Onondaga County Courthouse
The old Onondaga County court building is home to the county legislature. Credit: Mike Greenlar | Central Current

The Onondaga County Legislature on Tuesday voted to cap county sales tax on gasoline beginning June 1. 

The county currently collects a 4% tax on gas sales. The measure, which passed 15-2 with bipartisan support, could cap the sales tax if gas prices rise above four dollars – meaning county residents would pay no more than 16 cents in county sales tax per gallon. 

“That cap will certainly put some money in folks’ pockets,” said Minority Leader Brian May during the session. “But as importantly, it prevents Onondaga County being the recipient of an economic windfall just because prices have spiked. That wouldn’t be right.” 

May proposed the legislation. 

Gas prices have soared since the beginning of the United States’ and Israel’s  war with Iran. Since the Strait of Hormuz has closed, gas prices have reached $4 dollars nationally for the first time since 2022. In Onondaga County, gas prices hovered at $4.09 when the bill was passed. That’s an increase of nearly $1from a month ago, according to AAA data. 

President Donald Trump has threatened to destroy a “whole civilization” if the strait does not reopen by 8 p.m. tonight. 

Onondaga County previously capped gas taxes in 2022, when prices peaked over $5 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Onondaga County Chief Financial Officer Kristi Smiley said that she was not certain how much it saved residents then. But since the county had not predicted gas prices to skyrocket, the county budget would not be impacted by not collecting the extra money, she said. 

The cap would not go in place for nearly two months, as caps on sales tax can only be implemented at the start of a financial quarter. 

Legislators argued about who the cap might benefit. Legislator Maurice “Mo” Brown, who voted against the cap, argued that it would only benefit car owners, and criticized the legislature for not helping others in the county in the same ways. Legislator Dave Knapp argued that the savings would be passed to consumers through grocery prices, as the trucks which transport food would pay less diesel costs. 

Legislator Charles Garland raised concerns about whether savings would be passed on to consumers. 

“It’s obvious that [gas stations] want to make a profit, but price gouging, that’s the problem we’re really looking at,” he said. 

Garland asking how the county could ensure savings would be passed on. 

“I cannot control if we reduce sales tax, that that won’t go into the owner’s pockets,” said Smiley. 

She said she hoped gas stations would be “community partners,” she said. 

“We cannot control their rate setting, but we can control additional taxes,” Smiley said.

Smiley said she would try to collect data on savings to the consumer.

The bill was initially co-sponsored by all legislature Republicans as well as Majority Leader Hernandez and Chair Nicole Watts. 

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Laura Robertson is a staff reporter covering Onondaga County. Prior to joining Central Current, she lived on the edge of the Bering Strait in Nome, Alaska, where she worked as a reporter for a year. She...