Street Fund Tax in PDX...! (Portland: section 8, buying, taxes)

[PDXNative2Houston]

The attitude here is crazy. Legislators have been given a budget based on current tax modes and systems and *should* figure out a way to pay for the things that are necessary to the citizens of the city without resorting to additional revenue streams. Things like funding street repairs, the police, fire department, schools, etc... should *NOT* require additional taxes, levies and fees. My God, people here are completely missing the point of this, or are inept from an education standpoint in regards to taxation and governance and therefore should not comment on the topic.

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by urbanlife78

Streets don't repair themselves for free.

You seem to be have some sort of weird Portland luv and you are a Portland apologist/cheerleader.
In your mind, ANYTHING Portland does is great and no one can argue otherwise, lest the aura of Portland greatness that you have be tarnished.

You continue to point out that streets repair requires $. In your mind if Portland gov't says it needs the $; then it must be OK and true.

This is wildly superfluous and silly. This city taxes the populace already at a great level (above the national average). The funds have been generated for decades to take care of road maintenance. The city has chosen to misappropriate the funds.

The city MUST be challenged to change it's ways and live within the means it already has.
If that means getting out of areas it has no business being in then - so be it. From my office, I see empty buses running all day long up and down the road. Close down some of the waste!!!

If there is no BIG challenge to city forcing explanation of WHY this is needed in 2014; it just shows that the folks here are nothing but sheeple.

[PDXNative2Houston]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

You seem to be have some sort of weird Portland luv and you are a Portland apologist/cheerleader.
In your mind, ANYTHING Portland does is great and no one can argue otherwise, lest the aura of Portland greatness that you have be tarnished.

You continue to point out that streets repair requires $. In your mind if Portland gov't says it needs the $; then it must be OK and true.

This is wildly superfluous and silly. This city taxes the populace already at a great level (above the national average). The funds have been generated for decades to take care of road maintenance. The city has chosen to misappropriate the funds.

The city MUST be challenged to change it's ways and live within the means it already has.
If that means getting out of areas it has no business being in then - so be it. From my office, I see empty buses running all day long up and down the road. Close down some of the waste!!!

If there is no BIG challenge to city forcing explanation of WHY this is needed in 2014; it just shows that the folks here are nothing but sheeple.

Thank you sir.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by PDXNative2Houston

Again you prove to completely miss the point of others posts.

And has those taxes kept up with the rising costs of road repair? I am willing to bet the answer is no.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

You seem to be have some sort of weird Portland luv and you are a Portland apologist/cheerleader.
In your mind, ANYTHING Portland does is great and no one can argue otherwise, lest the aura of Portland greatness that you have be tarnished.

You continue to point out that streets repair requires $. In your mind if Portland gov't says it needs the $; then it must be OK and true.

This is wildly superfluous and silly. This city taxes the populace already at a great level (above the national average). The funds have been generated for decades to take care of road maintenance. The city has chosen to misappropriate the funds.

The city MUST be challenged to change it's ways and live within the means it already has.
If that means getting out of areas it has no business being in then - so be it. From my office, I see empty buses running all day long up and down the road. Close down some of the waste!!!

If there is no BIG challenge to city forcing explanation of WHY this is needed in 2014; it just shows that the folks here are nothing but sheeple.

What you see is not always the same as what the real numbers say. I see buses everyday that are full of people, the bus I ride from time to time is often full.

I guess this forum needs a few people who actually like Portland posting in it rather than just those here looking to complain about everything Portland.

[Squidlo]

Originally Posted by urbanlife78

What you see is not always the same as what the real numbers say. I see buses everyday that are full of people, the bus I ride from time to time is often full.

I guess this forum needs a few people who actually like Portland posting in it rather than just those here looking to complain about everything Portland.

I like Portland just fine. I think most of us have some sort of emotional attachment to Portland. What I do not like is irresponsible government. If you look at Portland's spending on projects it shows the priority of the city leaders. It was not infrastructure maintenance. Asking for new sources of revenue for roads when there is a system in place smacks of "well, we spent the money we had for roads on something else". I had an uncle like that. Nobody likes him either.

[PDXNative2Houston]

Originally Posted by urbanlife78

I guess this forum needs a few people who actually like Portland posting in it rather than just those here looking to complain about everything Portland.

What this forum needs is people who view PDX objectively. The good, the bad and the ugly. Not cheerleaders nor naysayers.

[Nell Plotts]

But how does the city know you owe them anything? The arts tax administration was a fiasco.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

I wonder what the saturation point as far as local taxes and "fees" go for the "normal" Portland resident is?
Do our city government leaders know, or will they just keep asking for more and more until a big revolt starts?

When will people start howling enough is enough?

And I wonder why people complain about "high" property taxes, but still don't realize that fully one third of those taxes are self imposed.

This is a crazy city sometimes.



Tell you what.

I'll voluntarily pay the street tax (even though I live outside Portland), if the city agrees to subject itself to an objective financial audit, the results of which will be made public...

If the audit comes out squeeky clean, and there is no evidence of gross financial mis-management, I will pay triple.

Safe bet, I'm thinkin'

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

But how does the city know you owe them anything? The arts tax administration was a fiasco.

Right - that's the real issue.

"Collections" in and of itself is pretty simple, but figuring out who owes what (and verifying data that is dubious) is a more complex task.

It seems unlikely the OR Dept. of Revenue is going to open up its tax rolls to the City just on Hales' say-so.