Transportation needs more funding

From Gordy Wagner, Pope County Commissioner, District 2 Chair, AMC Transportation Policy Committee

While other departments in Minnesota’s state government are seeing a large increase in funding from our record surplus, transportation is heading in the opposite direction.  The Highway Users Tax Distribution Fund (HUTDF) is the fund that provides road and bridge funding to MNDOT, counties, cities and townships.  Following COVID-19, this fund has experienced a reduction in revenue from the state gas tax and motor vehicle sales tax.

Pope County is set to receive $193,974 less in County State Aid Highway funding in 2023 than we got in 2022.  Our townships are set to receive $174,852 less.  This represents a reduction of 27.8%,

One way of remedying this would be to backfill the losses in the HUTDF with a one-time transfer from the surplus in the general fund.  Another way would be to dedicate 100% of the sales tax on auto parts to the HUTDF.  Still another way is to have County Program Aid (CPA) increased back to the level of the early 2000’s.  Unallotment and other actions by the legislature more than cut it in half and if it was restored to those previous levels, Pope County could do more for our roads and lessen the county tax levy.

We all need good roads and to refuse to adequately fund the upkeep and improvements to them is ineffective and short-sighted.