I generally don’t care to criticize local government. If I had to choose between power in Washington and power in state and local governments, the latter wins hands down. This is why I tend to aim my guns at the federal level, my modest attempts to tear apart big government. But the Eugene City Council is making things difficult. Like most bureaucracies they don’t have their act together.
The Emerald has heavily covered the recent vote to keep the local gas tax at five cents rather than bring it down to three, as was supposed to happen recently. Not only does our city council want to keep the tax at five cents, they will be attempting to raise it another three cents through a ballot measure. One that I know will be shot down.
Some of you may be thinking to yourselves, “So what, another three cents, big deal.” It is a big deal. With gas prices as high as they are every penny should be dealt with. You also have to remember, it’s not just the five cents that make up the gas tax. We pay a total of 47.4 cents per gallon to government: 24 cents to the state, 18.4 cents to the federal government and five cents to the city of Eugene. That means approximately 19 percent of your gas bill ends up in government spending accounts.
Yet still, it’s not the money that gets to me. It’s the lack of leadership, accountability and any sort of feeling of obligation that our local government has exhibited. Yeah, the roads here suck and we should probably do something about it. But that doesn’t mean we throw money at the mayor and her counterparts.
This problem is not new. Five years ago we were handed a 3-cents-per-gallon gas tax. The council must have known three cents wouldn’t be enough, but they decided to deal with that problem later. When our government asks for more money it shows a lack of any planning or foresight. But our leaders knew that if they could get a minor local tax then they would be able to periodically raise it, which is exactly what has happened.
Let’s review the mess that our council has gotten us into. Back in 2003 we had our first gas tax of 3 cents per gallon, which was subsequently raised to five in 2005, making it the highest of 12 Oregon cities with such a tax. Back then we were told the city had road problems that needed to be solved, and this tax would solve them. Fast forward to today, a little over four years later, at the time when the increase is supposed to sunset. Mayor Kitty Piercy makes a statement claiming that the gas tax must stay because the problem isn’t solved yet. But wait! There’s more. Not only has our city council not solved the almost five-year-old problem; they want us to give them more money, attempting to raise the tax to eight cents per gallon.
The problem with letting the beast out is that you can never kill him. Over a time period of almost five years, the gas tax has exploded to over 250 percent more than it was when implemented. And what has this tax gotten us? Nothing, and this council has the nerve to ask for more money.
Doesn’t it make you wonder if these guys ever intended to fix the roads? It’s easy to see why I don’t trust government. They have no initiative to solve problems. Nobody is breathing down their neck making sure our money is spent as efficiently and effectively as possible. Then, as the problem exponentially grows, we end up with more potholes and a new increased tax.
This is an important issue that symbolizes much more than it may seem. It represents a power struggle between the people and irresponsible government. Opponents of this gas tax are expected to file paperwork to get 5,500 signatures in order to bring the issue to a vote. I would urge you to look into it and sign the petition to bring the vote to us.
When this ballot measure comes up to raise the gas tax another three cents you should vote no. And if you do vote no be prepared for a battle. The city council has already hinted that if the gas tax doesn’t work they may raise property taxes. And they have admitted that this will lead to higher rental rates, taking money out of your pocket. Tell our city council for the second time in three years that we give them enough money, and they have to find a way to make it work.
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