LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- A public meeting in central Pennsylvania will help decide if drivers in Clinton County will pay more to register their vehicles every year.
Drivers in Clinton County currently pay $37 every year to register their vehicle. The county is considering adding an extra $5 fee.
Kevin Ferrara and his wife weren't happy to hear he could soon be paying more.
"The public hasn't been told how that money will be divided between the municipalities. We haven't seen a good plan as to how this is going to work," Kevin Ferrara said.
"It's not the fact that it is $5. It's the fact that I see this as a foothold tax. This is something they can get in the door or year after year or exponentially however they like and eventually, it will become far more than $5," Michele Whitney said.
22 other counties in Pennsylvania have already approved the new fee. The commissioners plan to give the money to local municipalities to help pay for road and bridge projects.
"My concern with this $5 fee, which may or may not be matched by PennDOT, are we actually going to see anything from our investment to our local roads and bridges?" asked Whitney.
Because community members spoke up, the commissioners have decided to hold a public meeting at their office in Lock Haven.
Commissioner Pete Smeltz showed Newswatch 16 a list of municipal roads and bridges that need to be repaired in the county.
Smeltz says the list has outgrown the county's budget. The $5 fee could be a way to help pay for the projects.
"We welcome this input; indeed, there's not a problem with that. If we are going to vote on something, we want to have clarity. We want to have assurance that we are going to do the right thing," Commissioner Smeltz said.
The commissioners hope to make a decision on the vehicle registration fee soon.