Fort Mitchell will keep its full share of state road aid after city council voted to reject Gov. Andy Beshear's 10-cent gas tax reduction program, a decision officials said protects infrastructure dollars already shrinking year over year.

The council adopted a resolution at its Tuesday, July 14, meeting formally declining to request an extension of the governor's executive order, which lowered Kentucky's motor fuels tax by 10 cents per gallon beginning May 5.

"Fort Mitchell chose not to participate in Gov. Beshear's gas tax credit program because we recognized that doing so could have an adverse impact on our state road aid revenues," Mayor Greg Pohlgeers said at the meeting.

Pohlgeers noted the city's road tax revenues have declined over the past five years. Participating in the gas tax reduction would have cut further into Municipal Road Aid, the state program that distributes 7.7% of gas tax revenues to cities for road maintenance.

City Administrator Edwin King said Fort Mitchell does not yet have an estimate of how the 10-cent reduction will affect its specific municipal road aid allocation and is awaiting information from the state.

In its most recent available budget (FY 2024-2025), the city allocated over $70,000 through its Municipal Road Aid Fund for sidewalk repairs, Park Road improvements, and resurfacing engineering. The city also transferred $800,000 to its Road Tax Fund for reconstruction of Chelsea Lane and Cherrywood Drive, resurfacing of West Maple Avenue and other streets, and $2 million reserved for the new Royal Drive as part of the Fort Mitchell Gateway Development.

Statewide, municipalities stand to lose about $1.9 million in Municipal Road Aid for every 30-day period the governor's order remains in effect, according to the Kentucky League of Cities. The state Road Fund loses roughly $26.8 million per month, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Deputy Secretary Mike Hancock testified before the Interim Joint Committee on Transportation on June 2. The reduction saves the average Kentucky driver about $5 per month, according to Chad LaRue, executive director of the Kentucky Association of Highway Contractors, who testified at the same hearing.

The decline in road funding predates the governor's order. Kentucky's Municipal Road Aid program was funded at $54.3 million statewide for FY 2026-27, down 22% from the $66.2 million appropriated in FY 2025-26, according to the Kentucky League of Cities. That drop stems from falling wholesale fuel prices that reduce the state's percentage-based motor fuels tax.

Beshear extended the gas tax reduction on June 9 and gave cities until June 30 to request that the reduction continue to apply to their local road aid share. He said 37 local governments ultimately filed. Fort Mitchell was not among them.

At the June 2 legislative hearing, Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation Chairman Ken Upchurch (R-Monticello) called the gas tax reduction an "unnecessary, self-inflicted wound" and warned local officials: "If you are a county judge or mayor, do not do this because you are doing it to your own detriment."

The next Fort Mitchell city council meeting is Monday, August 17, at 6:30 p.m. at 2355 Dixie Highway.