3-cent gas tax goes to voters in 2010

Voters to decide City Council’s proposal to establish street fund

By Evan Jensen

The Estacada News, Oct 28, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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When the Estacada City Council approved a plan to establish a 3-cent gas tax to take care of city streets beginning in April 2010, the move prompted at least 195 people to take action and sign a referendum to let voters decide.

Earlier this week the Clackamas County Elections verified the signatures of the 195 registered voters who signed the referendum that will let voters decide the fate of the proposed tax.

“The gas tax is going to be on the ballot in 2010,” Estacada Mayor Becky Arnold said. “People need to know that this is a separate issue from Measure 3-346 and people will have a chance to vote separately on the gas tax.”

The proposed 3-cent gas tax approved by the City Council was created to establish a dedicated funding source for city street improvements. The proposed tax would generate an estimated $165,000 annually, but not everyone on the City Council was on board with the plan. City Council members approved the tax with a majority 4-2 vote in September, but Council members Brent Dodrill and Ben Wheeler were opposed to the tax.

Dodrill voted no when the council was polled because he was concerned about its affect on Measure 3-346 on the ballot in November. The measure, sponsored by Dora Morgan, if approved, would prohibit the city from raising the price of anything more than 3 percent without a vote of the people. That means raising the cost of a photocopy by 1-cent or aligning the fees for permits to match other cities, among other potential increases, would have to be placed on the ballot for a vote. But even if approved, Measure 3-346 will not repeal the gas tax. Instead, voters will decide the fate of the measure next week and the gas tax in March, 2010.

“The gas tax is something the City Council still supports,” Arnold said. “Brent Dodrill voted no because he was afraid that supporting the gas tax now would cause people to vote yes on Measure 3-346, but that’s going to be a separate issue now.”

City Manager Bill Elliott said Estacada streets are in need of major repairs that could total an estimated $15 million. The City Council approved the gas tax to establish a dedicated fund to maintain and repair existing streets.

“When this does go to a vote next year, I hope people understand the money from the gas tax will be used specifically to fix our roads,” Arnold said. “The gas tax money can’t be used for anything else; it will strictly be going into the street fund.”