FORT WALTON BEACH — Okaloosa County commissioners are considering raising the local gasoline tax to generate money needed to pave and repair roads, primarily in the northern part of the county.
The board voted unanimously Tuesday to send letters to the county’s nine municipalities to ask whether they would agree with a tax hike of up to 5 cents.
“From day one, I’ve advocated this is a user fee that allows 30 to 40 percent of the people who come through here to pay for … the roads that they’re using,” Commissioner Wayne Harris said.
He said the gas tax hike is a “way of capturing money to fix the roads.”
“I just think it’s a fair thing,” Harris added.
Counties in Florida are authorized to levy up to 12 cents. Okaloosa now levies 7 cents.
The board can levy a 1- to 5-cent tax on every net gallon of gas sold in the county. Diesel fuel is exempt from the tax.
County Administrator Jim Curry estimated the gas tax would generate about $911,709 per cent levied countywide. The revenue must be shared with local municipalities through agreements.
Commissioner Dave Parisot said it’s important to gauge the will of the local governments because their residents would be subject to the tax.
“I’d like to hear from those city councils … as to what their feelings are,” he said.
Commissioner Nathan Boyles agreed, calling a gas tax increase “a difficult political decision.”
He said it’s reasonable for the county to expect the municipalities to “share that burden.”
Boyles said he’s talked to residents and has been “somewhat surprised” to hear cautious support for the gas tax hike. Many residents have said they want to see a “defined benefit” for the increase and know exactly how the revenue would be spent, he said.
“We have to be willing to tackle this issue, and this is one way to get there,” Boyles said.
If the board decides to levy the remaining 5 cents, it would have to be approved by July 1 to take effect Jan. 1, 2014.
Commissioners also agreed to send letters to the heads of local gas and electric utilities about charging a franchise fee to use county rights of way.
“The truth is that everybody utilizes that revenue source except for us,” Boyles said. “The cities utilize it. Our neighboring counties utilize it. We’re the only entity that doesn’t.”
That absence of franchise fees has “unfairly forced our property owners to shoulder the burden,” he added.
Under the maximum assessment of 6 percent on electric and gas utilities, franchise fees in unincorporated Okaloosa County could generate $7.5 million.
The enactment of a franchise fee requires the county to get agreements from the utilities or win the right to impose the fee in court.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.