Baker County commissioners outline plan to add 5¢ local gas tax to fund road maintenance and pay raises

Baker County commissioners and staff on the record at a workshop described a plan to adopt the second local 5¢ optional motor fuel tax to pay for road and drainage maintenance, a proposed $3-an-hour pay increase for current road employees, two new maintenance crews and capital equipment purchases.

Commissioner Bennett said the county’s road-and-bridge fund is a restricted account and that the proposed local option motor fuel tax revenue would be used only for road, bridge and drainage work and related staffing costs. He said the county would be cautious about hiring new crews until revenue is actually received.

County staff presented an estimate of $862,294.80 in annual revenue from a one-time 5¢ increase based on 2023 gallon counts (the staff presentation noted a 10-year average of $8.69 per gallon and used a conservative $8.62 basis). Staff summarized a proposal that applies the revenue to: a $3 hourly increase for existing public works employees (listed in the packet as $190,985 in additional recurring cost over current budget), creation of a year-round pipe-and-ditch (drainage) crew and a summer-to-winter mowing/brush-clearing crew (staffing loaded cost over current budget summarized around…