ACHD
ACHD Commishes Feud Over Secret Fee Hike Attempt
August 6, 2018 
The Ada County Proseutor is looking into complaints from Ada County Highway Commishes over a series of e-mail messages from Commish Jim Hansen which appear to cut a “back room deal” to raise Ada County vehicle registration fees.
IDAHO STATESMAN reporter Cynthia Sewell paints a picture which portrays Hansen as a power broker attempting to get ACHD fees used for his pet public transit projects. Other Commishes worry that Hansen violated Idaho’s Open Meeting Law.
We have reported on the proposed fee hike which will appear on the November election ballot because it targets sedans and light private trucks while exempting any vehicles in excess of 8,000 lbs.
At a public hearing on the matter in July we were discouraged that so little attention was paid to the issue of fairness and equality on what is really taxation. Many who testified favored using the fee hike money for bike lanes, safe routes to school, and public transportation. Most ignored the intent to tax the little guys and ignore the heavier vehicles that damage streets and make a commercial profit from the fees paid by cars alone.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Aug 6, 2018, 9:03 pm
Where’s the outrage?? Jim Hansen is but another of the ‘guilded few’ who think they have a right to elected office. Look at the rest of the crowd at ACHD: The Arnold woman who sued the small city of Stanley because the city wouldn’t let her build something in town; Sara Baker, a retread from Boise City Council, what, 20 years ago?; Paul Woods, a retread from Ada County Commission (one term or less?); Kent Goldthorpe, a real flamer (but at least he responds to people and answers questions.
So Dave Case wants to join this tired old bunch to save his PERSI retirement check. Wow.
Clean house!
Aug 7, 2018, 1:16 am
Trading a vote via email is the exact scenario for passing the open meeting laws. This is a blatant abuse and needs to be prosecuted.
Aug 7, 2018, 11:08 am
Behind every tax dollar there always seems to be a shady deal going on somewhere. A mayor and city council whom favors unchecked growth and some law or rule violated, but never prosecuted.
Idaho Code Title 18, Chapter 13 deals with Bribery and Corruption, but we would rather lock-up minor violators than a politician. I say start locking them all up in the very jail they think is too overcrowded.
Aug 7, 2018, 11:03 pm
Pretty sure the other commissioners are not so innocent. If they can form this coalition to promote this fee increase then they probably talked about this prior to the vote.
http://citizens4bettertransportation.com/about/
Aug 9, 2018, 11:50 am
I sent a question regarding their mission statement-
We want to provide the funding to help ACHD meet the needs that record-growth brings.
-as to the exact funding they will be providing.
Anxiously waiting on a reply from our new champions of transportation.
Aug 12, 2018, 8:26 pm
I smell Agenda 21. As George Carlin used to say…..”It’s a big club and you ain’t in it.”
I don’t mind if people really want to make transportation options for themselves. And if they want public options, they’ll call for them. But I don’t see where they will surrender their cars which represent security and freedom of movement. A bus or bike doesn’t offer those things together. And the costs of big scale bus and rail systems are just out of sight. Europe built them early on and have the kind of land use plans to take advantage of it. USA is NOT like that. The best we can hope for is a satellite approach to bring destinations of choice closer to the users.