Members of the Chautauqua County Legislature listen to a resident speak in favor of capping the sales tax on gasoline. Photo by Gregory Bacon

Chautauqua County officials are doing their part to help residents see relief at the gas pump.

During the Legislature meeting Wednesday, county lawmakers voted 12-6 in favor of a resolution that caps the gasoline sales tax at $3 a gallon. The state had previously enacted legislation to lower state taxes by 16 cents a gallon from June 1 to Dec. 1. As long as the resolution is signed by County Executive PJ Wendel, the county’s lower portion would run along the same time period. If gas prices stay where they are, the county’s portion would be around 4 cents a gallon.

The resolution was introduced by the minority Democratic caucus. All four Democrats voted in favor of it. Voting against the resolution were Republican legislators John Davis of Frewsburg, Ken Lawton of Lakewood, John Penhollow of Stockton, Bob Scudder of Fredonia, and Lisa Vanstrom of West Ellicott.

Before the vote took place, three county residents urged the Legislature to vote in favor of the resolution capping the sales tax.

“It might not seem like a lot to some people, however that is relative. To some it will make a difference,” said Natalie Luczkowiak of Dunkirk.

Robert Dando of the town of Pomfret agreed. “In this time when inflation is running rampant, any reduction of taxes to the people is reimbursement on sales tax on gasoline will help people,” he said, adding that neighboring counties are reducing gas taxes as well.

During the debate on the floor, Vanstrom expressed her concern that local municipalities receive a portion of the sales tax and she doesn’t want them to be hurt financially. “All of our town highway departments across the county are directly correlated with sales tax. … If anybody’s noticed the road conditions, we need resurfacing and road projects like nobody’s business. You could lose a tire in any town in this county,” she said.

Legislator David Wilfong, R-Jamestown, said there’s no guarantee any cut done by the county will be enacted by the companies that sell fuel. Still, he said he was in favor of the resolution. “I do believe the hard-working people of our county deserve a tax break. I really wish it would actually be a little bit more,” he said.

Legislator Bob Bankoski, D-Dunkirk, said this legislation will help more than just those who drive vehicles. “We are in an agricultural community. There’s a lot of farming going on and tractors use gas,” he said.

Davis said according to his calculations, the average person would save $1 a week on fuel costs with this resolution. “It’s not a huge amount of money. I would be so bold as to state that if we’re going to see relief at the pumps it needs to start at the federal level. … Any small change we make here will not have an impact on those policies,” he said.

Legislator Susan Parker said because the state is enacting a discount on gasoline sales tax, she believes New York will be closely monitoring gas stations to ensure the saving made by the state and counties are passed along to consumers. “The state has already initiated a process for updating how to enforce this and also consumer protection can also be a part of that,” she said.

If the legislature wanted to delay enacting the sales tax cap, the earliest it could have been enacted was Sept. 1.

Earlier this week Niagara County enacted the same resolution Chautauqua County has. Erie County is expected to vote on a resolution which would cap the sales tax on the first $2 of gasoline, instead of $3 as Chautauqua and Niagara counties have enacted.