Westboro Proposes Gas Tax To Raise Money For Road Repair

WESTBORO (CBS) -- The town of Westboro asked the state legislature Tuesday for the authority to levy it's own gas tax in order to raise funds to pay for road maintenance.

Westboro Town Manager Jim Molloy told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens that the town just doesn't have enough revenue sources to properly take care of its roads.

"We are falling behind on our road maintenance," said Molloy. "We have a high property tax burden in our community, and we receive very little state aid, and we're looking to deal with our roads."

Molloy said the proposed tax of 3 cents per gallon of gas would cover the town's deficit.

"We've done a lot of studies on what we need every year, and we're about $250,000-$300,000 short each year, which would be about what a 3-cent sales tax would provide for the community as far as a revenue source," said Molloy.

There have been similar local option requests from the towns of Lee and Charlton.

The State Revenue Committee chairman said the committee is grappling with whether or not this sort of municipal excise tax hike should be approved on a town-by-town basis.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports