{"id":113703,"date":"2019-02-20T08:52:34","date_gmt":"2019-02-20T13:52:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=113703"},"modified":"2019-02-21T07:57:04","modified_gmt":"2019-02-21T12:57:04","slug":"ohioans-should-prepare-for-state-gasoline-tax-increases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2019\/02\/20\/ohioans-should-prepare-for-state-gasoline-tax-increases\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohioans should prepare for gas tax hike"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DAVE MOSIER\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the Ohio Department of Transportation set to run out of money for new projects by July 1, Ohioans will likely see their first gasoline tax increase in 14 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeginning July 1, there is no revenue available for any new highway improvement projects of any kind in any place in our system,\u201d said ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photos included in the a report from ODOT\u2019s Advisory Committee on Transportation Infrastructure shows deteriorating Ohio highways.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

According to a recently-released report from ODOT\u2019s Advisory Committee on Transportation Infrastructure, two factors have played into ODOT\u2019s decreasing infrastructure revenues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, the $1.5 billion raised for highway projects through the sale or bonds backed by future toll revenue from the Ohio Turnpike, which paid for 13 major highway projects and also allowed the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission to make improvements along the turnpike corridor, won\u2019t provide additional funds until the commission pays off the bond debt in 2048.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, Ohio\u2019s gasoline tax, currently at 28 cents a gallon, hasn\u2019t been raised since 2005, after increasing 2 cents a year from 2003 until 2005. Since then, construction and other costs have risen dramatically, so that the value of a construction dollar in 2003 is now only 58 cents today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 28-cent motor fuel user fee ranks Ohio 29th among all U.S. states. Meanwhile, every state surrounding Ohio has increased motor fuel user fees since 2014, and all but one of Ohio\u2019s neighbors (Kentucky) have significantly higher fees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Unlike Indiana and Michigan, which have indexed their gasoline taxes to inflation increases, Ohio\u2019s flat gasoline tax has declined in value because of inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, maintaining Ohio\u2019s transportation infrastructure, the eighth-largest in the U.S. and valued at $115 billion, is critical to the economic vitality of the state. The main problem is that motor fuel tax money Ohio receives hasn\u2019t kept pace with highway maintenance and construction needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, while Ohio motorists are driving more miles than in 2003, it hasn\u2019t led to an increase in fuel tax revenues because vehicles today are more fuel-efficient than they were a decade ago. That means, essentially, that tax revenues have remained flat while wear and tear on the transportation system has increased, leading to the need for more money to main Ohio\u2019s highway infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State government has tried to offset the need for more infrastructure dollars by borrowing against future motor fuel tax revenues, but the problem is that, with the state now paying $350 million in debt service costs, money that could be used for highway maintenance and construction is paying off debt from past projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding to the infrastructure situation in Ohio, Marchbanks noted, is that local governments, which did not benefit from ODOT and Turnpike Commission borrowing over the past 15 years, have had to make road maintenance cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am not exaggerating when I tell you that additional delayed maintenance of these already poor roads and bridges could quickly create a situation from which county and municipal governments may never financially recover,\u201d the ODOT director said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On February 6, after hearing from a number of people on the state\u2019s highway and the public, the Advisory Committee on Transportation Infrastructure recommended an increase in the motor fuel user fee to maintain and improve the state\u2019s transportation system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Governor Mike DeWine will consider the recommendations as he compiles his first biennial budget.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/independent editor With the Ohio Department of Transportation set to run out of money for new projects by July 1, Ohioans will likely see their first gasoline tax increase in 14 years. \u201cBeginning July 1, there is no revenue available for any new highway improvement projects of any kind in any place in our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-01 10:45:46","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113703\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}