Summit raising fee to register vehicle

COALVILLE — Summit County residents will now pay an extra $10 to register their cars — for a year.

After one year, the county's three commissioners and six mayors will meet again to review the auto fee and vote if they want to enact it for a second year.

"I don't like to raise taxes, but I think this is an opportunity for us to get money. It isn't a lot of money, but it's a start," County Commissioner Ken Woolstenhulme said. "For one year, for $10, I think it's worth a try."

A law that passed during the 2006 Legislature gave counties the option to increase motor-vehicle registration fees by $10 to preserve highway corridors and receive matching funds from the state. A council of governments with the county governing body and municipal mayors must vote on it. The Summit County Council of Government's vote Tuesday to opt in will generate about $800,000 a year for the county.

That money will most likely go toward roadwork at Kimball Junction, the gateway to Park City and economic heart of the county with the most dire traffic needs. But many mayors in the county's rural east-side feel the money will only benefit Park City and the Snyderville Basin.

"My constituents are pretty much against the tax increase. They feel there is pretty much no benefit to Coalville at all," Coalville Mayor Duane Schmidt said.

Summit's council has been meeting since April to vote on the fee, but Schmidt felt the fee was a "done deal before it started." Although the group never agreed where the money would be spent, he said Kimball Junction has been brought up at every meeting as the spending choice.

Salt Lake, Utah and Wasatch Counties have also approved the fee, which will be imposed on July 1. However, Summit will compete with the three for the $20 million matching funds.

A traffic study commissioned by Summit County said it would take 30 years and $80 million to take care of the transportation problems for the rapidly growing county.

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