OMEGA Chairman Jim Oppe Sends Letter to Blue Ribbon Commission

Promoting and Advancing Petroleum Marketing, Retail Grocery, and Convenience Stores in West Virginia

Driving Local Business and Community Growth Across West Virginia

Our Purpose and Commitment

OMEGA is a West Virginia-based organization dedicated to supporting and advancing the business interests of the state’s petroleum marketing, retail grocery, and convenience store industries.

As a network of over 225 locally owned businesses, OMEGA actively promotes cooperation, advocates for favorable legislation, and provides education and resources to its members. With over 50,000 employees, OMEGA members significantly contribute to the state’s economy, generating more than 10% of all state taxes and supporting local communities through scholarships, charitable donations, and civic involvement.

OMEGA is committed to fostering industry growth while serving West Virginians with essential services like fuel, food, and convenience.

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Your Essential Connection in West Virginia

OMEGA offers three types of membership: Convenience Store Members, Petroleum Marketer Members, and Grocer Members, all of which play a vital role in providing fuel, food, and essentials across West Virginia. As a liaison with state and national agencies, OMEGA works closely with organizations like NACS, PMAA, FMI, and the N.G.A. to advocate on behalf of its members.

We keep members informed through newsletters, legislative updates, an online resource hub, and educational seminars. Additional member benefits include access to the Encova Workers’ Compensation Discount Program and participation in our annual Trade Expo and fundraising efforts for children’s charities. OMEGA is here to support, advocate, and enhance the success of our industry members.

Details: Press; August 19, 2013

We do know that our highways cannot be funded by fuel taxes alone. We would like to caution you when considering an increase in the gasoline tax. As you know, West Virginia is a state where approximately 50 percent of our residents live near a border. Therefore, being competitive on those borders is important to West Virginia retailers. There are certain commodities that consumers shop price for and among those is gasoline. With the way that our price is advertised, with a large price sign in the corner of every lot, our price is highly visible, which means we are highly competitive or uncompetitive by our price alone.

We have enclosed a sheet from our brochure that outlines our border stability issue and includes the taxes on gasoline for our bordering states. Our tax on gasoline is higher than ALL of our surrounding states. Virginia just lowered their tax on gasoline and now they are 23.59 cents lower in price on taxes alone. West Virginia has no finished product pipelines for gasoline and our surrounding states do have them. Our product must be transported by truck, which gives us a competitive disadvantage on transportation too. With our smaller population, our volume of sales is lower, resulting in many stations having to increase their price to cover fixed costs. As you can see, we cannot stay in business if we are disadvantaged further.

When residents go out of state to purchase their gasoline they also purchase other products and eat out and take advantage of entertainment, so West Virginia loses sales tax on those items as well.

We appreciate your consideration to our business. We employ over 2.5 percent of the state’s population – more than 50,000 residents.
Sincerely,
Jim Oppe, OMEGA Chairman

We would like to encourage you to also send a letter to the Commission. You need to let your voice be heard. Letters can be sent to:
West Virginia Blue Ribbon Commission
C/O: Rahall Transportation Institute
P.O. Box 5425
Huntington, WV 25703

Also, if you have not taken the survey regarding highway funding, please do so today. Visit http://www.wvbrc.com/ to take the survey. Surveys must be completed prior to close of business on August 25, 2013.

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Supporting West Virginia Communities

OMEGA members play a vital role in West Virginia, supporting communities through substantial tax contributions and a wide-reaching presence across the state. With over 55% of the population living in border counties, our members are dedicated to serving both local and regional needs. Beyond business, we’re proud to give back, having contributed over $3.1 million to children’s charities since 2003, reflecting our commitment to making a positive difference.