The Lane County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 against repealing the 1.1 percent county income tax, but the same commissioners who voted against the repeal voted to put the tax before voters in a referendum.
Commissioners Faye Stewart, Bobby Green and Bill Dwyer, who voted to enact the tax on Feb. 21, agreed to send it to be decided by voters for the May election.
County commissioners were given the option of repealing the controversial tax after a renewal of the federal payments program, known as the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (SRS), was attached to an emergency appropriations bill. Bills have been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate that would extend the program until 2013.
Supporters of the income tax say it will help fund county services such as policing and public health, which are facing massive budget cuts if the federal government doesn’t renew SRS. Opponents of the tax said it’s unfair to tax residents without a vote.
Commissioner Pete Sorenson, who voted against the income tax, said he wanted to repeal the tax and build trust with the voters by showing them that the board understood that they said no to the tax. But Dwyer said the county had an emergency and couldn’t gain trust by cutting funding for its services and by laying off employees.
If the income tax is passed, it would take effect July 1 at one-half the rate and at its full rate in 2008. The tax would raise about $32.5 million per year.
The commissioners also voted 4-1 to cap any Lane County income tax at two percent, unless residents approve of a higher rate.
– Calvin Hall