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Trumbull County engineer warns limited revenue growth; discusses license-plate tax and grants for $20M in 2026 projects
Summary
County Engineer David DeCristofaro told commissioners that five-year gas and plate tax receipts rose only about 1% from 2021 to 2025 while costs have outpaced that growth; he said $20 million in projects are planned for 2026, of which about $17 million are grant-funded, and compared Trumbull's revenue to Mahoning County's larger plate-tax receipts.
Trumbull County Engineer David DeCristofaro presented the county's 2025 annual report at the May 13 commissioners meeting and told the board that local gas and license-plate tax collections have shown minimal growth in recent years while costs driven by inflation have risen.
"If you turn to this page here... In 2021, the total was $9,900,000. In 2025, it went down almost 2%. If you compare the number in 2025 with 2021, it's about a 1% increase over the five-year period. That is pretty minimal compared to the rate of inflation," DeCristofaro said.
DeCristofaro said the county's reported revenues (including state and federal reimbursements) are a little more than $14 million and that the county has about $20 million in projects slated for 2026, with approximately $17 million of that coming from grants. He noted that those grant dollars are unusual in scale for the county but stressed that local matching funds remain necessary.
The engineer and commissioners discussed local options to raise revenue for roads and bridges, including a county license-plate ("plate") tax imposed by commissioners or placed on the ballot and the example of Mahoning County's approach. "Mahoning County has a $15 license plate tax... they collect about $10,000,000 more a year with that tax than we get from the general plate tax," DeCristofaro said, adding that Mahoning County also uses a quarter-percent sales tax dedicated to paving. Commissioners asked the engineer to assist in compiling comparative information about county returns from state-collected taxes and whether Trumbull is a donor county that contributes more to the state than it receives back.
DeCristofaro said he could work with state representatives and senators to pursue those comparisons and the board indicated it would follow up with legislative outreach if the analysis supports it.
