SILVERTON

Silverton voters to decide on two measures

Justin Much
Statesman Journal
Silverton Mayor Kyle Palmer

Typical of off-year elections, this fall’s Marion County Voter Pamphlet is a thin publication.

But a glimpse inside shows that Silverton’s per-capita piece of the ballot is significant with two measures placed before voters.

Silverton voters will decide on a gas-tax and a pool levy. In a recent Appeal Tribune “Your Turn”  opinion piece, Silverton Mayor Kyle Palmer said both measures are important ones for the community, and he urged voters to consider them.

If approved, the five-year operating levy for the Silverton Pool calls for a $275,000 annual tax, $1,375,000 total, to pay for operations and maintenance. It would replace 2013 levy that is scheduled to expire June 30, 2018.

The estimated tax to property owners is $0.3659 per $1,000 assessed value; the tax bill for a home with an assessed value of $200,000 is estimated at $73.18 per year. The tax revenue would mirror that of the expiring 2013 measure, which also levied $1,375,000 over five years.

The backgrounds shows that operations and maintenance costs for the pool, built in 1939, are not covered by current municipal taxes. In 2003 Silverton voters passed a 10-year $1.2 million bond for pool improvements. The expiring maintenance and operations bond followed, passed in 2012 and implemented in 2013.

Palmer pointed out that the pending measure, if passed, actually amounts to less tax per home than the expiring one, which levied $.45 per $1,000 assessed value or roughly $90 for a $200,000 home.

The gas tax is similar to one passed by Stayton last spring. Silverton’s would authorize a $0.02 tax per gallon of motor vehicle fuel, levied on each gallon sold within the city.

More:Stayton gas tax narrowly passing

The gas-tax measure came to the voters by state law after Silverton City Council approved a fuel-tax ordinance, No. 17-09, on June 5. If passed, it would go into effect Jan. 1.

Revenue generated from the tax would be used for street construction, reconstruction, improvements, repairs and operations.

Specific projects cited as potentially funded by the tax include the McClaine Street reconstruction, overlay of downtown streets and slurry sealing or overlay on neighborhood streets.

Palmer noted that the city council passed the ordinance with hopes of addressing long-deferred maintenance needs while spreading the burden out evenly.

The mayor estimated that a driver traveling 12,000 miles at 15 miles per gallon would pay $16 per year.

“Currently, only residents of the Silverton city limits contribute directly to street maintenance, while many, many others use our street systems every day,” Palmer wrote. “Obviously a two-cent gas tax hits us all equally, but for the first time, outside residents would share in your burden.”

Palmer also explained the council’s challenge.

“For the past two years, we have been aggressively protecting our ‘decent condition’ streets by applying crack seal and slurry seal treatments through a partnership with Marion County,” he said. “The proceeds from a 2 cent gas tax (every dime must be used for maintenance, construction, and preservation of streets – no staff or equipment expenses) would allow us to double the slurry seal program or allow us to begin what will be an expensive process of fixing McClaine Street, our number one priority.”

jmuch@StatesmanJournal.com or cell 503-508-8157 or follow at twitter.com/justinmuch

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