Fees increase to fix roads

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If you’re looking to purchase a vehicle next year, you may want to bring extra money when getting it registered. Starting Jan. 1, registration fees will increase on pickups and special trucks that are newly purchased or have a change in ownership or tonnage. Trucks under 3 tons and less than seven years old will see an $85 jump to $150 per year. “People who purchase new trucks are going to be hit the most,” said Union County Treasurer Kelly Busch. How it works The same descending fee system will still be in place, but now payments will not start dropping until year eight. It will be year 12, instead of nine, before truck owners start paying the minimum fee. “The fact of the matter is that trucks do more damage to the roads because they weigh more,” said Nathan Bonnett, assistant legislative council for the Iowa State Association of Counties. “It’s equitable because they are also more expensive.” This will be the first increase in truck registration fees since 1988. “Today pickup trucks aren’t as much for farming or business use,” said Dena Gray-Fisher, director of media and marketing services for the Iowa Department of Transportation. “There has been an evolution over time of how pickups are being used. The registration price didn’t keep up with inflation; that’s for sure.” Automobile and multipurpose-vehicle owners will see the same system changes as truck owners. Increases will also be seen in trailer registration, title and salvage title fees. Currently owned vehicles will not see any fee increases. “People think that their fees are going up,” said Busch. “You won’t pay an increase on a vehicle that you own now. You just may not see a decrease.” Rough roads These changes are part of Transportation Investment Moves the Economy in the 21st Century (Time21) legislation. Time21 has a goal of raising $200 million annually over the next 20 years for road repair and maintenance in Iowa. “We definitely need extra funding to maintain and build our roads,” Bonnett said. According to the Reason Foundation’s “16th Annual Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems,” Iowa has the 48th worst urban interstate pavement conditions, 35th worst rural interstate pavement conditions, 45th worst primary highway conditions and 33rd worst percentage of bridges that are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete in the nation. “We have close to 50 bridges here that need replaced in the next five to 10 years, but keep getting pushed back because of a lack of money,” said Mike King, Union County Board of Supervisors Chairman. Splitting the funds Money from the Time21 fund will be distributed three ways; 60 percent goes to the Iowa Department of Transportation for use on the interstate and main roadways, 20 percent goes to the cities for the municipal street system and 20 percent is received by the counties to be used on secondary roads and the farm-to-market system. Gray-Fisher said the state money will be “somewhat prescriptive.” “It will be used for priority needs.” County and city officials can select projects to put money toward. City funding will be on a per-capita basis. Gray-Fisher expects the amount of available money to be lower than projected. “It’s going to take a few years to ramp up,” she said. “In five years, I would expect this to bring in around $160 million.” Running short In rough economic times everyone understands the need to find alternate ways to fund projects. “We worked with the Farm Bureau, cities, Iowa Department of Transportation and auto dealers,” Bonnett said. “There was no opposition to this from any of the major players.” King agrees that current road funds are just not enough. “Nobody likes fees to go up, but there isn’t enough money to keep the roads up to the level that the public expects,” said King. “The money we get from a person’s property taxes doesn’t even pay for the rock that runs in front of their house.” Inflation, oil and fuel prices, labor costs and a lack of fuel and automobile sales have reduced funding for Iowa’s roadways. “This is one step, but it doesn’t reach our goal,” Gray-Fisher said. “They need to come back and look at some other alternatives.” Bonnett said he is going to lobby for an increase in the fuel tax next year. “Everyone wants that fire truck or ambulance to come down that road, or the school bus to come get Johnny and Susie, but it all takes money,” King said. —————— Tyler Ellyson can be reached at (641) 782-2141 ext. 236 or tellyson@crestonnews.com