HENDO — Local government officials voted this week to enact a new “pole tax” on every alternative-energy pole located within the county.
The new tax will apply to structures supporting solar panels, wind turbines and any other device attempting to produce electricity without first burning, drilling or digging up something.
Officials spent nearly two hours deliberating over how much each pole should be taxed. The biggest point of discussion was whether all alternative-energy poles should be treated equally.
“They might all be poles, but they aren’t all the same amount of pole,” one official explained. “A wind turbine pole is a whole lot bigger than a solar-panel pole. You can see that just by looking at them.”
Under the new plan, smaller poles supporting solar panels will be placed in the county’s standard pole-tax bracket. Wind turbine towers will fall into the newly created “extra-large pole” category and be taxed at a higher rate.
Officials briefly considered measuring each pole and charging by the foot, but abandoned the idea after realizing the county would have to purchase a ladder several hundred feet tall.
One commissioner suggested taxing wind turbines according to how many times their blades turn. That proposal was withdrawn after nobody could agree on who would be responsible for standing outside and counting.
The final tax rates have not yet been announced. Officials said the amounts would be determined after the county completes a comprehensive pole survey and learns how much money it hopes to collect.
Traditional wooden utility poles will not be affected by the tax because, according to county leaders, they have “been around forever and know how things work.”
Residents with basketball goals, flagpoles and clotheslines expressed concern that their property might be included. Officials assured them that the tax currently applies only to alternative-energy poles but acknowledged the definition could be expanded if the county discovers it needs more money.
One resident asked whether a solar panel mounted directly on a roof could avoid the pole tax.
Officials immediately scheduled another meeting to discuss a possible “roof energy assessment fee.”
Supporters say the pole tax will ensure that alternative-energy companies contribute their fair share to the county. Critics argue that taxing renewable-energy equipment could discourage future investment.
County leaders rejected that concern.
“If a company can afford one of those giant windmills,” an official said, “it can afford to pay us for all that pole.”
The pole tax is expected to take effect as soon as county employees determine where all the poles are, who owns them and whether the word “pole” should include towers, posts, sticks or anything else that is taller than it is wide.