There may be a few more potholes in Clarion County this year, and the holes will be the legacy of the coronavirus.
One of the results of Gov. Tom Wolf’s statewide stay-at-home order was that few people were traveling. That meant few people were buying gasoline, which resulted in a major drop in revenue the state receives from the gasoline tax.
The state imposes a tax of .576 cents on every gallon of gas sold in the state, and a portion of the liquid fuels tax is returned to the counties based on the miles of road in that county and the county’s population. Clarion County has 806.52 miles of roads.
As of Tuesday, Clarion County had just over $128,000 in the liquid fuels account. How much more the county will receive this year isn’t known.
“We haven’t gotten the number yet,” said county treasurer Tom McConnell. “The next report or two may reflect that.”
“I had a meeting yesterday with economic development and they were telling the counties they could expect a reduction of five to 10 percent in 2020 budget revenues,” said county commissioner Ed Heasley.
“The state is looking at a reduction in revenue from between $4.5 to $5.5 billion,” said Heasley. “There is going to be a lot less state money coming out here.”