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PHOENIX City to ask voters for diesel tax Comment By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted Jul. 17, 2015 at 5:22 PM By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted Jul. 17, 2015 at 5:22 PM » Social News PHOENIX — Voters will be asked to enact a 2-cents-per-gallon tax on diesel fuel sales in the city later this year to help pay for maintenance of roads near the Petro Stopping Center that get excessive wear from big rigs. “I think it’s a fair tax from people who are just coming through and not paying any revenue into our system,” said Councilor Terry Helfrich. “Petro will still be competitive with their fuel.” Voting could be either Sept. 15 or Nov. 3. Phoenix would delay the measure until November to reduce election costs to the city if no other jurisdiction has an issue for the September ballot, City Manager Steve Dahl said. Phoenix would be the only Oregon city to limit the tax to diesel fuel. Twenty cities levy taxes on gas and diesel fuels. Oregon law allows cities, counties and other local governments to tax motor vehicle fuels if approved by voters in the jurisdiction. “We did look at doing a gas tax. We just decided to do a diesel tax instead,” said Dahl. Helfrich will urge the council to put a paid statement in the voters’ pamphlet to explain the tax. He said he’d like city staff to estimate how much revenue might be raised. Petro would not divulge sales figures, Dahl said. “When there’s a tax that comes through, people want to know where the money is going and why,” said Helfrich. “They want to know, are you really going to use it for something beneficial so that citizens can buy off on it. It’s money needed for certain projects.” Oregon cities tax fuels at an average rate of 3 cents per gallon, according to a 2014 League of Oregon Cities survey. Average revenue generated was $390,797 annually, ranging from $2.9 million for Eugene to $36,638 for Dundee. All but one of the cities use the tax for repairs, maintenance and preservation. Only five cities did not use the funds for new construction. An estimated $500,000 will be required over 15 years to maintain the roads used by trucks around Petro, which is just east of Interstate 5 at Exit 24. The roads include South Phoenix Road and Furry Drive. “They are really bad right now,” said Dahl. “Some holes are like six inches wide, some are a little longer, and some are two to three inches deep.” City plans call for chip sealing all streets in town over the next 10 years, said Helfrich. Total cost for the sealing would be about $3 million. “Grants have gone down tremendously from the federal government and the state,” said Dahl. “During the recession they dried up a lot.” Councilor Carolyn Bartell said the Exit 24 interchange rebuild will bring the city more streets to maintain. The tax would help with that and with following the city's capital improvement plan for roads. “We have a plan and we are trying to stay on top of it, maintaining the streets before they fail,” said Bartell. No other entity in the Rogue Valley has a local gas tax. Central Point considered one couple of years ago but the council didn’t send it to voters, Dahl said. Medford also looked at a tax but took no action. A tax, if approved, would go into effect 30 days after the election. The town has two other gas stations in addition to Petro. Tony Boom is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Reach him at [email protected] . By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted Jul. 17, 2015 at 5:22 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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