FLINT, MI -- Michigan gas prices are rising faster than any other state in the nation and the city is feeling the same pinch at the pump as individual drivers.
The City Council gave initial approval Wednesday, May 4, to a $250,000 budget transfer to cover higher fuel prices through the rest of the fiscal year, and Genesee County Director of Administration Josh Freeman said the county Board of Commissioners could consider its own budget transfer later this month for the same reason.
“All it is, is gas,” Flint Finance Director Robert Widigan told council members Wednesday. “Our problem is, we don’t know how long the prices will stay this high ... It’s killing us.”
In Flint, the budget transfer for fuel comes from the city’s fleet services fund balance, which still totals more than $8 million, but the reserve fund is taking a hit not only from higher regular gasoline prices but diesel fuel as well.
Widigan said the city paid more than $495,000 for fuel in the 2020 fiscal year, more than $491,000 in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021, and has already spent more than $640,000 in the current fiscal year with two months remaining in it.
AAA reported Thursday, May 5, that just this week, the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline has increased by five cents to $4.24.
It’s even higher in Michigan, where the average price per gallon of regular gas increased to $4.30 per gallon on Thursday-- up 30 cents since Monday, according to AAA.
In the Flint area, the average price for regular gas has reached $4.35 per gallon, the highest-ever average price reported by AAA for this area. The price for a gallon of diesel fuel has reached an average of $5.11, also an all-time high.
AAA said record gas prices have been pushed higher by increasing demand and rising oil prices.
One year ago, the average price for a gallon of regular gas in the Flint area was $2.96.
Although state and local governments using gasoline for governmental functions have the option of purchasing fuel tax-free from a retailer that qualifies as a gasoline wholesale distributor, it remains more than $3 per gallon even without the 27.2-cent state tax and the 18.4-cent federal tax added in.
City Council members can finalize the Flint budget transfer for fuel at its meeting next week.
Read more at The Flint Journal:
Flint water crisis documentary set to show May 6-12 at NCG Cinema
Flint consultants had a duty but failed to warn of potential for lead, expert witness says
Michigan Supreme Court scrutinizes grand jury process in criminal Flint water cases
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