To the editor:
During the 2013 legislative session, we took serious steps to ensure the long-term economic vitality of our state.
Our accomplishments included a new gimmick-free state budget that eliminated a $627 million deficit, new financial aid and a two-year tuition freeze for students attending public colleges like Itasca and Hibbing Community College, job training programs to put people back to work, and historic investments in K-12 education that will help every child reach his or her full potential.
We also gave Minnesota counties more flexibility and tools when it comes to ensuring safe, sturdy, and reliable roads and bridges to benefit businesses transporting goods, workers getting to and from their jobs, and families vacationing at our hospitality and tourism industries.
Under our new state budget, counties faced an August 1 deadline to decide whether or not to collect more funding to help meet the construction, improvement, and maintenance needs of county roads and bridges using an optional $10 wheelage tax collected when Minnesotans renew their vehicle’s license tabs. With that deadline now passed, we’ve learned that Itasca County will use this new tool, while Cass and St. Louis Counties will not.
In our view, this new tool will benefit our regional economy. And it gives more control to local officials who are more in tune with the transportation needs of their counties, as opposed to imposing a one-size-fits-all system on our entire state.
Minnesotans understand that safe, sturdy, and reliable roads make for a strong economy. We think that asking those who use our roads most to chip in a little more, should local officials decide to ask them to do so, is a fair way to pay to make that possible. As we all know, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Sincerely,
Rep. Tom Anzelc (DFL—Balsam Township)
Rep. Carly Melin (DFL—Hibbing)