‘We need to repeal what we did:’ Jacksonville councilwoman wants to reverse gas tax increase

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Thousands of cars hit the road every day in Jacksonville, but as the cost of gas is going up, people are feeling down.

“It’s ridiculous,” driver Jimmy Fletcher told Action News Jax’s Ben Becker. “I just had to move money around to put diesel in my truck which will cost $80-to-$90 to fill it up.”

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The pain at the pump might get worse.

Action News Jax first reported in May, Jacksonville’s City Council approved doubling the local gas tax from 6 cents to 12 cents per gallon starting January 1, 2022. The idea is to raise nearly $1 billion over the next 30 years to pay for infrastructure projects like the Emerald Trail, a new Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) Skyway, sidewalks and free up money from the city’s general fund for new septic tanks in under-served communities.

“We need to repeal what we did back in May,” Jacksonville City Council member LeAnna Cumber told Becker.

She was one of five council members to vote against the plan. However, because of rising fuel costs, Cumber has introduced legislation to repeal the 6 cent tax, which requires borrowing money based on the tax.

Cumber, who is a possible candidate for Jacksonville mayor in 2023, believes Florida’s share of the Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill -- roughly $18.4 billion over five years -- could pay for projects in Jacksonville.

“We are the largest city in Florida,” Cumber said. “Shame on us if we don’t get a major chunk of that money.”

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Some experts believe a gas tax is running on empty and can’t sustain infrastructure needs as cars become more fuel efficient and electric vehicles become more prevalent. According to the Energy Information Administration and Bloomberg New Energy Finance, if Florida continues to rely on fuel taxes, it could see a drop in potential revenue in the billions of dollars over the next two decades.

“When I say VMT, you say what,” Becker asked energy expert Ellen Wald.

“Vehicle Mileage Tax,” Wald said.

Wald said a Vehicle Mileage Traveled tax (VMT) is another way to get taxed on the federal or state level, as you would be billed a few cents for every mile you drive.

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A VMT has bi-partisan support in Congress and there are pilot programs in Oregon and Utah, but it does raise privacy concerns because the government would track millions of vehicles along with other potential potholes

“There’s constitutional issues between federal and state mileage taxes,” Wald said. “The state would only be charging for people driving on state roads and the federal government would to charge for miles traveled on federal roads -- how are you going to differentiate that?”

Becker emailed Mayor Lenny Curry’s office and JTA about Cumber’s bill.

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The city said in a statement that it’s standing behind the gas tax:

“Mayor Curry worked in conjunction with City Council earlier this year to create a revenue source that would benefit the citizens of Jacksonville, and provide thousands of local jobs. The local option gas tax will generate $1 billion over the next 30 years for much-needed transportation infrastructure projects like sidewalks, drainage, bridges, and other improvements. We are grateful to the City Council for their strong support to fulfill broken promises that date back as many as 50 years.”

JTA declined to comment.

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“So fundamentally you are not opposed?” Becker asked driver David Wright, who says a tax is not wrong.

“As long as it is something good that’s benefitting the city and the people I’m all for it,” Wright said.

Cumber’s proposal will be introduced at City Council December 14 and will need a super majority of 12 or 13 votes to be heard and then another super majority to pass.

Drivers would not see immediate relief from the tax because it’s too late to hit the brakes for 2022 since the wheels are already in motion with the state to collect the tax. It wouldn’t go away until 2023, but it’s unclear at this time what would happen to the money that would be collected next year.

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