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Luzerne County Could Be First in Area to Add $5 Vehicle Registration Fee

UPDATE: Luzerne County Council postponed voting at its meeting Tuesday night, saying it needed more time to review its options. Council’s next work sessio...

UPDATE: Luzerne County Council postponed voting at its meeting Tuesday night, saying it needed more time to review its options. Council's next work session is set for December 13.

WILKES-BARRE -- Luzerne County Council is expected to talk about possibly cutting about $2 million from the budget Tuesday night.

Also on the table is if the county should tack on an additional fee when drivers get their vehicle registrations renewed.

In most counties across the state, it cost drivers $36 every year to renew their vehicle registration fee. But now, Luzerne County council is talking about adding a $5 fee on top of that.

That money would be used to help repair county-owned roads and bridges, like Hillside Road near Dallas. It’s a crumbling county-owned road. It's among more than 150 miles of roads owned by Luzerne County.

“There are potholes. There are constant issues with these roads,” said Luzerne County manager David Pedri.

Pedri wants the county council to enact a $5 vehicle registration fee.

So far, a dozen counties statewide have adopted the fee, including  Cumberland, Fulton, Blair, Allegheny, Bucks, Westmoreland, Dauphin, Chester, Greene, Cambria, York and Montgomery Counties.

If Luzerne County Council passes it, it'd be the first in our area to do so.

“This is not something that any of us in working government are happy to do. But this is a fee that the county thinks is needed at this point,” Pedri said.

The $5 registration fee would raise about $1 million a year for Luzerne County to help repair county-owned roads and bridges.

Some people say they wouldn't mind paying the extra money.

“As long as it's being spent where they intend to spend it, and it just doesn't just disappear,” said one person.

But many people remember when the state raised the gas tax just a few years ago to fix state-owned roads. They say they cannot afford to give the government any more money and think the county needs to find that money elsewhere.

“That's outrageous, the way the economy's going,” said one driver.

Luzerne County Council needs to pass a final budget by the end of the year.

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