of discussion. But in the end, the people voted for the measure. We will have to move ahead and the city will have to adjust to that.”
In an earlier interview with the Estacada News, Arnold said Measure 3-346, if approved, could cripple the city, and her concern is supported by a number of arguments made by Citizens For Our Estacada. However, Dodrill has seen the tide of financial and political challenges come and go in his years as an Estacada resident and member of the City Council, and doesn’t see the measure as the end of Estacada.
“I don’t think all is lost because of this measure,” Dodrill said. “I think there are going to be some difficulties, particularly financially to fund things. But Estacada is a resilient community, and if the measure remains in place we will adjust to that.”
“People need to know that our city staff is very prudent in the use of city resources,” Dodrill said. “They are effective and efficient and if anyone thinks we are wasting a bunch of money, I want them to show me that so we can correct it. Our city counselors are doing the best they can for the city and none of us are paid to serve. We volunteer for the sake of the community, because we love it here.”