Voters in Newport will decide this fall whether to create a sales tax on restaurant food, as well as an increase in the city’s gas tax.
Newport’s City Council voted to send the two tax measures to the November ballot. One would create a new five percent tax on restaurant meals. The other would increase the gas tax to five cents per gallon, up from three cents in the summer and one cent in the winter.
The city estimates the two measures would bring in about $2.9 million in their first year, enough to fill some of the 22 positions cut from the city budget recently.
The bulk of that revenue would come from the restaurant tax. City leaders say it means visitors to Newport will help pay for some of the services they use while in town. The city estimates that the city's population nearly triples on busy summer days with an influx of vacationers.
If voters approve, Newport would become just the third city in Oregon to tax prepared food,, joining Ashland and Yachats.