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Jacksonville Mulls Gas Tax Hike For $930M In Projects

Downtown Jacksonville
BILL BORTZFIELD / WJCT NEWS
Downtown Jacksonville

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority have been meeting with City Council members about a possible increase and extension of the local gas tax that would pay for a $930 million list of transportation projects.

WJCT News partner The Florida Times-Union reported that Curry said Tuesday the city has been able to pull together bigger capital improvement project budgets in recent years, but "we still have a long way to go and a lot to catch up on, and a lot to invest."

The city now has a 6-cent local gas tax in Duval County and can go as high as 12 cents under state law. Thirty-one of Florida's 67 counties use the maximum 12-cent rate, including Clay and Nassau counties, according to JTA research. St. Johns County is at 6 cents.

In Duval County, the 6-cent tax raises about $30 million per year, according to the Times-Union, which reported the multi-year list the tax would cover includes covers dozens of projects in the areas of road construction and maintenance, drainage improvement in road corridors, sidewalks and bicycle lanes, and transit.

Read the rest of this story at Jacksonville.com.