News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Voters in the City of Sisters approved a 3-cents-per-gallon gas tax by a wide margin on Tuesday, March 9. The tally was 326 (60 percent) in favor with 219 (40 percent) against.
The vote affirms an ordinance passed by the city council last August, authorizing the tax. The Oregon Petroleum Association successfully petitioned to have the matter put on the ballot for the March 9
election.
"We're moving ahead with implementation of the ordinance as of April 1," said City Manager Eileen Stein. "(Taxes on) fuel sold in the month of April will be due to the city May 25."
Fuel dealers will receive a 5 percent stipend to cover their administrative costs in handling the tax.
The city hopes to collect some $126,000 of the $140,000 per year it requires to maintain city streets.
While the city has hit the accelerator in moving forward on the tax, the Oregon Petroleum Association is trying to apply the brakes. Association representative Paul Romain filed a suit in Deschutes Circuit Court to stop implementation of the tax. The suit was filed on behalf of American Energy.
The action was not unexpected. While the city council acted before a state deadline imposing a four-year moratorium on local-jurisdiction gas taxes, the election occurred well after the September deadline.
The city argues that the ordinance, since it was not overruled by the voters, should take effect immediately. Romain argues that, since the election was past the deadline, it is meaningless and the tax cannot be collected.
Sisters was the only one of three Central Oregon cities to pass a gas tax. Measures in Redmond and Madras failed at the polls. The town of Cornelius passed a tax and Romain has indicated that they, too, will be going to court.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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