After much public discussion, little has been said recently of removing the cap on gasoline sales tax within Auburn city limits.

The city council has been mum for almost a month on a proposal to do just that. The topic is not on the agenda for Thursday's meeting, and some officials are saying that the idea has likely lost support among the council.

City Manager Mark Palesh said Tuesday that the council has not requested since a July 17 work session to have the item placed on an agenda for a vote. The resolution needs three votes to pass. If a resolution does not have those votes, he will keep it off of the agenda, Palesh said.

“It's going to take three votes to put it back on the agenda,” he said. “Right now, we're still considering it.”

The city currently stops collecting sales tax on each gallon of gasoline at $2. However, the city proposed to revoke the cap in February after the Cayuga County Legislature removed a similar gas tax cap within the county.

City officials said at the time that the move could lower property taxes without removing funds from the budget.

Councilors unanimously defeated the proposal at the time but asked to revisit the issue within three months.

Two council work sessions and a public hearing were held in July on the topic. At one session, Comptroller Lisa Green distributed an analysis estimating that the city would earn an extra $300,000 in revenue. With the added money, a typical $85,000 home will see a savings of $31 a year in property taxes, according to the analysis.

Councilor Thomas McNabb, who has been against the proposal from the start, said Tuesday that he is not completely sure why the item hasn't come to the council floor for a vote. His assumption would be that the item has lost the support it needs, McNabb said.

“Some people can save a little face if it is not on there,” he said.

Councilor Matthew Smith has also opposed removing the cap, and he agreed that the votes are probably not there to pass the item. Some members of council probably realized the proposal is not very popular with local residents, he said.

However, Smith would not be surprised to see it come up again, he added.

“I hope it never gets brought up again, but government is always looking for new ways to get money,” Smith said.

If you go

What: Auburn City Council business meeting

When: 4 p.m. Thursday

Where: Memorial City Hall, 24 South St.

On the agenda: Two financial resolutions involving the city opening money market and certificate of deposit accounts and one resolution for sale of land