City Council to vote on new road tax

The city council plans to meet up Wednesday evening to discuss a new road tax that may go on the November ballot come this fall.

The tax would be solely dedicated to fixing our roadways. The tax would also mean an increase of .5 percent to all taxpayers in Yuma County.

“A group called ‘Fix our Roads’ came together with signatures. They went out soliciting signatures for a petition to make an initiative to go on a future city of Yuma election and the city council is going to vote at the Wednesday meeting. Whether or not to put that item on this November ballot,”‘ said City of Yuma spokesperson Dave Nash.

We asked Yuma residents what their thoughts were about this new road tax.

“I’m for it because some of these roads are terrible, especially here in Yuma,” said one Yuma local.

Another man, who was not for the idea, said, “I’m against it for the fact that I see that they work on the roads a lot, but they don’t need extra money for the roads that they are already fixing. So where is that extra money going to go?”

One young woman said, “I believe [with the new tax] that it’s going to cause less accidents. It’s going to be better on a driver’s tires as well.”

The city council meeting will take place Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall and it is open to the public.

In any special election process, there will be an opportunity for residents to provide their comments for this particular ballot measure. The Yuma city clerk needs to receive your comment no later than 5 p.m. on August 8th.