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PHOENIX Phoenix wants diesel tax to fix truck damage Truckers say price increase could drive off their business Comment By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 29, 2015 at 3:39 PM By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 29, 2015 at 3:39 PM » Social News PHOENIX — Ballots for a Sept. 15 election to decide a 2-cents-per-gallon tax on diesel fuel sold inside Phoenix city limits will arrive in mailboxes by Monday, according to Jackson County elections officials. The lone item on September ballots, city officials say the tax would fund needed repairs in the area surrounding the city's only truck stop, the Petro station along Fern Valley Road. Trucking industry proponents say the industry pays its fair share in state taxes and that local taxes undermine a system already in place to fairly distribute fuel taxes from the state level for road work in local municipalities. Phoenix officials estimate the city will need $500,000 over 15 years to maintain the roads used by trucks around Petro, which is just east of Interstate 5 at exit 24. A $73 million reconstruction of the Fern Valley interchange will help bring the area roads up to par but also add to the city's inventory of roads to care for. If approved, the city would have the only fuel tax in the Rogue Valley and the only fuel tax in the state limited to diesel fuel. Fuel taxes are often met with heated debate between local municipalities and trucking industry proponents. Central Point city officials attempted to pass a fuel tax in 2009 but were met with harsh criticism. Combined Transport Inc. President Michael Card, whose Medford-based fleet consists of over 500 trucks, said while he had heard very little about the proposed diesel tax in Phoenix, said he and others in the trucking industry were opposed to local and piecemeal taxation. "We in the trucking community are totally against local taxes, whether it's city or county imposed," Card said. "We all support paying our fair share by paying statewide diesel taxes, and the reason we do that is that the money raised from fuel taxes in the state of Oregon are required, by law, to be spent on the highways. If you have a local tax, whether it's the city of Central Point, which tried to do one a few years ago, or the city of Phoenix, there's no guarantee of how they have to spend that money. "The other thing is we would hate to have a patchwork quilt of fuel taxes around the state. We've been attempting to stop all those kind of local fuel taxes. They're just a really bad idea for the state roads and for the trucking industry." Employees at Petro deferred interviews to corporate offices, which did not immediately return calls. Phoenix City Council member Chris Luz said the council gave careful consideration before deciding to ask voters to pass the diesel tax. Luz said the increase to the city's road inventory was a driving force behind the decision to seek additional revenues. If approved, funds from the tax increase would go into the city's general street repair maintenance fund. "With the big interchange project, the city is going to have to take on more maintenance for more roads that we didn't have to before," Luz said. "The diesel tax will take care of the roads around the truck stop which is necessary because the trucks have a huge impact on the roads over there. "It will all be fixed up as part of Fern Valley, but a few years from now those roads will need to be repaired again. It's like a savings fund. The city is just trying to plan ahead." Card said his company is careful in how it chooses to buy fuel and that approval of a local diesel tax would impact where fuel would be purchased. "Most trucking companies are very astute buyers of diesel. We have these computer programs that automatically determine the best places for truck drivers to buy fuel," said Card. "So, when our truck is coming through Southern Oregon, the program will look at where to buy gas and it will pick the best price based on discounts and taxes." Aside from the obvious cost factor with the tax, Card said, piecemeal taxation would impact the condition of roads throughout the state. "If all a sudden Portland instituted a very large fuel tax, people in Portland would never vote for a statewide tax. Then the city of Medford would be hurting because they get their money from the state. These kind of things just affect everyone around the state and they're just not a good idea." Sample ballots and information from the voter pamphlet are available online, http://jacksoncountyor.org/clerk/Elections. Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 29, 2015 at 3:39 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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