Mondale

A classic lesson in taxation comes from Walter Mondale.

He was blunt when he accepted the Democratic nomination to be president in 1984. Richer Americans would pay the most. All Americans would pay more.

“Let’s tell the truth,” he said. “Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won’t tell you. I just did.”

Mondale lost in every state but Minnesota.

What happened to Mondale is not the same as what is unfolding this week in Bend. It’s a different time, different place, different scope, different needs. But the undercurrent of opposition will be there as the Bend City Council makes decisions this week about taxes and new fees. How a plan is pitched can matter, as well as its substance. Reagan did in the end raise taxes, too, after he cut them.

One decision Bend councilors are set to make is on an $8 million tax incentive for a housing development. That kind of incentive raised so many questions that the council paused it.

The Timber Yards development made an application for the city’s multi-unit tax exemption before the pause. Its application is for a tax exemption for a 246-unit, 6-story development located in the area of 175 SW Industrial Way. That’s the old Kor Pine site.

The 10-year tax exemption may be worth about $8,360,000. To qualify, the structure is providing housing and also open space, enhanced landscaping and a parking garage that is woven into the building. The affordability of the rents does not matter.

The second decision councilors may make this week is on a new transportation fee.

That may cost people living in a single-unit house $5.60 per 30 days and people in apartments $4.15 per 30 days. Businesses will be paying based on square footage — for now. All indications are that the transportation fee is going to ratchet up over the years.

The city has some 900 miles of road lanes, 516 miles of sidewalk and 111 miles of bike lanes. The money raised would be used for operations and maintenance of that system. The city says the transportation fee is the answer. And the fee and any increases can pass without a general election vote in Bend. It’s up to the council.

Councilors have tried to bring residents gently along on the journey to the new transportation fee. It’s been unfolding over years. Over the last several months, the city has held meeting after meeting and opportunity after opportunity for people to understand the why behind the tax. You may not like paying for it, but surely there has been plenty of opportunity to learn about it and give input on it.

The tax incentive program didn’t get that same level of public meeting after public meeting to ensure people understood it. There was outreach and opportunity for public comment — just not to the extent with the transportation fee. Bend residents may see the need for more housing. Handing out multi-million dollar tax exemptions to developers for housing that is not necessarily affordable is not easy to swallow.