Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 2, 1995 TAG: 9506030004
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It's not just that Roanoke city's '95 auto decals are duds. Decal laws, imposed by virtually every locality in Virginia (but not by all states), are duds too.
They're local governments' way of sticking it to residents for extra revenue: a nuisance tax (20 bucks per sticker in Roanoke city) added on to another nuisance tax, the personal-property tax, which is an annual add-on to sales taxes, etc., paid when autos, trucks, tractors, trailers, boats, airplanes, tanks, etc., are purchased.
Oh, the botheration. Autos are duly registered, licensed, taxed by the state. But let a local officer spot one without a decal, and it's tough luck and a ticket to pay.
Now, about Roanoke's duds: Thousands of the original '95 decals distributed to early-bird taxpayers had to be replaced after it was discovered they'd been printed with ``brittle ink'' that caused them to go flaky. The replacement decals apparently are no better. Many went crumbly the minute taxpayers took off the adhesive backing and affixed them to their cluttered windshields.
The white print on the robin's-egg blue replacement decals, moreover, cannot be easily read. Not that anyone has need to read them. Instructions to city police, doubtless, are simply to make sure every car has a pale blue blob.
Even so, despite the stickers' early corrosion, no vehicle owner should assume they'll be easier to remove next spring when it's time for the city's '96 stick-'em-up. Vinegar soakings, razor-blade scrapings and all the other techniques will be tried again, and many taxpayers will still find it quicker, and nearly as gratifying, to peel paint off their cars with their fingernails.
Interestingly, selection of the city's sickly blue hue apparently had something to do with color coordination among local jurisdictions in the Roanoke Valley. Among the areas of government where regional cooperation would be beneficial, this one doubtless ranks high on valley residents' agendas.
On the other hand, if local governments are so keen to coordinate, they might consider working out a deal with the state to piggyback onto the Department of Motor Vehicles' month-and-year stickers affixed to license plates.
The state could be willing to put prison inmates to work turning out a better-quality windshield decal than what city residents got this year from an "outsourced" contract. It would give the inmates meaningful job experience. If and when they get out of the slammer, they might find work as quality-improvement consultants. Or even color-coordination consultants.
Better yet, governments could repeal the local decal taxes. Find the revenue some other way. And take a hard look at those personal-property taxes, too.
by CNB