Formal complaint issued with Ohio Attorney General’s office
Municipal leaders in Bellefontaine are taking extra steps to help residents and those passing through the city to lower their cost of living, especially during this period of economic uncertainty.
Mayor Ben Stahler announced Wednesday his office has filed a formal complaint with the office of the Ohio Attorney General regarding unfair pricing of gasoline within the city limits.
The price-gouging grievance has been submitted to the AG’s division of consumer protection, and points out the cost of gas in the city of Bellefontaine is routinely 30 to 40 percent higher than any neighboring municipality.
“That goes for whichever direction on the compass you travel,” Stahler said.
Local government has no influence whatsoever on the cost of gas locally, and the mayor noted that his office has received inquiries regarding the disparity in gas prices between the city and nearby locations.
“Speedway, Kroger and other corporate fuel suppliers can never seem to give us a straight answer,” the mayor related. “I believe this is price gouging.”
Because the disparity in gas prices is in each direction, “the supply, demand and delivery of the product obviously is coming from the same bulk fuel distributor,” Stahler said. “I believe this deserves the attention of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.”
In addition to a formal complaint, Stahler has also reached out personally to individuals in the state AG’s office to voice his concerns, he said.
Higher citywide gas pricing is a popular topic of discussion in Logan County-area Facebook groups, with individuals frequently noting the vast difference in the price of gas at a pump in Bellefontaine, compared with a location just up the road in, say, Huntsville or Russells Point.
When common ground seems harder and harder and to come by — especially in the online discourse — the notion that there’s no reason for gasoline to be so much higher in Bellefontaine than any neighboring community is a real point of consensus.
Wednesday, gas cost around $1.40 per gallon in Bellefontaine; however, fuel was running no higher than a $1.17 in Urbana, Marysville, Kenton and Sidney. In fact, fuel costs have dropped below $1 per gallon in areas around the north side of Indian Lake.
“We believe the solution is to have fuel prices lowered in the Bellefontaine area so they’re in line with other west-central Ohio communities,” Stahler concluded.
Citizens may also file consumer practices complaints online, www.ohioprotects.org.