Gas Tax Proposed in Albuquerque to Pay for City Street Projects

Members of the Albuquerque City Council are expected to take up a proposal next week calling for the creation of a new revenue source to fund a growing list of street infrastructure projects.

District 2 City Councilor Isaac Benton earlier this year proposed a gasoline tax of two cents per gallon that he said could raise anywhere from $4.5 million to $5 million a year in revenue.

The language for Benton’s proposal says revenue from what is officially called the Municipal Gasoline Tax will include improvements for roadways used for motor vehicles, “as well as for transit, pedestrians including the physically-challenged, and bicyclists.”

Although currently a previously approved quarter-cent Gross Receipts Tax is being tapped into as a revenue source for road projects in Albuquerque, it is thought that that revenue is not enough to pay for all of the city’s street and road upkeep and enhancement needs.

A previous version of Benton’s tax proposal in early 2018 failed after members of the council declined to take any action on it.

As proposed, the new two cents per gallon tax would raise around $53 million over a period of 15 years.

Formally introduced in June, Benton’s proposal cleared the council’s finance and government operations committee in late August.
​
If approved next week by the city council, the gas tax proposal would have to go before Albuquerque voters, probably next year.

​By Garry Boulard

---