Homewood Hikes Gas Tax By 3 Cents

HOMEWOOD, IL — Gas will cost you three cents more in Homewood. That's on top of the doubled motor fuel tax drivers saw go into effect statewide July 1.

The board of trustees approved raising the local gas tax by three cents per gallon Tuesday night to create revenue that will speed up roads-improvement projects by about three years, said Village Manger Jim Marino.

"No other revenue would be available," he said.

Bonds and other revenue sources were not an option for road repairs, he added.

The new tax should generate about $400,000 in the first year, Marino estimated. It will be used to fix 284 of the worst sections of roads the village has listed for repair. The village maintains about 60 miles of roads overall.

Homewood, he explained, repaves six to seven roads or streets each year, depending on need. The additional revenue will now triple the number of projects village workers can complete, Marino said.

July 1 marked the first time that non-home rule villages such as Homewood could impose a local gas tax. Lawmakers granted that ability, along with the 19-cent statewide motor fuel increase, in part to fund this year's $45 billion infrastructure plan. A portion of the statewide tax is allocated to municipalities, and that will be increased this year, as well. With the new local tax and the increased state distribution, Homewood stands to generate roughly $645,000 in new money for its roads fund.

Gas prices Tuesday in Homewood — before the village's increase — ranged from $3.17 a gallon at Speedway on Halsted Street to $3.29 a gallon at Marathon on Ridge Road, according to autoblog.com.

The new rates goes into effect August 1.