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Group hopes to force Central Point vote on fees By BUFFY POLLOCK CENTRAL POINT - A group calling itself Citizens to Protect Voters' Rights has filed an initiative petition that would force the city to hold an election any time it wished to raise fees or impose new fees. Among the chief petitioners are Larry Thornton, departing owner of the Old Center Cafe; Carol Fischer, former city councilwoman; and Rusty McGrath, former mayor. Fischer said the measure was necessary to make council members more accountable. "This just sort of stops City Hall for right now," she said. "It would make it be up to the voters before any more increases take place. The people of Central Point can't afford any more fees or taxes." The petition follows a recent controversy over a proposal by the City Council to impose a 1-cent-per-gallon diesel tax to fund street improvements. The council, after receiving strong opposition from business leaders and residents, decided on Thursday to table the motion. The council is also considering increases in building, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and manufactured dwelling permit fees. The council will consider the increases at its June 14 meeting. The petitioners must obtain signatures from 15 percent of the voters for their initiative to be placed on the ballot. If approved, the measure would require "any and all monetary increases," including increases to existing fees and implementation of new ones, to go to a vote before they could be implemented. City Administrator Jim Bennett said the initiative would make the city's job of providing services to the public "very difficult and lengthen the processes of government considerably, in turn costing the city even more money." Bennett said he felt the city's fees, on average, are lower than most comparable cities and that the city has "never been anything but effective and accountable to voters." "We don't need something like this to be accountable to voters. I like to think Central Point, as a city, has been both effective and accountable to its citizens. I'd just like to understand why there are people out there that think we need this sort of thing," he said. Councilwoman Donna Higginbotham agreed that the petition would wind up costing more money than it was trying to save. "I just wish they (the petitioners) would realize it would be much more expensive to go to voting for raising every little tax and routine charge," she said. "We have public hearings and first and second readings on most things so people can give their input, like they've done with the diesel tax. The people told us what they thought and we listened. If they get the signatures for this, it'll surprise me. There will be no saving money going that route." Thornton said he hoped to get enough signatures to put the initiative on the ballot in the November election. "I know I won't be very popular over there, but this needs to be done to protect the people of Central Point," Thornton said. This likely is Thornton's last protest against City Hall as a Central Point resident. Thornton, who has opposed the council on several issues over the past six years, has sold the Old Center Cafe and plans to move to Florence to care for aging relatives. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.