PAGE 3 - September 3, 2008
The Newscaster/Nature Coast News
Squawk Box
from page 1
consumers. Here’s where it gets tricky; at a margin of 7-11%, a station that pumps fewer
gallons will make very little gross income compared to a station that pumps large amounts.
The differences in prices around the area are due to a complex business system that de-
pends on volume of gas pumped, demand, and business overhead to survive.
I visited a couple of stations around the area. I talked (on condition of anonymity)
to a couple of owners and they told me to a man that theirs was a fiercely competitive
business. I was given a tutorial on cost of business; paying for the building, installing new
tanks and pumps (which can cost $50,000 dollars each or more… really? Wow.), the hired
help (including making a living for themselves), the utilities, and for the products that they
sell (gas, diesel, bread, cigarettes, etc…). One person told me that he keeps a close eye out
on his immediate competitors and follows (or leads) as he sees their prices change. One
owner said that some of the big distributors have an advantage in overhead costs due to their
size, and that they can lead the pricing in an area.
One station said sometimes his pumping income was not enough to meet his ex-
penses and he was glad he had things like cigarettes to make up the lost margin. I heard the
words ‘lost margin’ used more than once while talking to people for this column.
I asked about taxes. Taxes are the only thing an individual get their teeth into when
it comes to gas pricing. That’s because they are published. According to the Florida Legis-
lative Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, there is a $.06/gal difference between
Citrus and Levy counties, Citrus being higher. Marion County is $.01/gal cheaper than Cit-
rus, Levy still being the cheapest. If you compare between Levy and Marion County, you
could see (all else being equal) a $.05/gal difference. Some of these local taxes are op-
Pastor Eugene Reuman (right), pastor of the St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Inverness,
tional.
is shown filling a shopping cart to overflowing at the Inverness B&W Rexall store recently,
So, what did I learn? I found out that fuel station pricing is a shell game that pits
a donation to the St. Margaret's Food Pantry from owner Ken Heimann (left), a Democratic
market savvy and skill… man against man. I found out that local taxes could play a role in
candidate for Citrus County Commission, District 1. "Your generosity will help feed many
the differences between prices in our area. Lastly, I found a lot of nice folks just trying to
of our needy, here in Citrus County," said Pastor Reuman. "Through the efforts of citizens
make a living in a world of pricing that they only have a very small part of. “Fuel Station
such as yourself, St. Margaret's has distributed in excess of 10,698 pounds of food to some
Owner” is NOT on my list of things I want to do.
477 families in need since January 1."
Lastly, because of the myriad or checks and balances infused into this business, an
individual operator that charges more than the market can bear, is likely to fail. People, like
Important Toll Free Numbers
our friend who brought up the subject in the first place, are likely to just drive to the next
Citrus Cty Govt. Citrus Springs & Dunnellon 489-2120
station that charges less per gallon for fuel. I can understand that, I drove 4000 miles home
Levy Cty Govt. 800-733-5389 Levy Cty Sheriff 800-538-9767
from the U.K. for that same privilege.
FHP Brooksville 800-500-1240 FHP Gainesville 800-395-8248
Citrus County Administrator to
The Newscaster 352-447-4588
GRAND OPENING
host budget clinic
A N  ue Salon
Citrus County Administrator Anthony Schembri and his Office of Management
and Budget will be hosting a informational clinic for the public on the Board of County
Commission’s budget on Friday, Sept. 5, with a presentation in the morning and afternoon.
The clinic will be held in the County Commission chambers in the Courthouse in
Inverness. The morning presentation will begin at 9 a.m. and the afternoon presentation will
begin at 1 p.m.
The purpose of the clinic will be to give property owners a better understanding of
1916 N.W. Hwy. 19 ? Crystal River, Florida
the various elements of the County’s total budget and, in particular, the Board of County
Commissioners’ part of it in relation to property taxes levied.
Across from Crystal River Mall
Office of Management and Budget Director Cathy Taylor will make presentations
at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. that will describe the basic elements and principles of the budget, and
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