With the average price of gasoline having increased 60% in the past year, with no signs of slowing down, this may seem like an inopportune time to enact an increase in Kane County’s gas tax by 50%, from 4c/gal to 6c/gal.
But that’s what’s on tap for Kane County taxpayers.
A $16 million county budget deficit is staring the county in the the face, and the estimated additional $8 million of revenue an increased gas tax would provide makes that a lot more manageable.
One of the more controversial aspects of the hike is that it largely won’t go to transportation projects planned for the county, a primary rationale for having gas taxes in the first place. In this instance, a significant portion of the increased revenues will go to simply replace funds derived from the RTA sales tax revenue that are being allocated away from transportation to the general operating budget – basically making at least a portion of the increased gas tax a subsidy of general operating expenses.
However, board members insist there will some left-over money to begin some of the roughly $165 million in transportation projects planned for.
The board is expected to approval the gas tax hike as part of the FY2022 budget next month.
