City panel endorses new taxes for roads.Byline: Edward Russo The Register-Guard To raise money for street repairs, the city may levy taxes on Eugene homes and businesses based on everything from their property value to the amount of garbage garbage: see solid waste. they generate and the number of parking spaces they have. A council committee on Friday endorsed four new taxes plus a 3-cent hike in the city's gas tax. The full council is to discuss the ideas on May 23. The tax proposals are meant to plug the city's $2 million financing gap for street maintenance and to reduce a growing backlog of street preservation projects and repairs that officials say has reached $170 million. "If we don't solve the problem now, it just gets worse," said City Councilor coun·cil·or also coun·cil·lor n. A member of a council, as one convened to advise a governor. See Usage Note at council. coun Alan Zelenka, a member of the council committee. The committee proposal is the latest in a years-long effort to figure out how to get more money to pay for street fixes. The group endorsed the following money measures to generate $16 million a year for road work: A 10-year local option levy assessed on all residential and commercial property in Eugene. A parking-space fee on homes and businesses. A charge imposed on garbage haulers that they would pass along to residents and businesses. A fee on every occupied home and business to raise money for street lighting and bike paths. A 3-cent increase in the city's 5-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax Noun 1. gasoline tax - a tax on every gallon of gasoline sold excise, excise tax - a tax that is measured by the amount of business done (not on property or income from real estate) . It's unclear how much Eugene residents and businesses would have to pay if all the measures were approved, because details have not been determined. It's also uncertain whether the council will approve any or all of the proposals. One of the four councilors on the subcommittee sub·com·mit·tee n. A subordinate committee composed of members appointed from a main committee. subcommittee Noun declined to endorse the group's report because she did not agree with all of the recommendations. One of the largest money measures - the local option levy - would need voter VOTER. One entitled to a vote; an elector. approval. And the others, especially the parking tax on homes and businesses, could be opposed by residents and business groups. The Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce objects to the parking tax. Businesses already pay stormwater fees based on the size of their impervious surfaces Impervious surfaces are artificial structures, such as pavements and building roofs, which replace naturally pervious soil with impervious construction materials. They are an environmental concern because, with their construction, a chain of events is initiated that modifies urban , such as parking lots, said Terry Connolly Terrence "Terry" Connolly (14 February 1958 – 25 September 2007) was an Australian politician and judge. Connolly was born in Adelaide and received a Bachelor of Laws (hons) and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Adelaide and a Masters in Public Law from the , the chamber's government affairs director. "How many times are you going to tax parking lots?" he said. There's also a question of how the fees would be collected. The Eugene Water & Electric Board has balked balk v. balked, balk·ing, balks v.intr. 1. To stop short and refuse to go on: The horse balked at the jump. 2. at allowing the city to use its utility bills to charge residents for a previously proposed idea for a road-use tax. City officials are considering the fees because Eugene relies on state and local gas taxes - not property taxes - to maintain its 518-mile road network. But gas taxes are not producing enough, and the county is about to stop providing money to the city for road work. The council formed the committee earlier this year after it considered hiking hiking Walking, often among hills or mountains, as recreational sport. It represents an activity in its own right and also figures in backpacking, camping, hunting, mountaineering, and orienteering. the city's gas tax by 3 cents a gallon gallon: see English units of measurement. . Councilors delayed that decision because the extra gas tax revenue would not have solved the city's road financing problems. Instead, the council appointed the committee to develop a comprehensive solution. The group met nine times in the past three months, reviewing more than 30 ideas. Zelenka said during his campaign for council last year that residents complained about the shoddy shod·dy adj. shod·di·er, shod·di·est 1. Made of or containing inferior material. 2. a. Of poor quality or craft. b. Rundown; shabby. 3. state of the city's streets more than anything else. Residents told him to ` `fix the potholes,' ' he said. "This (group of taxes) does that, but it isn't cheap." The committee sought to endorse fees or taxes that relate to streets. The garbage surcharge An overcharge or additional cost. A surcharge is an added liability imposed on something that is already due, such as a tax on tax. It also refers to the penalty a court can impose on a fiduciary for breaching a duty. , for instance, is an attempt to assess garbage trucks for the wear and tear they have on city streets. Ron Wichmann, acting general manager of Glenwood- based Sanipac, the city's largest refuse hauler, attended the committee meeting. Wichmann said he could accept the 5 percent hauler surcharge, which would be paid for by customers, similar to the Lane County tipping fee assessed on haulers for using the Short Mountain landfill. "We know the council is trying to be equitable with this," he said. "It may not make everyone happy, but we have to do what we have to do." Zelenka was joined on the committee by Councilors Chris Pryor and Jennifer Solomon, who also endorsed the ideas. The fourth councilor, Bonny Bonny (bŏn`ē), town, SE Nigeria, in the Niger River delta, on the Bight of Biafra. In the 18th and 19th cent., Bonny was the center of a powerful trading state, and in the 19th cent. it became the leading site for slave exportation in W Africa. Bettman, did not attend the meeting and withheld support. Bettman said she did not agree with all the recommendations, including the garbage surcharge. She said she preferred other ideas, such as a commuter tax A commuter tax is a tax (generally on either income or wages) levied upon persons who work in a jurisdiction, but who do not live (are not domiciled) in that jurisdiction. For example, Philadelphia has a 4.26% wage tax on residents and a 3. . PROPOSALS' ESTIMATED PRICE TAGS City's cost estimates for the proposals: 10-year local option levy, $6 million: 38 cents per $1,000 of property value, or $67 for average home Garbage hauling fee, $1 million: 5 percent surcharge added to bills (about $1 more a month for customer with 32-gallon garbage cart) Gas tax, $2 million: Raise city gas tax to 8 cents, up 3 cents Fee for street lighting and bike paths, $850,000: No individual estimate, but fee could be imposed on all occupied residential and commercial properties Fee based on property's parking capacity, $6.2 million: No individual estimate yet |
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