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QUEENSBURY — After missing the deadline to enact a $2 gas tax cap starting June 1, the Warren County Board of Supervisors voted against authorizing the cap from Sept. 1 through the end of the year.

If the cap had been approved, those filling up would save about 3 cents per dollar, meaning that a gallon of gas that cost $5 would only have the first $2 per gallon taxed by the county. The state gas tax of 16 cents per gallon has already been suspended.

Democrat Claudia Braymer, Glens Falls Ward 3 supervisor, brought the resolution before the board during its meeting on June 15. Republican Dan Bruno, Glens Falls Ward 4 supervisor, seconded the motion to bring the resolution to the floor.

“I want to provide a little relief. I know there’s more that could be done in the country, in the world maybe as far as gas taxes,” Braymer said. “But what we control here is our county sales tax.”

In the Glens Falls area on Wednesday, the average cost for a gallon of regular gas was $4.957, according to gassprices.aaa.com. The state average cost was $4.993.

Braymer said that the county is financially stable and can afford to bring in less tax for the 4-month period.

Discussion over capping the amount of sales tax collected on a gallon of gas in the county began when Queensbury at-large Supervisor Doug Beaty brought it to the board during its meeting on May 20.

During that meeting, he said that the person who cuts his hair had lost a customer due to gas prices being too high. Beaty said he heard a few county employees saying they couldn’t afford to fill up their tanks.

“Is this going to be the end of the world? To some, it will,” Beaty said during the meeting last week.

He told the board that he had reached out to Stewart’s Shops, one of the largest gas distributors in the county. Beaty said that he was told by the director of fuel sales that the savings would be passed along to those filling up in Warren County.

Republican Mike Wild, Queensbury supervisor-at-large, said that he had a few concerns about the consequences to the county if the resolution were to pass.

He said that having representatives from Stewart’s give a supervisor their word is far less than a guarantee.

“Having Stewart’s say they will definitely pass this along makes you feel good, but it truly is a free-market economy,” Wild said.

He said there is time for the conversation around a gas tax cap to go through committee, and for the board to have these conversations with Michael Swan, the county treasurer. There was no direction for the topic to be sent to any specific committee at the meeting.

Ryan Moore, the county administrator, said that typically there is a deadline to file with the state Taxation and Finance Department that is 90 days before a tax cap can be implemented. He told the board that the department would be willing to grant a 30-day deadline.

That would give the board until Aug. 1 to make a decision, meaning a vote would have to take place by the final meeting in July.

Supervisors also raised concerns about how much revenue the county would lose as a result of the cap.

During the meeting, county employees spoke to the board about their wages being too low. Some employees said that they either knew of someone who had to apply for social services due to their wages, or they themselves were forced to do so.

Democrat John Strough, Queensbury town supervisor, said that the money that the county could see by leaving the tax as it is should go to the employees.

“I agree with our employees 100%. We have to do something about it,” he said.

The resolution failed by a weighted vote of 484 in favor and 391 against. There were 127 weighted votes absent.

A resolution needs 502 weighted votes to meet the simple majority to pass.

If the resolution is brought back before the board and passes, the county is set to lose just under $1 million in sales tax revenue under the current gas prices, according to Swan.

Braymer said during the meeting that the county’s American Rescue Plan Act committee, which she co-chairs, is currently looking into taking roughly $1 million in funding to be used for employee payments, but a plan for that is not yet in place.

Don Lehman, director of public affairs for Warren County, said that there is more data needed to answer the questions of the supervisors.

Jay Mullen is a reporter for The Post-Star covering the city of Glens Falls, Warren County and crime and courts. You can reach him at 518-742-3224 or jmullen@poststar.com.

Resolution 313 failed a vote during the Board of Supervisors meeting on June 15 by a weighted vote of 484 in favor to 391 against. There were 127 weighted votes absent. A resolution needs 502 weighted votes to meet the simple majority to pass.

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