The Butler County commissioners unanimously voted during a meeting on Wednesday morning to implement a $5 vehicle tax that they say will bring thousands of dollars into our county to fix our roads and bridges.
Commissioner Leslie Osche says the board has been hearing from constituents for years that transportation issues are one of the county’s biggest problems.
“As we traveled around all the municipalities when we first took office, we learned that everyone was struggling with transportation issues– getting roads paved, fixed, expanded…and also they were struggling with their bridges,” Osche said in an interview on Monday.
The $5 fee itself will be added to residents’ vehicle registrations. You now have an option to renew your registration for two years at a time, and you’d only have to pay the $5 fee once (so it’s essentially $2.50/year).
The big project that could get done with these extra funds would be the Route 228 project in southern Butler County, but Commissioner Kim Geyer says that’s not all.
“It’s not all about Rt. 228,” Geyer said Monday. “Upon the inception of the $5 fee, the county will immediately be able to address three bridges– two in Clearfield Township and one in Oakland Township– as well as road improvements (including resurfacing and widening) in 8-11 different municipalities.”
Commissioner Kevin Boozel says there are several safeguards surrounding the fee, including the exemption of those who are retired and bring in less than $19,200 per year.
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Despite somewhat of a public outcry surrounding the $5 vehicle fee, no one showed up at Wednesday’s Butler County commissioners meeting to speak against the move.
The commissioners said they were somewhat surprised, but also said it could be because they already spoke with numerous county residents over the phone or in-person leading up to the vote. All three of the commissioners also appeared on WISR’s ‘It’s Your Turn’ talk show on Monday to explain the fee.
Board chairman Commissioner Leslie Osche said she appreciated hearing from county residents about their individual concerns, which was echoed by commissioners Kim Geyer and Kevin Boozel.
“We have enjoyed and appreciated the conversations,” Osche said Wednesday. “We learned a lot.”
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The $5 vehicle fee will allow the county to address several road and bridge projects immediately, but the Butler County commissioners say it could also open the county up to a substantial federal grant.
The $25 million BUILD Grant, or Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development, was created under the Trump administration. Applications for the grant are due Thursday.
The commissioners said they were told by federal officials that their grant application would look more desirable if they showed all other local revenue streams for transportation had been exhausted, which they say the implementation of the $5 fee does.
“It shows we have ‘skin in the game’,” Commissioner Kim Geyer said at a meeting last week.
The board hopes to learn if they were chosen in December.
Commissioner Kim Geyer said she received several letters from local businesses, school districts, townships and trucking companies in the last week voicing their support for the $5 fee and potential grant, specifically because it could address the transportation problems on Route 228 in southern Butler County.
“The companies that use the Rt. 228 corridor on a daily basis are excited about the potential for all of this federal funding,” Geyer said Wednesday. “They are wholeheartedly lending their support.”
The commissioners said their letters will be included with the county’s BUILD grant application.
According to the board, more than 11,600 businesses along the Route 228 corridor- stretching from Cranberry Township (at the Interstate 79 interchange) onto Route 228 east the whole way to Route 356 and into Freeport and onto the Allegheny River- which move $27 billion in goods and commodities annually.
“On that road alone,” Osche said. “That’s a huge impact.”
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