Fawcett: Assessment flaws forced drink tax

Thursday, December 06, 2007
By Karamagi Rujumba, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In his eight years as a member of County Council, Dave Fawcett, R-Oakmont, considered himself a champion of small and efficient government.

So Allegheny County political observers and restaurateurs opposed to the 10 percent drink tax -- one of two new levies approved by council on Tuesday -- were stunned when Mr. Fawcett cast a decisive vote for the tax, which is part of a new dedicated funding stream for the Port Authority.

Mr. Fawcett, whose fights against the base year property assessment system and for the consolidation of county row offices established his credentials as one of council's fiscal conservatives, said he cast a vote for a new tax because of stark reality.

"We have come to a point in time when we're going to need more revenue as a county," he said. "There was no other option [to the drink tax]. I had proposed a compromise but it was not supported. And the thing that was extremely frustrating was that people have been ignoring the reality."

Mr. Fawcett's vote was critical for Mr. Onorato, who proposed the two new taxes, including a $2-a-day tax on car rentals, as a way of raising the $30 million county subsidy of the Port Authority.

Mr. Onorato had said a failure to enact the new taxes would force him to lay off up to 800 county employees.

Both taxes, and approval of the county's $727.5 million budget for next year, needed 10 votes of the 15-member council. Mr. Fawcett was the only Republican who voted with nine Democrats to approve the drink tax. He voted against the rental car tax.

Citing a lack of revenue for the county since the current base year plan for property assessments was implemented, Mr. Fawcett floated the idea of a 5 percent drink tax and a 0.29- mill property tax increase to balance the budget.

"The issue of the assessment is critical to understanding everything that occurred. I fought hard against that base assessment because I think it locks in inequities," he said yesterday.

"These restaurateurs are carrying the burden, but I don't think they are carrying the burden for Port Authority. They are carrying the load for those people who have gotten a free pass on their property taxes in the last few years," he added.

When his compromise was voted down, Mr. Fawcett said he was left with no option but to vote for the drink tax, even if it contradicted his principles as a fiscal conservative, because "you need revenue to run a government."
Karamagi Rujumba can be reached at krujumba@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1719.
First published on December 6, 2007 at 12:00 am