The Columbian | Serving Clark County, Washington

Cheers: To Rep. Jim Moeller’s efforts to revive the task force dedicated to chasing down license plate cheaters. This decades-old problem occurs when Washington residents — usually to avoid taxes — register their vehicles in Oregon. Until budget cuts killed the program last year, the Legislature had devoted $250,000 per year to fund two state troopers, an auditor and a corps of volunteers to fight the problem.

By all accounts the task force was effective, compiling a database of 53,000 suspect vehicles, and bringing in $647,000 in fees in 2008. It’s worth noting that one of the task force’s most effective tactics was to catch these tax cheats as they dropped off their children at public schools.

But the money collected went to the general fund, where it quickly disappeared. Moeller’s House Bill 2436 would allow the receipts from the program to be used to fund compliance. It also would remove another tax fraud loophole by requiring the owner of a vehicle licensed in Washington to have a Washington driver’s license.

The bill passed the House unanimously and is scheduled for a Senate Transportation Committee hearing at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Legislature should approve this needed bill, and Gov. Chris Gregoire should sign it into law.

Jeers: To bureaucrats who, when confronted with a crime problem in Waterworks Park, continue to drag their feet. The Columbian’s John Branton reported in the Feb. 17 Neighbors cover story about a man and woman being sprayed with pepper resin and mugged near the Swift Skatepark within the park. It was only the latest in a series of assaults and other problems that have gone on there for years.

Police have urged Clark-Vancouver Parks and Recreation to install more lighting, so that officers on patrol can better spot trouble after dark. Somehow this simple project never seems to make the list, though the parks department’s planning manager, Jane Tesner Kleiner, says safety is the department’s highest priority and that they have discussed the Waterworks Park problem with police many times.

So what’s the problem? Tesner Kleiner says some neighbors might not like the extra lighting. That seems doubtful. Would the neighbors — which, incidentally, are mostly Clark College and several Fourth Plain Boulevard businesses — prefer gangs of criminals to more lighting? It’s time to quit making excuses and install a few more lights before someone gets killed.

Cheers: To the city of Vancouver for merging its two vehicle repair shops. Faced with a tightening budget, the city realized two years ago that it could save $600,000 by having the same mechanics change the oil in fire trucks and street sweepers. Previously, the fire department had run its own operation.

The city has a big fleet, and its mechanics service about 1,200 vehicles and pieces of equipment every year. By consolidating operations, some positions were eliminated and other costs were streamlined. For example, there will be only one shop superintendent. For now, the mechanics will operate out of two locations, but can travel back and forth as needed.

Jeers: To any Clark County commissioner who expects a cheer for not claiming local mileage expenses. This week the commissioners mentioned they were no longer claiming 55 cents per mile for local travel. That’s great. But commissioners continue to collect $400 per month for a car allowance on top of their $98,224 annual salaries (which went up $2,000 this year.)

The mileage benefit is still in place as an option for future years, however. Commissioners could earn a public cheer if they would banish it permanently.

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