By Heart of Illinois ABC
NORMAL – Normal town staffers want to know if elected officials are open to the idea of raising the local gasoline tax to the same level charged in neighboring Bloomington.
Staffers have scheduled a Tuesday evening work session to gauge the town council’s appetite for collecting additional gas tax dollars, just like their Twin-City counterparts did last year.
Normal currently collects four cents per gallon, while Bloomington doubled its gas tax to eight cents per gallon last year to pay for various road improvements.
Normal has its own list of road projects, and the motor fuel tax could also be used to cover the cost of raising the local government’s contribution to Connect Transit, which is Bloomington-Normal’s public transportation system.
Earlier this year, the Connect to the Future Working Group recommended the bus system request an additional $100,000 a year in subsidies from Normal and a $150,000 annual subsidy increase from Bloomington.
No final action is expected from Normal’s council on Tuesday, but staffers beginning budget planing for next fiscal year want to know where elected leaders stand on the gas tax, said Normal City Manager Pam Reece.
The council’s virtual work session starts Tuesday at 6 p.m., prior to the regularly scheduled council meeting at 7 p.m.
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