November 1, 2017 at 12:09 p.m.
GUEST COLUMN: Where have all the vehicle registration fee dollars gone?
By by Craig Hardy-
In 2003, the funds were awarded to the county for an improvement project but at the program's sunset date six years later (in 2009), the department was not able to utilize the funding due in part to a lack of matching funds. The $350,000 dollars was returned to the region to be redistributed to another local county which could come up with the minimum matching dollars of $350,00, which went to Columbia County.
In November of 2014, the Iowa County Board of Supervisors adopted a $20/vehicle registration fee tax in compliance with state statute 341.35 authority. The decision was based upon a backlog of projects requiring improvement and repairs beyond general maintenance dollars.
Cost share matching funds were available to assist with funding the projects, but the county needed a source of funds for the cost share portion. Adoption of a vehicle registration fee was estimated to generate $430,000 on an annual basis. This funding was to be leveraged by the highway department against other state-federal funding to complete improvements to five bridge projects on County Highway E, HK, G, Y and HH, along with three road projects on County Highway E, K and QQ. The estimated total costs for those projects was $6.1 million.
In 2015, the first project was undertaken with vehicle registration fee dollars on County Highway QQ between State Highway 39 in Mineral Point Township. This project was an asphalt pulverization and pavement replacement project completed at a cost of $747,000 for just under three miles.
In 2016, the department completed work located on County Highway E in Mifflin Township, a bridge and roadway improvement project and on County Highway HK in Moscow Township and a bridge replacement project. The costs for the County Highway E bridge replacement and 0.3 miles of County Highway E approaching Mifflin were $1.8 million. The costs for the County Highway HK bridge replacement were $585,000. In total, since adoption of the vehicle registration fee for projects completed in 2015 and 2016, the department has funded $3.132 million in road and bridge improvements. The vehicle registration fees have accounted for $824,000 (26%) of the funding. Nearly two million (61%) of state and federal cost share dollars have been utilized. And, the balance of $400,000 (12.8%) has been funded through annual highway appropriations and the highway fund balance.
For every dollar of vehicle registration fee dollars utilized, the department has leveraged another three dollars from other cost share sources to complete the projects.
On October 2 of this year, the Iowa County Highway Department undertook its fourth project utilizing vehicle registration fee funds. Due to the overall costs of the County Highway K pavement resurface project between Mounds Park Road and State Highway 14, the department had initially intended to perform the project over two years in 2016 and 2017. The south phase of the project from Mounds Park to Knight Hollow Road was estimated at $1.2 million. The north portion to State Highway 14 was estimated at $575,000.
Due to some additional authorized borrowing by the County Board, the project will be completed wholly in 2017. The project consists of an asphalt pulverization process, spot culvert replacements and placement of a new four-inch asphalt pavement surface. Due to contractor scheduling and other department projects, the work began around October 2 of this year. Asphalt paving is currently occurring, with shouldering and pavement markings the road is anticipated to be completed by November 17.
The overall project carries a cost of $1.7 million for just under six miles of improvements. Of this, $415,000 will be vehicle registration fee funds, $309,000 of county supported shortterm borrowing, $463,000 in state Local Road Improvement dollars and the balance, $513,000, of annual highway appropriations.
In all, since adoption in 2014, the vehicle registration fee has collected $1.2 million, which has helped to fund $4.83 million in road and bridge improvements by providing local cost share dollars. Without the vehicle registration fees, the Highway Department would not have been able to complete this projects or fully utilize the other funding sources available. Over the next four years, the department has the following improvement projects planned: pavement replacement for County Highway E in the Town of Mifflin, bridge replacement and 0.3 miles of approaches for County Highway G in Mifflin Township, bridge replacement for County Highway Y in Mineral Point Township, bridge replacement for County Highway HH in Arena Township, bridge replacement for County Highway H in Arena Township and phase one of three phases of pavement replacement on County Highway F in Moscow Township. The costs for these projects are estimated at $4.9 million; of this amount, $1.66 million is estimated as vehicle registration fee funds, $2.95 million is estimated as state-federal cost share funding and the balance of $294,000 of annual highway appropriations or fund balance. Source of projects and funding is the Iowa County Long Range Capital Plan dated 2014-2020, and is updated on an annual basis.
