Every time we fill up our cars in Albany, the required signage on the pump reminds us that there’s no local gas tax yet. But the amount we pay for transportation is sure to rise. How much depends on what the city council, the local voters, and probably the legislature decide.
The Albany City Council seems open to the idea of putting a local gas tax before the voters this fall. That’s the impression I got after catching the tail end of a council work session on Monday.
Whether Albany should ask voters to enact a local gas tax to pay for street repairs is a question that has been hanging around for a while. And now, for the first time in years, the city council will take it up next month.
It’s early yet, and no one knows how far this idea is going to go, but there’s been talk of Albany voters being asked what they think of a local gas tax to pay for repairing city streets. The subject came up most recently at the city council meeting Wednesday night.
Poll says an Albany gas tax might pass
If it’s necessary to raise more money for street repairs, pollsters report that voters in the city prefer a local gas tax to a monthly street maintenance fee on their water bills.
Tags: Albany council, Albany gas tax, DHM Research, local gas tax, opinion poll, opinion research, street maintenance fee