Otter supports letting voters decide on tax for road work

Supporters of a local option tax to fund public transportation in the Treasure Valley got some good news a few weeks ago.

Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, speaking at the Associated Taxpayers Conference in Boise, gave his implicit support to letting local voters tax themselves – but only to pay for the cost of highway improvements.

According to Otter’s prepared speech:
“Cities, counties and local highway districts have a better handle than the Idaho Transportation Department on what their highway needs are. So I’m leaning toward proposing that we give those folks the authority to let local voters decide whether to tax themselves to pay for road, bridge and other infrastructure needs. But that does not include light rail or mass transit.”
Otter’s spokesman Jon Hanian wouldn’t comment beyond the governor’s prepared remarks. However, Otter’s speech to the Associated Taxpayers is consistent with his position that local government should solve local problems.
At an October conference on climate change in Moscow, Otter said it should be up to the city council and mayor to cope with the problems caused by rapid growth.
“Let’s be clear about this,” Otter said. “I’m the leader of the state, not the 44 counties. Those leaders there know best, should know best, about how to respond to their needs. I’ve always been resistant to applying local planning at a state level.”
And at his first press conference in March, at the end of the legislative session, Otter said he would have signed the local-option bill and let voters decide for themselves if they wanted to raise their taxes, though he personally would have voted against it.
During the 2007 Legislative session, the Coalition for Regional Public Transportation lobbied for legislation that would let voters in Ada and Canyon County vote on an increase in the local sales tax to pay for public transportation in the region. That bill died in the House Revenue and Taxation Committee, where three Treasure Valley legislators – Reps. Robert Schaefer, R-Nampa, Gary Collins, R-Nampa, and Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, voted to keep the bill in committee.
The coalition has adjusted their strategy for next year’s session by preparing a new bill that would allow local sales tax revenue to be spent on highway improvements as well as public transportation.
Ray Stark, a vice president at the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce and a member of the transportation coalition, said they have the governor’s support.
“Gov. Otter’s support for local option is a reflection of his core belief that government closest to the people governs best,” Stark said. “He told us a couple of years ago that he supports the local option concept. What we have in the 2008 session is a proposal that he will endorse.”
But that bill has a long way to go to make it to the governor’s office. Last year’s local option proposal didn’t last long enough for consideration by the full House. Proponents of a local option tax will have to make their case to the same Revenue and Taxation Committee, whose members don’t always see eye to eye with the governor.
“I’m afraid I’m not on the governor’s staff,” Rep. Schaefer said. “I have to look at it from a legislative position. There’s a lot of information one has to go through to make certain decisions. It depends on the legislation; it’s not just the concept.”
Stark said he hopes the governor would mention his support in his State of the State address to the Legislature, and that adding highway funding will get the interest of legislators around the state – who all need roads.
Rep. Schaefer didn’t say he would change his vote when the issue came up again, but he has been looking for more information.
“I’ve had a lot of people voice their concern that we’re supposed to protect people against taxes,” he said. “This is one way we can do it. They think people can sometimes be persuaded by incorrect information into voting for something. That isn’t a totally convincing thing to me. I like the idea of letting people make their own decisions. I’m still weighing all things into the equation.”
Rep. Collins, however, is unmoved.
“I don’t think that I’ve changed my mind,” he said. “The new piece of legislation is a little more interesting because it does not direct all the money to [public] transportation. It’s still a work in progress.”
Collins said he doesn’t have a problem with letting citizens decide for themselves. It’s the creation of a new tax that bothers him.
“It’s got nothing to with the vote,” he said. “My biggest problem with local option is that it creates different taxing districts. If Canyon County has a local option tax and the next county over doesn’t, it’s a disincentive for businesses. We have a local option tax and I understand the idea behind it. Of course there are always places to use extra money. I just have a problem with creating all these different taxing districts across the state.”
Rep. Moyle was not available to comment.
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To contact the author of this story, e-mail: eddie.kovsky@idahobusiness.net.