- January 30, 2025
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A new formula to calculate Volusia County's fuel tax revenues will be phased in over the course of five years, should the majority of municipalities agree to the interlocal agreement, an effort that has been talked about since 2003.
At a meeting of the Roundtable of Volusia County Elected Officials on Monday, March 8, DeLand City Manager Michael Pleus said 20 different distribution options were developed in 2019, following two unsuccessful attempts to alter the formula in 2003 and 2013. As it stands, the 6-cent fuel tax and additional 5-cent local option fuel tax for every gallon of motor fuel is distributed as such: Volusia County receives 57%, and the rest is allocated to municipalities based on an population, assessed property values and miles of road. These funds are used for local infrastructure projects.
Relying solely on road mileage seemed to be the most logical choice for the new formula, Pleus said.
“This was not an easy agreement to get to," Pleus said. "We’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars over a five-year period for some of these jurisdictions, [that] when you change that formula, they’ll be losing out on. But I think it’s a real testament to everybody’s professionalism and willingness to work together to come up with a formula that really does make sense.”
The original 6-cent fuel tax was approved in 1986. The additional 5 cents were added in 1999.
Pleus said in 2003, the reason the formula change fell through was because some wanted to reduce the 57% county allocation of the tax. This time around, the managers agreed to leave it unchanged.
“The county is responsible for the arterial-only collector roads, so they really do need that 57% to make sure that they take care of those things," said Pleus, citing Dunlawton Avenue in Port Orange as an example.
Because some cities have already planned on revenues from the existing fuel tax formula to help fund local road projects, Pleus said they agreed to delay phasing in the new formula for one year. The interlocal agreement will first go to the cities for approval before being presented to the County Council.
