A four-year gas tax approved by Portland voters in 2016 brought in more than expected in its first year.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation said the city collected $19.9 million from the 10-cent-a-gallon gas tax in 2017. The tax is expected to bring in $64 million, or $16 million a year, before it sunsets at the end of 2020.
Gasoline sales accounted for $18.6 million of the proceeds, while diesel accounted for $1.3 million.
The city said it would use a slight majority of the proceeds -- 56 percent -- for road repairs, while the remainder would go toward pedestrians and bicyclist safety improvements, particularly near schools.
Heavy freight vehicles -- which typically fill up at truck stops outside the city --were exempted from the tax, but were subject to a heavy vehicle use tax when operating on city streets. That was expected to bring in an additional $2.5 million per year, but the collections haven't been tabulated yet.
The Oregon Legislature last year approved a 4-cent increase to the statewide gas tax, bringing it to 34 cents a gallon. That took effect Jan. 1, and there are three more 2-cent jumps scheduled for 2020, 2022 and 2024.
-- Elliot Njus
enjus@oregonian.com
503-294-5034
@enjus