County Council ratifies new gas tax distribution formula

Posted On: June 22, 2021

The Volusia County Council ratified an agreement Tuesday changing the way gas tax revenues are divided among local cities for the next 13 years.

The agreement, which dictates the distribution of revenue from 11-cents per-gallon in local option gas taxes, doesn’t change the county-city split. Under the agreement, the county will continue to receive 57.2% of the revenue. But the agreement changes how the cities in the county divide the remaining 42.8% share. Revenue from the local option gas taxes is expected to generate approximately $23.5 million this fiscal year.

Instead of the previous formula, the 16 cities in Volusia County will divide their share of the revenue based on the percentage of municipal lane miles that each city maintains. The new formula was developed during discussions by the Volusia County Managers Association. The result of the change is that some cities will collect a larger percentage than in the past, while some cities will see their percentage reduced. In order, the top four city shares will go to Deltona, Daytona Beach, Port Orange and Ormond Beach. To adjust for the change in revenue, the new formula will be phased in over five years. After that, the formula will be updated annually to account for any changes in the ratio of lane miles of public roads maintained by each city.

Initially adopted in 2003, the current inter-local agreement and funding distribution formula is set to expire on Aug. 31. Prior to this year, several attempts to update it was unsuccessful in getting the required support from Volusia’s cities. The new agreement has been ratified by cities representing a majority of the population in the incorporated areas of the county. It’s scheduled to remain in effect until 2034.

“Everyone has spent a lot of time and a lot of effort to come to these agreements,” noted Councilwoman Heather Post. “This has been an ongoing discussion and a lot of effort.”