Sisters needs gas tax

By now, voters have received their ballots and the question of a small, 3-cents-per-gallon gas tax is before us. A "yes" vote is the best course for Sisters. Your city council has not considered this lightly and we've concluded, reluctantly, that this is a necessary move.

Allow me to explain.

The Sisters street fund has never had a dedicated revenue source like the water and sewer funds, i.e. monthly payments from our citizens for those municipal services. Consequently, the city council has annually appropriated about $100,000 from the general fund to the street fund to pay for street maintenance.

Regrettably, we project that the ailing economy will continue to cause general fund revenues to decline. Future subsidies to the street fund are no longer prudent, given other legitimate and new demands on the general fund.

Last spring, our public works department embarked on a complete, in-depth assessment of all 42 lane-miles of city streets. That assessment allowed us to project costs for proven maintenance activities (crack sealing, chip sealing) that will protect the generally good quality of our streets for many years to come. We must do our best to limit the intrusion of water under the asphalt. Water and the annual freeze-thaw cycles are what destroys the pavement. Crack sealing, about $840 per lane-mile, will occur every three years. Chip sealing, about $8,500 per lane-mile, will occur every eight years.

As I've said before, the city council's responsibility is not to "kick the maintenance can" down the street and leave the problem to some future council. We must address the situation now. I'm sure that we're all painfully aware of the deferred maintenance that many public entities foist upon their constituents, only to have those constituents face major repair costs later when the situation has deteriorated to the point of an emergency. This is not the way to manage Sisters' assets.

So, how much will the gas tax cost? If you drive 14,000 miles per year and get 20 miles per gallon, it will only cost you $21 per year! Depending on your personal mileage and miles-per gallon, it could be slightly more or less that $21. This is if you buy all your gas in Sisters.

Where will the money go? It will all be used strictly for street maintenance.

What proportion of street maintenance will Sisters residents pay? Sisters is slightly less that 2,000 in population. The population of the Sisters School District is 10,000-plus. Sisters residents are therefore 20 percent of the gas-buying population base. This means that Sisters residents will pay about 20 percent of total street maintenance costs. Gas purchases by tourists will only decrease resident's share of street maintenance costs - a great return for Sisters citizens!

Is there an alternative? Some cities charge a street maintenance fee instead of a gas tax. To generate enough money, Sisters would have to levy approximately $10 per month on each residence and business, equalling $120 per year. The gas tax would be much less at $21 per year! Obviously, out-of-city residents and tourists would pay nothing!

Who can you talk to if you have more questions? For street maintenance questions, contact Brad Grimm, public works director, at 541-323-5201 or via e-mail at [email protected] For tax questions, please call either Lon Kellstrom, mayor, 541-549-9160 or Bill Merrill, council president, 541-549-7378.

I strongly encourage you to vote "yes" on the $.03-per-gallon gas tax. Thank you!