Missouri mayors hope to find transportation funding at gas pump

More than two dozen Missouri mayors said during a conference in Columbia Monday that they are committed to finding transportation funding at the gas pump.

Missouri currently ranks 47th in revenue collected at the gas pump, but our state has the seventh largest roadway system and the sixth highest number of bridges in the nation. About 8 percent of those bridges are in poor condition.

“That’s not a good combination,” Florissant Mayor Tom Schneider said during Monday’s conference.

The current fuel tax is 17 cents per gallon. That’s one of the lowest in the country and hasn’t seen an increase since 1996.

“Right now we’re kinda falling behind the nation,” said Schneider, who is also a member of the transportation task force.

Missouri’s revenue per mile is $50,766 while the national average is $216,533. Plans to raise our state’s gas tax have been repeatedly struck down by the legislature.

Schneider said the transportation tax force is meeting in Columbia next week. He said they will then have a work session followed by a public hearing before they make a recommendation to Governor Eric Greitens.

He added that he hopes the future of transportation funding in our state “is a bright one.”