The Albany City Council is working itself up to a plan for raising the money it will take to upgrade and maintain city streets, many of which are in poor shape. Early estimates say the city would need $10-19 million a year, depending on how fast the council wants to accomplish how much.
If Oregon legislators propose an increase in the gas tax this year, as part of a package to keep up with the need for highway maintenance and construction, they won’t get any complaints from me. An accounting from OReGO showed me that I’m getting a really good deal, in my opinion, for using our roads.
My adventure with OReGO is off to an uncertain start. The lights don’t blink the way they should, and for the weekend the help desk is closed.
The reason the Oregon legislature could not pass a small but important gas tax increase is that it had already raised the price of fuel over the next few years, and the Republican minority in the House would not accept a double increase.
Since 2001, the Oregon Road User Fee Task Force has worked on finding a way to collect money from owners of four-wheeled vehicles that don’t burn fuel, or don’t burn much. In 2011 the group proposed legislation, and it was rejected. Now, in 2013, it is trying again with a somewhat different approach. The bill […]
Our simple gas tax, hard to replace
Because I had never seen this posted, I didn’t know there’s an Oregon law that says gas stations must post all the fuel taxes where customers can see them.
Tags: gas tax, OReGO program, Road User fee, Road User Fee Task Force