LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Lake County Commissioners are considering taxing you five more cents a gallon at the pump.
Commissioners voted Tuesday to begin advertising the proposed gas tax ahead of a public meeting.
If approved, it would bump the total amount of local option gas tax you pay at the pump to 12 cents a gallon.
Overall, the county estimates it would generate $7 million a year.
A third of that money will go towards city municipalities.
Lake would keep about 4 to 5 million of it for projects like resurfacing the roads.
“I do think the gas tax is something that will get our resurfacing program up to speed,” District 2 Commissioner Sean Parks said.
The county Public Works Director said the money would help the county be proactive instead of reactive, keeping the roads up to par.
“I just want to make sure that whatever we do is fair across the board. Everyone in the state uses our roads. The people that use our roads in Lake County should have some funding obligations towards that, and the only way we can do that is by this gas tax,” said District 3 Commissioner Kirby Smith.
Though all commissioners seemed to agree the county needs to find a revenue stream to fund road project, not all agreed the gas tax is the way to go.
“We need to find a way to fund the roads, but I just don’t think hitting the people who are working the hardest and driving the most are the people that should be paying a disproportionate amount,” said district 1 commissioner Anthony Sabatini.
Commissioners will discuss month whether to put the gas tax proposal up for a vote among themselves or if this gas tax will be on the ballot as a referendum.
County leaders also discussed securing loans for specific transportation projects and creating a countywide Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU).
MTSU is a special taxing district and is funded by an ad valorem tax levied only on properties within that unit.
Some commissioners said gas tax was more fair than an ad valorem tax.
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