{"id":101560,"date":"2026-08-06T11:38:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T15:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yournewslocal.com\/?p=101560"},"modified":"2026-08-06T11:38:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T15:38:38","slug":"gas-tax-refund-brings-relief-but-delays-still-cause-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yournewslocal.com\/?p=101560","title":{"rendered":"Gas Tax Refund Brings Relief, But Delays Still Cause Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!--AUTO-AD-BEFORE-->\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block\"\n        data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\n        data-ad-layout-key=\"-gw-3+1f-3d+2z\"\n        data-ad-client=\"0531879237494766\"\n        data-ad-slot=\"5600453644\"><\/ins>\n    <script>(adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||[]).push({});<\/script>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">PERU, IN \u2014 This from inkfreenews.com: Miami County Highway Superintendent Chad Watson breathed a sigh of relief last week when the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inkfreenews.com\/tag\/state-board-of-finance\/\">State Board of Finance<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.in.gov\/comptroller\/files\/Comptroller-Nieshalla-Announces-State-Board-of-Finance-Approval-of-Gas-Tax-Holiday-Reimbursements-to-Local-Governments.pdf\">approved distributing $37.8 million<\/a>\u00a0to reimburse local governments for the lost tax revenue from April and May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.inkfreenews.com\/tag\/gov-mike-braun\/\">Gov. Mike Braun<\/a>&nbsp;first suspended&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DaBSI2fiUxm\/\">the gas tax<\/a>&nbsp;in April following skyrocketing oil prices in February, when the U.S. launched attacks on Iran. The move has saved Hoosiers around 60 cents per gallon at the pump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It also&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/fpinews.org\/policy\/2026\/06\/22\/road-projects-delayed-as-states-gas-tax-holiday-dries-up-local-coffers\/\">cost cities, counties and towns around $170 million<\/a>&nbsp;in road funding needed for repairs and maintenance and caused some communities, including Miami County, to at least temporarily pause work on projects this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The suspension remains in effect until Aug. 6, after which the state legislature would have to be called into a special session to consider whether to continue the holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following last week\u2019s initial distribution, the state plans to continue issuing refunds for other months impacted by the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inkfreenews.com\/tag\/gas-tax-holiday\/\">gas tax holiday<\/a>. That\u2019s eased the concern for some, but others are still nervous about over-committing to projects or big purchases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inkfreenews.com\/tag\/state-board-of-finance\/\">State Board of Finance<\/a>&nbsp;must approve every refund distribution, and all reimbursements are expected to be received by November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Mike Sharp, the highway superintendent in Wayne County, said receiving reimbursements in late fall would be a problem. That\u2019s because the road season winds down in September, and reimbursements coming after that won\u2019t help counties pay for this year\u2019s planned projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ll just kind of have to wait and see how the money rolls in to know whether we stay on top of it,\u201d Sharp said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Watson from Miami County said they received $233,000 last week, but it remains to be seen when \u2013 and how much \u2013 the state will approve for future reimbursements. Without a guarantee those refunds will be approved, he doesn\u2019t feel comfortable spending money he hasn\u2019t yet received.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt just makes planning jobs a nightmare because you just don\u2019t know,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s very much just shooting from the hip.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both Sharp and Watson said if they don\u2019t get the refunds in time this year and have to delay projects, they\u2019ll hold on to the money and budget a larger road repair season in 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inkfreenews.com\/tag\/todd-listerman\/\">Todd Listerman<\/a>, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inkfreenews.com\/tag\/dearborn-county\/\">Dearborn County<\/a>&nbsp;highway engineer, said he took the governor\u2019s pledge in April to backfill local road funding at face value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now that the county received its initial $214,400 refund, Listerman is fully confident they\u2019ll get their funding on time and plans to operate as usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cReally, this has had no effect at all at our county highway department,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Cass County, the highway department\u2019s $256,600 reimbursement arrived just in time for road projects to continue as scheduled, Superintendent Jim Smith said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s been great as a driver to see the lower gas prices, but in my day job, it\u2019s been a concern ever since the tax holiday was announced,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I\u2019m thankful for the governor \u2026 to make good on this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n<!--AUTO-AD-AFTER-->\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;text-align:center\"\n        data-ad-format=\"autorelaxed\"\n        data-ad-client=\"0531879237494766\"\n        data-ad-slot=\"9212395598\"><\/ins>\n    <script>(adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||[]).push({});<\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PERU, IN \u2014 This from inkfreenews.com: Miami County Highway Superintendent Chad Watson breathed a sigh of relief last week when the\u00a0State Board of Finance\u00a0approved distributing $37.8 million\u00a0to reimburse local governments for the lost tax revenue from April and May. Gov. Mike Braun&nbsp;first suspended&nbsp;the gas tax&nbsp;in April following skyrocketing oil prices in February, when the U.S. &#8230; <a title=\"Gas Tax Refund Brings Relief, But Delays Still Cause Problems\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/yournewslocal.com\/?p=101560\" aria-label=\"Read more about Gas Tax Refund Brings Relief, But Delays Still Cause Problems\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Wade Weaver","author_link":"https:\/\/yournewslocal.com\/?author=3"},"rttpg_comment":1,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/yournewslocal.com\/?cat=1\" rel=\"category\">Uncategorized<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"PERU, IN \u2014 This from inkfreenews.com: Miami County Highway Superintendent Chad Watson breathed a sigh of relief last week when the\u00a0State Board of Finance\u00a0approved distributing $37.8 million\u00a0to reimburse local governments for the lost tax revenue from April and May. Gov. Mike Braun&nbsp;first suspended&nbsp;the gas tax&nbsp;in April following skyrocketing oil prices in February, when the U.S.&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yournewslocal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yournewslocal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yournewslocal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yournewslocal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yournewslocal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=101560"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/yournewslocal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101562,"href":"https:\/\/yournewslocal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101560\/revisions\/101562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yournewslocal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=101560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yournewslocal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=101560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yournewslocal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=101560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}