Fuel Tax Referendum to Help Fix City Streets
On Feb. 22, ballots will go in the mail for a March 11 special election in Tillamook. There will be just one issue on the ballot: a referendum to raise funds to help repair and upgrade our city streets through an increase in the business license tax on local motor vehicle fuel dealers.
The title of the measure will be “Referendum of Tillamook City Ordinance #1223 amending Ordinance #1014.”
The measure would raise this tax from its current level of 1.5 cents to 3 cents per gallon of gasoline sold. This is the first such increase in 26 years. The original tax was established in 1982 and has not been increased since, even though the cost of materials has risen dramatically over the years.
Tillamook’s streets are in serious need of work. The funds raised by the increase will be used solely for construction, reconstruction, improvement repair, maintenance and lighting of city streets.
Click here to download a complete list of street improvements that would be supported by this plan.
In 2006-07, the city’s 1.5-cent tax generated $121,805 for use on city streets and lights. The increase to 3 cents could potentially double that and greatly increase the city’s ability to address its road repair and upgrading needs.
If gas station dealers choose to pass the 1.5-cent increase on to customers, a vehicle owner who drives 10,000 miles in a year and gets 20 miles per gallon could expect to pay just $7.50 more per year in additional fuel tax as a result of this increase.
The Tillamook City Council urges city residents to review the street plan and consider the importance of good streets and lighting to public safety, property values and business vitality as they mark their ballots.
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