Motorists get gas at Love’s Travel Stop in Millersburg on April 3, 2025.
Like Albany, the City of Millersburg is considering a local fuel tax to help pay for street maintenance. But in Millersburg, most of the revenue would come from people who live some place else.
The Millersburg City Council talked about the possibility of a local fuel tax last month. The city staff presented a lot of information. Among other things, the draft minutes of the March 11 meeting yield this nugget:
“Only about 10 percent of fuel sales are estimated to be from Millersburg residents. If residents only purchased fuel from Millersburg, it would be approximately $18 per vehicle per year.”
Millersburg has only one gas station available to the public: Love’s Travel Stop, which opened in 2018.
It’s a big station. When I stopped there on Thursday afternoon, all the pumps on the four islands for autos, with room for four vehicles each, were busy most of the time.
(The section for commercial trucks was even busier, but that doesn’t count in this context. As I gather from the ODOT website on state fuel taxes, commercial trucks don’t pay the state tax on diesel because they pay the weight-mile tax instead.)
If the estimate of the fuel-buying habits of Millersburg drivers is accurate, 90 percent of a city fuel tax for maintaining the local streets would be paid by people who don’t live in town. Most of the fuel buyers at Love’s are probably making a pit stop on their way up or down I-5.
According to U.S. Census data, the median household income in Millersburg is more than $124,000. Especially for households north of that mid-point, having out-of-towners pay for keeping up the local streets sounds like a pretty sweet deal. (hh)
A gas tax is sweet? What an odd adjective.
An oppressive tax on gas reduces vehicle travel by making driving more expensive. And those on the lower part of the income scale and minorities are oppressed the most. They can’t afford a Lexus or an expensive EV like white rich folks can.
And gas tax revenue that is used to improve the capacity of local streets induces more driving. Capacity expansion undermines the environment.
Millersburg should pick its poison carefully and understand the distasteful consequences. But hey, it’s easy money, so the addiction must be fed.
Not exactly sweet, eh?
It’s called ‘sarcasm’ Gordon.
“Don’t tax me; don’t tax thee; tax that fellow behind the tree.”
Having someone else pay your tax is always a ‘sweet’ deal.
Only problem is that most of the time “the other guy” is you.
The obvious solution: Every citizen in Albany should move to Millersburg. Afterall, most gas taxes in Millersburg are paid by non-Millersburgians. Ooops…that won’t work either. Perhaps all Millersburgians should move to Albany. That way, 100% of gas tax sales in Millersburg would go to Millersburg, a city which will not need gas tax revenues if everyone has left for Albany.
Or, to match Millerburg’s apparent genius, Albany city government should revitalize CARA with the intent to purchase a brand-spanking new Tesla for each and every licensed driver. Whether you enjoy Musk’s clown show or not, if every Albanian drove an electric car, than EVERY penny spent by every visitor to Albany petrol stations would go to maintenance of Albany’s streets, with locals paying nothing.
Come on Hasso. Quit complaining. Come up with workable solutions instead.
“Come on Hasso. Quit complaining. Come up with workable solutions instead.”
As usual, Pot, Kettle, Black. Look in the mirror.
i think its only fair the motorists 100-200 miles out on i-5 get to vote on this :)