Portland Sets Vote on Local Gas Tax

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DALLAS – Voters in Portland, Ore., will decide in May on a proposed four-year, local gasoline tax of 10 cents per gallon that is expected to generate an estimated $64 million for city streets, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes.

The Portland City Council voted unanimously to put the proposal on the May 17 party primary election ballot after two years of debate over how to pay for street projects and resolve a maintenance backlog estimated at more than $120 million per year.

If approved, the Portland gasoline tax would be the highest local fuel tax in the state. Eugene's gasoline tax of 5 cents per gallon is currently the highest of the 15 Oregon cities and two counties with a fuel tax.

Oregon motorists pay a 30 cent per gallon tax on diesel and gasoline in addition to the federal gasoline tax of 18.4 cents per gallon and diesel fuel tax of 24.4 cents.

City commissioner Steve Novick proposed the new tax in October at the recommendation of the nonprofit City Club of Portland after the city council failed to agree in 2014 on a street fee program that included several funding measures.

Novick, who has overseen the Portland Bureau of Transportation since he joined the council in 2013, said the civic group's confirmation that the city needs more revenues dedicated to transportation should help persuade voters to support his proposal.

"Some people assume that we could pay to fix the streets if we just cut our spending on 'other unimportant stuff,' " he said. "The City Club report explains that there just isn't much 'other unimportant stuff' to cut."

The organization's report said 49% of Portland's busiest streets are in poor condition.

"At the moment, the most technically feasible funding option is a city gas tax," it said. "A gas tax would generate revenue from most users — including those transporting goods across Portland streets and those who don't reside in Portland — and would discourage congestion and pollution."

Novick's initial proposal included only a gasoline tax, which would have generated $58 million over the four years. He amended the plan in January to cover diesel fuel purchased for light trucks, which increased the expected revenues by $6 million.

The proposal would devote $35.8 million of the revenues to street repairs, $6.4 million for sidewalks, and $5.4 million for bicycle lanes.

Novick is running for re-election to the city council in May, but said he is not concerned with being on the same ballot as a tax increase that he is championing.

City leaders have known for at least three decades that more street funding is needed but have failed to act, he said.

"I could not vote for myself for re-election, let alone ask anybody else to vote for me, if I were to follow this pattern of simply sweeping the issue under the rug until the next election," Novick said.

The average Portland household currently pays $25.19 per month in state and county gasoline taxes but only $2.82 goes to help build or repair city streets, he said. Multnomah County, which includes Portland, levies a 3 cent per gallon tax on gasoline but not diesel.

The $16 million per year expected to be generated by the proposal fuel tax is not sufficient to resolve the shortfall, Novick said.

The Bureau of Transportation last year estimated that Portland needs to spend almost $120 million a year over the next 10 years to bring city streets to a good condition. The cost was estimated in 2014 at $916 million over 10 years and $750 million in 2013.

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