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Central Point diesel tax idea draws fire By BUFFY POLLOCK CENTRAL POINT � A proposed 1-cent-per-gallon diesel fuel tax to fund repairs at the Interstate 5 interchange drew angry response from local gas station managers during a City Council study session Tuesday. Representatives from a half-dozen local businesses told council members the tax was unfair and would cause them to lose business. "I�m extremely opposed to your little scheme and what you�re trying to slide under us," said Howard Misner, petroleum operations manager for the Grange Co-op. "This is the wrong way to go." The city hopes to raise between $50,000 and $150,000 a year toward street improvements with the tax, said City Administrator Jim Bennett. Misner said the diesel tax, which would impose an extra dollar on every hundred gallons purchased, was just "the start of a big mess." "The federal tax is 24 cents on diesel and the state tax is another 24," he said. "We�re already paying almost 50 cents a gallon for taxes. Pretty soon the 1-cent (tax) won�t be footing the bill and then it�s 5 cents like you wanted a year ago. Then it jumps to 10," he said. "Where�s the limit to charging us whatever you want?" Mayor Bill Walton said that implementing the tax on diesel, which fuels semitrailers, would "make the people tearing up the roads pay to fix them." He said he recently learned that every 80-ton truck does the same amount of damage as 450 cars. Bonnie Des Champ, general manager of Pilot Travel Center, said her customers were already paying to use the roads. "It�s unfair to tax diesel when they�re already paying more in Oregon than anywhere else. We need something, but this is not it; $120,000 a year for one penny. That�s just what I�ll pay if this passes and I�ll have no choice but to pass it on to my customers," she said. Council member Dr. David Gilmour said that while he could sympathize with truckers, the alternative was a street user fee assessed "per home." It�s not fair to make residents pay for roads damaged by trucks, he said. "We�re talking about a lot of money for repairs that the city doesn�t have. ODOT is quite limited in their money and who knows how far down the line CP will get any of it. We can�t afford to wait for money from ODOT. There�s no tax that isn�t a burden on someone. The trucks will have to service the roads they are using. It�s our only solution. We can�t close our roads to trucks," Gilmour said. Jim Oldland, owner of Oldland Distributing, said his concern was that customers wouldn�t be around if they were to be charged an extra penny. "Our industry is already really struggling. It may not sound like a lot, but when you add it all up at the end of the year, it is. We order from the cheapest and often it comes down to a quarter of a cent." Council member Kay Harrison explained that the purpose of the study session was "just to get feedback" and no decision would be made right away. "We needed this meeting to see how you all feel. Now we need to research it and make a good sound decision," said Harrison. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.