Later this week, each gallon of gas will cost a little bit more in Washoe County. That's because the annual Washoe County fuel tax increase kicks in on July 1.
The tax helps fund construction and maintenance of roads in Washoe County. Those projects are handled by the Regional Transportation Commission -- which is why the tax is called the RTC 5 Fuel Tax.
“Things like the Veterans Roundabout project, again, the Mill Street Project and different pavement preservation projects -- that's your tax dollars at work,” said RTC Public Information Officer Josh MacEachern. “That's us making sure that we not only collect the funds, but distribute them in the way that they were allocated when you agreed to pay for them and building out roads.”
For every gallon of gas purchased in Washoe, 57 cents are automatically allocated to RTC, but starting Wednesday, it will be 58 cents. The increase is based on a ten-year rolling average and only called for a slight increase versus last year’s three and a half cent increase.
However, even with the annual increase, RTC says it's missed out on $15 million in the last five years due to the increasing popularity of electric cars.
Right now, there is no system in place to tax them, but last week the County Commissioners approved an advisory ballot question that will allow voters in November to decide whether or not they want the legislature to pass a fee on electric cars.
“The electric vehicle market has been growing substantially since 2020, back when there were about 1,500 registered electric vehicles in Washoe County. Now that's up closer to 11,000,” said RTC Government Affairs Officer, Paul Nelson. “So in that time, it's been about a 562% increase in electric vehicle registrations. That means that that's about 11,000 cars that aren't paying fuel taxes.”
RTC has done some market research that shows about 60 percent of voters would be in favor of a tax on electric cars.
More information about the fuel tax can be found here: RTC-5 Voter-Approved Fuel Tax Information – RTC Washoe.
Some details about the Washoe Board of County Commissioners decision are located here: Top headlines from the Board of County Commissioners meeting | Washoe Life
