Mail ballots due soon on Bend gas tax proposal

Between now and March 8, the city of Bend’s 50,000 voters will be asked to vote yes or no on a 5 cent per-gallon gas tax.

The Bend City Council proposed the tax as a way to fund improvements to the city’s aging, failing streets. The roads are now facing an $80 million maintenance backlog. The gas tax is expected to bring in $2.5 million annually.

But not everyone is in favor of the tax. In fact, city councilors are divided on the issue.

“It’s important if you haven’t registered, go ahead and register — and when you get your thing in the mail, vote no,” City Councilor Victor Chudowsky, who is against the tax, said Tuesday.

“The state of Oregon passed a low-carbon fuels program which is supposed to raise the price of a gallon of gas by about 19 cents,” he added. ” In the next year or so, Bend residents might be looking at an increase in the cost of a gallon of gas of 34 cents a gallon, and I don’t think that’s right.”

But on the other side of the fence, Mayor Pro-Tem Sally Russell said, “We’ll share those expenses with the 2 million visitors that come to Bend during the summer months and all year long.

“The gas tax is the cheapest solution. The longer we delay, the more it costs us to fix (and) 100 percent of the funds raised will go towards fixing the streets. “

To register online, you can go to oregonvotes.gov before 11:59 tonight. Or you can register by mail, as long as it’s post-marked by 11:59 as well.