Carpentersville reduces gas tax 2 cents

In an effort to help Carpentersville gas stations better compete with those in Elgin and Algonquin, village officials rolled back a 2 cents per gallon motor fuel tax hike this week.

The move reverts the tax back to 2 cents a gallon.

Carpentersville hoped to generate $240,000 in annual revenue from the tax, which the village enacted earlier this year, Assistant Village Manager Joe Wade said. Officials planned on using the money to fund a budget line dedicated to replacing heavy equipment, Village President Ed Ritter said.

But Phillip Woodman, president of Woodman’s Markets, complained the increase made it harder for his Carpentersville gas station on Randall Road to compete with the ones on the same street in neighboring Elgin and Algonquin, which charge lower taxes, Wade said.

Woodman could not be reached for comment Friday.

There are seven gas stations in Carpentersville and three are on Randall Road. They are: Shell Gas Station, Road Ranger and Woodman’s Gas & Lube Center.

Woodman brought the issue this summer to the village’s audit and finance commission which reviewed it and recommended the board rescind the tax increase, Wade said. The board did so Tuesday.

“We’ve got a higher gas tax than the nearby competitors, so he was asking us to roll it back to the 2 cents that we originally had,” Ritter said, adding that owners from one other gas station indicated they were struggling and that the tax increase could hurt their business.

The rollback is effective Oct. 1.

Meanwhile, trustees still need to decide how they’ll make up for the money.

“That’s going to be the subject of an upcoming audit and finance and village board discussions,” Wade said.