The fee would generate about $65 million over five years and would pay for maintaining heavily-used streets like the transit mall, paving gravel roads in residential communities and improving school crossings, among other things. The back up his request, Rhodes is presenting at the work session the results of a city-sponsored survey taken shortly before voters crushed a proposed increase in gasoline taxes last May.

The survey shows 70% approving of "a fair alternative revenue source" if the gas tax failed. However, it also showed 46% support for a five cent a gallon hike in the gasoline tax, which garnered only 18% at the polls here in Multnomah County. Moreover, the 300-person survey likely didn't include too many commercial property owners.

The Office of Transportation's capital program manager Mark Lear tells GlobeSt the fee would supplement system development charges, which are charged only to new construction. He also says that similar monthly fee systems already have been established in seven Oregon cities, including Tualatin, Wilsonville, Medford and Ashland.

Lear says Rhodes hasn't yet received too much flack over the proposal from building owners compared to the flack over deteriorating road conditions. He adds that Rhodes hopes the city council directs the Office of Transportation to go out and have more conversations with both the business and residential community -- which he says Rhodes is "really interested" in doing -- and come back with a honed proposal in 90 days or so.

Jim Mark of Melvin Mark Companies, a local real estate development, management and brokerage firm, tells GlobeSt it's easy for businesses to criticize new taxes and fees, but he's still not too keen on the idea of another fee. "I think the more taxes you put in one area that aren't in another discourages business from locating in that higher taxed area," says Mark, who is a critic of the business income tax as well. "It's what built up areas outside New York and to a certain degree it's what has made Southwest Washington. These taxes tell me we are not in the business of encouraging companies to locate here, and that believe they will continue to come here regardless, which will cause us to lose business to other second-tier cities with fewer taxes and fees."

Instant Insights /

Monthly Transportation Tithe Proposed to Increase Income for Vic's Roads

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