Document text
Central Point diesel tax hits delay By BUFFY POLLOCK CENTRAL POINT - The drive to start a penny-per-gallon diesel tax, intended to help pay for street improvements in the city, may have stalled. With opposition including a newly formed coalition and letters to City Council members, Mayor Bill Walton suggested postponing movement toward the proposed fuel tax Thursday night. Howard Misner, chairman of the Coalition Against Discriminatory Fuel Taxes said he would join four coalition members and address the May 24 council meeting, asking that the city table earlier requests to draft a diesel ordinance. Misner, operations manager for Grange CO-OP petroleum, said he was pleased the efforts of the coalition - formed early this month - had received some response. "I really think we hit them so hard that they realized there was some bad, bad opposition out there. They made this motion out of the clear blue sky. just something that looked good so they made a motion on it," Misner said. Walton said, although he still felt the diesel tax was appropriate - "charging the people messing up the streets to repair them" - he would be open to alternative suggestions. "It's not whether you want a diesel tax or don't, but rather 'what methodology do you want to use to pay for something you need?' Walton said at Thursday's council meeting. "The diesel tax is basically just one potential alternative to street utility fees. We're saying to the public, 'do you want a street utility fee assessed to your home or do you want a diesel tax?' I've never seen a house driving down the street doing damage so why should we place these fees on the homes?" City administrator Jim Bennett said the consensus among council members indicated the city should "take time to look at a more comprehensive analysis of street funding" and try to "better understand budget shortfalls with regards to streets." Council member Dick Halley, previously in favor of the tax, attended a coalition meeting May 8 and heard what he referred to as "very informative opinions" which caused him to realize a diesel tax wasn't something to "just jump right into." Halley said he would request a study session in order for citizens and coalition members to discuss the issue and suggest possible alternatives to a fuel tax. Halley joins council President Bill Stults and council member Kay Harrison as having reservations about the controversial tax, making the board evenly split on the issue. "It's starting to lean the other way. You don't see any real hundred percenters out there now. We need more input from everybody to make a good decision. I was glad I went to the meeting," Halley said. Stults agreed the proposal, which would tax all commercial and wholesale diesel sales in the city, was something that could wait while the city figures out "exactly what it really needs. "Things were moving too fast. We needed to back up and check this out," Stults said. "I want to get input from both sides of the diesel tax idea. if there are other people for it besides the mayor and a few council members. I'm not so sure. We got a lot of letters in opposition, but none in support of this tax." Stults said he wanted to see a needs assessment and estimated costs for road repairs. He said "not having a street utility fee like most cities" was one reason the city had to find alternative funding. "We've got to come up with some type of long-term strategy to be able to maintain our streets," he said. Stults said Misner "got assurance" at the council meeting that the city wouldn't "ramrod the thing through, not on any kind of fast track." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.