Bend City Council may send fuel tax to voters in March

A majority of Bend city councilors expressed support Monday night for putting a fuel tax on the ballot, as soon as next March, to help address a large street maintenance funding shortfall.

But before the details are set – how high a tax, for example — another round of public input will be sought at a Nov. 30 hearing at 6 p.m. at city hall, councilors decided at a special meeting Monday night.

Other issues to decided upon include how the tax would be administered and whether or not it would sunset at some point in the future..

City Manager Eric King said if councilors want to send the proposal to a special March ballot, a resolution would need to be adopted two nights after the hearing, at their Dec. 2 meeting.

Not enough councilors expressed interest in other street funding options Monday night, such as a marijuana tax of up to 3 percent a year, expected to bring in up to $200,000 a year, a water-sewer franchise fee hike or a $5/month transportation fee on city water-sewer bills.

Councilor Victor Chudowsky told colleagues he wanted to find a way to tie street funding to increases in room ta revenues. He also said he wished the citizen advisory committee had offered an option using existing city revenue. But colleague Sally Russell said it’s important not to bind the city’s general fund so much that it cannot address the next issue that arises.

Councilor Nathan Boddie said a 5 cent per gallon fuel tax would be better than a lower level to address the need. King note some support for a higher rate on the committee and int eh transportation survey. (Currently, Eugene has the state’s highest city fuel tax, at 5 cents a gallon.)

King suggested a sub-group of the council might want to review whether to include a sunset clause, an administrative fee or whether the tax should be tied to the state gas tax in some fashion, along with other issues.

When Russell asked about including a five- or seven-year sunset, with an opportunity to return to voters, Mayor Jim Clinton said the need won’t go away and pointed to the now-familiar $80 million backlog in street maintenance needs.

City Attorney Mary Winters said the ballot title could call for voters to weigh in on reauthorization at a set later date, rather than a sunset clause.

Earlier, Bend 2030’s board of directors voted unanimously Friday to support the findings of the Streets Funding Committee, which include support for a fuel tax and multimodal project funding.

“Through a transportation forum attended by 175 people, a statistically valid survey and community survey, and through our role as a co-convener of the Streets Funding Committee, Bend 2030 has engaged thousands of residents in finding the most broadly supported solutions to funding an improved transportation system in Bend,” the group said in a letter to city councilors.

“The overwhelming message from these thousands of residents: adequately fund street preservation through a combination of funding sources including a fuel tax, and develop funding sources to greatly enhance multimodal options in the city.”

Funding for Bend 2030 is provided by the generous support of the Leadership Alliance of Bend 2030, including BendBroadband, Bend Park and Recreation District, Brooks Resources, Central Oregon Community College, the City of Bend, Deschutes Brewery, OSU-Cascades, St. Charles Health System, U.S. Forest Service, and Harcourt The Garner Group/Sunwest Builders/NorthWest Crossing.

—

The full letter:

Bend City Council Nov. 16, 2015

710 NW Wall St.

Bend, OR 97701

Re: Bend 2030 support for a fuel tax

Dear Council,

The Board of Directors of Bend 2030 wishes to share with you our organization’s strong support for adequate street preservation funding provided in part by a fuel tax, as well as continued prioritization of funding for multimodal projects.

Through a transportation forum attended by 175 people, a statistically valid survey and community survey, and through our role as a co-convener of the Streets Funding Committee, Bend 2030 has engaged thousands of residents in finding the most broadly supported solutions to funding an improved transportation system in Bend.

The overwhelming message from these thousands of residents: Adequately fund street preservation through a combination of funding sources including a fuel tax, and develop funding sources to greatly enhance multimodal options in the city.

Methods for achieving these goals were determined by the Streets Funding Committee.

Our board wishes to express its very clear support to you for the findings of the Streets Funding Committee regarding funding for roads including:

That there is a need for an annual street preservation funding stream of between $6 and $7 million, which will enable us to improve the Pavement Condition Index by about five points over five years
That Council is encouraged to direct General Fund revenues to street preservation at the levels of $5.2 million in 2015/2016 and of at least $3 million in future years
That the funding gap between General Fund revenues and the $6 to $7 million needed should be filled by a variety of sources including a fuel tax

Further bolstering the case for a fuel tax, more than 20 other cities in Oregon currently use a fuel tax to provide consistent and reliable support for street preservation. This revenue source is the most clear user fee available for funding street preservation, allowing us to capture dollars from out of town visitors whose driving impacts the quality of our roads and dollars from residents who choose to drive over other less impactful transportation methods. Finally, a fuel tax will provide consistent revenue—at least over the next decade—and is not linked solely to the General Fund or Transient Room Tax dollars, both of which are dramatically affected by unpredictable fluxuations in the economy. For these many reasons, our board encourages the Council to support a fuel tax.

Our board also wishes to express its very clear support to you for the findings of the Streets Funding Committee regarding multimodal project funding including:

That $2.6 million in SDC money immediately be devoted to the completion of multimodal projects
That a new committee be formed to advise on multimodal and safety project funding and community awareness of the need for these projects
That a dedicated revenue source for multimodal projects be developed by September 2017

Further bolstering the case for prioritization of multimodal projects, the State of Oregon requires that our city begin to focus on reducing vehicle miles traveled. And while the current Urban Growth Boundary expansion proposal may address these concerns through greater density targets, Bend 2030 is considering the next UGB expansion in 2028 and the need to have truly reduced vehicle miles traveled through investments in multimodal options.

Our organization also supports the prioritization of funding for multimodal transportation as a key factor of livability in the city. With expectations of a 40 percent population increase by 2030 but with few new arterials and collectors, we must invest in a transportation system that offers people other ways to move conveniently and efficiently throughout the city such as bikeways, a better sidewalk system and a robust transit system.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to share our thoughts and we look forward to continuing to work with the City of Bend on transportation into the future.

Sincerely,

Erin Foote Marlowe

Executive Director

Bend 2030