Document text
Grants Pass decides against gas tax for now Tuesday Apr 4, 2017 at 4:34 PM Apr 4, 2017 at 4:34 PM By Troy Shinn Grants Pass Daily Courier Grants Pass won't be implementing a gas tax anytime in the near future. City Council agreed at a workshop Monday that, although the concept of replacing an existing utilities fee with a gas tax is worth consideration to pay for street work, the timing is not right. "It's a lousy time to focus our time on this," said Council President Dennis Roler. "We've got all these other projects taking our time and we should be focused on that." Other councilors agreed, stating that adding another tax to a ballot that is already riddled with tax proposals like the county public safety levy and an independent library district would be an exercise in futility. "I consider this pretty ill-timed based on what we have on our agenda right now," said Councilor Barry Eames. These other "agenda" items, as Eames referred to them, include an expansion of the wastewater plant on Southwest Greenwood Avenue estimated at $20 million and replacing the water treatment plant on Southeast M Street, estimated at $56 million. The timing may not be right, but that doesn't mean officials reject the need for some new funding source for road maintenance. City Manager Aaron Cubic presented on the need for a new funding source, stating that city roads are largely maintained by state and federal funds. "Those monies are becoming more and more restrictive, so we're seeing a smaller amount," Cubic said. This gas tax, which if it followed state trends would be 3 cents per gallon, could replace the existing utility fee for city road projects. Cubic said the average roads utility fee is $3.52 per month for residents. The roads utility fee is just one of several utility fees the city has, including one that pays for extra beds at the county jail. Many officials agreed that while the gas tax might be fairer to city residents, since the tax would apply to all the visitors who use roads, it wasn't pressing enough to try and place on an upcoming ballot. "I talked with a few people and overwhelmingly they said they liked this tax in lieu of the fee on their water bills," said Councilor Tyler Flaming. The council ultimately concurred that this should be held off until next year, after officials can gauge the landscape of state and federal funding, as well as see how other cities respond to their own transportation needs. — Reach reporter Troy Shinn at 541-474-3806 or [email protected].