Sales Tax Increase Passes

WAITSBURG - The city of Waitsburg transportation benefit tax district was widely approved in the Tuesday night Special Election results.

The district's approval will mean a one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax increase for goods purchased within city limits. That money collected will go into a fund to maintain city streets.

At a little after 8 p.m. on Tuesday, the results showed 232 voted yes for the district and the tax increase, 75.08 percent, and 77 voted no, 24.92 percent.

City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe had previously said the reason Waitsburg needs more money for the street fund is because other revenue sources from the state level are being eliminated. More than five years ago, the city would have received an allotted amount of money to repair streets. Now, the city has to compete with Prescott and Walla Walla for street money.

The money raised through the car tab fee or sales tax increase will pay for crack sealing and chip sealing on the city's streets, totaling 11 miles of road. Hinchliffe said it costs $27,000 to chip seal one-half mile of road, so the preventative work is expensive.

The other option the city council weighed to fund street maintenance was to raise car tab fees by $10 each year for all Waitsburg residents.

This was a widely unpopular idea because only residents would be taxed, not those who pass through on Waitsburg's roads on their daily commute or tourists seeking great wine and food in our area.

Mayor Walt Gobel said because the sales tax will affect tourists and residents alike, he knew it would pass in the election, but he was surprised it received such a large number of votes.

"I'm really happy about it," Gobel said. "It's a really fair situation. The users are the ones who pay for it."

And most of all, he's excited that Waitsburg's streets will not fall into disrepair, such as those in Walla Walla, with this money for regular upkeep.

"Our streets are in pretty good shape and it's going to help keep them that way," Gobel said.