Urbana Council Hears More Arguments for Gasoline Tax

Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing continued her promotion of a local gasoline tax, Monday night, by bringing in an official from another city that already has one.

City Manager Dennis Keif of Pekin told the Urbana City Council about the four-cent-a-gallon gas tax his Tazewell County city has had since 1996 to raise money for a major highway project, regular street maintenance and property tax relief. He says gas station owners warned that the tax would force them to charge more for gasoline than competitors in Peoria with its two-cent gas tax, and smaller nearby towns with no tax. But Keif says there's no sign that gas stations in Pekin have suffered.

"Almost without exception, the price is exactly the same in all of the communities", Kief told Urbana council members. "Typically, it actually runs a little bit higher in Peoria than the other communities. But Pekin is no higher than the other communities."

Kief's answer was in reply to questions from Alderman Dennis Roberts, who said afterward that he's "inclined to support" Mayor Prussing's proposal for a two-cent gasoline tax to help pay for street maintenance. He thinks a vote could come later this summer.

Also Monday night, the Urbana City Council approved a $250 administrative fee to be imposed on motorists whose vehicles are towed after being arrested for certain serious offenses like D-U-I, felony drug offenses, and fleeing and eluding a police officer. The fee would be charged in addition to the towing fee. Champaign began imposing a similar fee for cars towed for serious offenses last year.