This November, residents of Eugene will be asked to vote on Measure 20-132, which seeks to increase the business license tax paid by motor vehicle fuel dealers by three cents per gallon. The proceeds are to be spent repairing Eugene's deteriorating streets.
Today, the City Club and the League of Women Voters of Lane County sponsored a debate on the measure. In favor of the measure was Chris Pryor, Eugene City Councilor from Ward 8. Against the measure was Paul Romain, representative for the Oregon Petroleum Association.
I went to it unsure what my opinion was about an additional 3 cent per gallon tax. On the one hand I drive alot, spending $40 to $50 a week on gas. A 3 cent increase will make a difference in my pocketbook. On the other hand, any one who drives residential streets in Eugene knows they need repair, and I would like to be proud of our streets when showing the city to out-of-towners.
Mr. Romaine's main argument was that with this 3 cent tax on top of the taxes passed in 2002 and 2005 Eugene gas station owners will be paying 8 cents per gallon more than those in Springfield, Creswell, Junction City, e.g. They will either have to absorb the cost or raise their prices.
He asked what would keep Eugene gas buyers from buying in Springfield and other nearby cities? Not only would the gas stations lose money, but the tax would be a failure, as consumers would buy less in Eugene.
Mr. Pryor's response was that he has driven in Eugene and outlying areas and does not see now the difference in prices that he should see if the tax makes a big difference in prices. After all, Eugene has a 5 cent tax now, and prices aren't 5 cents higher across the board than in Springfield.
He also said the city is so far behind in fixing the infrastructure that we need to start making up for it, and this is the option the city counsel went with after considering many others. I did not take good notes on the numbers, but the gist was we need a lot of money, and soon.
Mr. Romaine responded that we need to work on a State tax, so that one town is not at a disadvantage to its neighbors. He also said that for many reasons he thinks there is a better chance at passing a state tax than at any time in the past, but if a lot of cities pass their own taxes (Balkanization, as he called it) they would hurt the chances of a state tax.
Mr. Pryor said they had tried to get Lane County to pass a county tax and Lane County said they couldn't pass the tax measures they were already trying to pass, and didn't see how they could get it through. Lane County did tell the city council that if they could get letters from every other city supporting a county wide tax the county would consider it.
By the end I decided to vote against the tax. I don't think it is fair to tax Eugene stations when it is so easy to buy in another town. I know that if it passes I will be more likely to fill up when I'm in Springfield or Coburg or Veneta. I don't think the argument from Mr. Pryor that he doesn't see a big price difference from city to city holds water, because all that means is that some stations are absorbing the cost of the tax. We know they are paying it. They just aren't charging it to their customers.
I will hope that the State or County manage to pass a tax, and if they don't, in the next few years the city will come back to us with this option or one of the others they considered earlier.
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