Montgomery County Council members joined County Highway Director Jacob Lough in expressing concern over Indiana Governor Mike Braun’s suspension of the gas tax. The result would be less money for the county to do road maintenance and other road projects.
Lough addressed the council and asked them to write a letter to state legislators and Braun asking them to fund the streets and roads with supplemental income from other state funds such as the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
Council member Brett Cating said the governor said last week that he was going to ask legislators to work on replacing the lost income. Cating also expressed concern that legislators tend to fund the Indiana Department of Transportation first before providing finds to local highway departments.
Councilman Gary Booth made a motion to write a letter to be sent to all legislators and the governor’s office encouraging them to work together to find supplemental income.
It is estimated that pausing Indiana state gas taxes is costing state coffers approximately $140 million monthly.
Braun suspended the $.36 per gallon excise tax and the 7% gas usage tax which results in a total savings of around $.62 per gallon. The governor indicated he is leaning toward extending the suspension for one more month. It has been reported by several news agencies that gas prices in Indiana are the lowest in the nation.
“The tax suspension is good for the people,” Cating said. “But if legislators don’t replace the lost income, our roads are going to pay the price. People like the cheaper price of gas, but they might forget that it will cost us all in the long run if the state doesn’t come up with more money from other sources.”
The council unanimously approved Booth’s motion.
After discussion, the council asked county officials and department heads to use an increase of 3.8% in wages when drawing up their 2027 budgets. The amount is not guaranteed but can be used when advertising the county budget. Later in the budget process the percentage can be lowered but not exceed the advertised amount according to state law. The 3.8% was equal to the Consumer Price Index in April.
Auditor Mindy Byers reported the county cash balance is close to what was predicted for June at $1.2 million. Booth would like to see some of the cash placed in the county’s Rainy Day Fund. Byers said the council moved funds into the Rainy Day Fund in July last year and she will add the proposed action to the July agenda.
