Cemetery vote passes, gas tax fails

During last week’s elections in Rainier, Measure 5-307, filed by the Rainier Cemetery District to vote on a five-year local option tax for cemetery operations, passed at the ballot with 1,420 votes as of the Tuesday, Nov. 4 report. There were 904 votes against Measure 5-307, which is a continuation of a current levy that will expire on July 1, 2026 and is a five-year extension of an existing levy. The ongoing funds will be used to purchase and maintain equipment, perform maintenance, and continue full-time cemetery operations of 12 cemeteries. Voting on this measure was available to Rainier residents within the 97048 zip code and included incorporated and un-incorporated residents.

Measure 5-306 was filed by the City of Rainier and was only open to voting by residents within city limits. As of the Nov. 4 report, the measure failed to pass with approximately 217 votes in favor and 281 votes against. This measure proposed “a $0.03 per gallon motor fuel tax on all motor fuel dealers” for both gasoline and diesel fuels. According to the filing, the current Rainier city revenue sources “do not provide adequate funding to support said construction, reconstruction, repair, upkeep, and maintenance” of public streets and sidewalks.

“A lot of cities throughout Oregon have their own local gas tax, and if it had passed, it would have given the city that much more to work with in terms of dedicated funding for street repairs,” said Rainier City Administrator Scott Jorgensen. “The idea was we get a lot of traffic that comes through Highway 30, tourists, and Washington residents and people out of the area, so it was thought this would be a way to fix more streets in town while minimizing impact on residents by having folks passing through pay the tax when they fill up. The measure not passing won’t keep us from doing the projects we’re already doing. It [being passed] just meant more projects could be done sooner. You’ll always have more demand for street repairs compared to budget, and that would have given us more to work with. We will continue to do road projects with the sources that are available.”