Onondaga County caps fuel sales tax to ease summer gas prices

An average driver in Onondaga County is likely to see only a sliver of relief from the county’s new fuel tax cap. With regular gas averaging $4.147 a gallon on April 9, the change would save about six-tenths of a cent per gallon, which means the break may be too small to notice on a single fill-up unless prices climb further.

The Onondaga County Legislature approved the temporary cap on April 7, setting the county’s 4% sales tax to apply only to the first $4 of gasoline and diesel purchases. That limits the county portion of the tax to 16 cents per gallon. The measure takes effect June 1 and is scheduled to expire September 1 unless lawmakers extend it. If fuel stays at or below $4 a gallon, drivers will not see any change at all.

The vote was largely bipartisan, passing 15-2 with two abstentions. Legislator Dan Romeo said the county needs to keep finding creative ways to help residents cope with rising costs, especially families already cutting essentials. Minority Leader Brian May said the cap would put money back in residents’ pockets and reflected a balance between what county government can control and what it cannot. The tradeoff is direct: Onondaga County will forgo sales-tax revenue on any fuel sold above the $4 threshold during the summer stretch.

The move echoes a similar county cap in 2022, when Onondaga County limited its fuel sales tax to $3 a gallon from June 1 through November 30 as prices surged after the war in Ukraine. In that same period, New York State temporarily suspended its motor fuel sales tax and motor fuel excise tax from June 1 through December 31, and counties including Oswego, Monroe and Dutchess adopted their own local relief measures. This year’s action comes as concern over the war in Iran has helped push energy prices higher nationwide, including a statewide average diesel price of $5.966 on April 9. For Onondaga County commuters, delivery workers, small businesses and rural households with fewer transit options, the cap is less a fix than a short-term cushion against a market the county cannot control.