While increasing taxes - even dedicated user taxes - can be controversial, he understood the importance of this legislation for helping farmers get their crops to market and making everyone's trip on our highways a safer one.
For our part of the state, the transportation funding bill will mean real money for counties and cities. McLeod County will see an increase in state highway dollars of $10.7 million in the next 10 years. For Meeker County, the increase is $6.9 million, and for Wright County the increase will be $27 million.
The city of Litchfield also will receive an additional $839,000 over the next 10 years for municipal roadway repair, and the city of Hutchinson will receive $1.7 million.
MnDOT also will have more money to repair state highways and bridges in our area. The additional funding that will be coming from state transportation user fees will reduce the pressure to raise local property taxes, which have been going up to fund needed transportation work.
The cost to the average driver for the increase in the gas tax will be about $55 a year, or about 14 cents per day. The cost will be partially offset for low-income individuals through a $25 tax credit.
If you keep the cars you own today, you will see no increase in license tab fees. Only people who purchase a vehicle that was not previously registered in Minnesota will see an increase in tab fees. Those are the only two increases in fees for residents in Greater Minnesota.
The letter was written by Grant Knudson, a McLeod County Commissioner.
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