Commentary; Posted: 7/12/06
Wheelage taxes a wake up call to public
By Don Heinzman
Two and maybe more county boards in the Twin Cities Metro Area have passed a $5 wheelage tax collectable next year.
They are taking this action to dramatize to the public the need for more funding to fix and build new roads and bridges.
They are frustrated because they get much less money for roads and transit than their residents contribute in gas tax and license plate dollars.
Dakota and Anoka counties have already OKíd the $5 wheelage tax, and Scott and Washington counties are considering it. The gasoline tax has been at $20 since 1988 and has not been adjusted for inflation since then.
Dakota County figures it gets back in county state aid road money one-third of what residents pay in gas tax and license fees.
For example, in 2004, county motorists paid in $25 million while the county got back $9 million.
In Anoka County, one dollar for every three dollars contributed by county residents comes back to the county.
Even though counties were authorized to pass $5 wheelage tax since 1971, theyíve been reluctant until now, hoping the Minnesota Legislature would change the way the money is distributed.
Rural legislators oppose a gas tax increase because most of their highway needs are met with current funding. (Some counties do not have one signalized intersection.)
Metro legislators, annoyed with the unequal distribution of the gas and license plate revenues, are reluctant to increase the gas tax forcing more funds outstate where the need isnít as great.
Metro area counties first tried to get the distribution formula changed. Since thatís been stalled, theyíve turned to the wheelage tax where they are assured every dime collected will come back to them.
The $5 wheelage tax, which is all the law will allow, will be collected by the state. The tax in Dakota County does not apply to boats, ATVs, trailers and motorcycles. It would, however, apply to vehicles with alternative fuels.
Why take the political risk when little money is collected from the wheelage tax?
In Anoka County it will yield $1.2 million and in Dakota County $1.5 million.
The answer is that money can be leveraged with the federal government, cities and townships to do road projects.
In Anoka County, it will be used to maintain existing roads and to signalize the most dangerous intersections, while in Dakota County it will be used to construct roads.
The action is expected to be a wake-up call to the public and legislators alike that these metro counties cannot solve the pressing problem of traffic congestion without more funds.
Dakota County has projected revenues and needs out 20 years and estimates a $600 million shortfall.
The wheelage tax is just one piece of a complicated traffic congestion problem.
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