New Fee for Local Use Fund will be used for bridge repair

2-18-26

By Lauren Royce, Editor

SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PA — An ordinance implementing an additional $5 fee on vehicle registrations for any vehicle that is registered to a Susquehanna County enacted on Feb. 11 will go to repairing the multiple bridges in disrepair throughout Susquehanna County, said Susquehanna County Commissioner Bob McNamara. Many other states have already implemented the fee, known as a Fee for Local Use Fund, McNamara said.
According to the fact sheet on PennDOT.com, nearby Lackawanna County has had the fee in place since April of 2022. The sheet, dated August 2025, shows 25 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties participate in the ordinance. Susquehanna will mark 26.

The initial announcement of the new fee caused general upset within the community, with many people taking to social media to express their dislike of a new tax.
According to section 4 of the ordinance, available to view on the susqco.com website, the ordinance and the $5 fee should take effect on May 14. The fee is enacted “as a way to alleviate the need for tax increases to cover those costs (on bridge repair) completely,” according to the ordinance.
The action taken by the commissioners is authorized under Pennsylvania Act 89 of 2013, which allows counties to establish a small annual fee dedicated exclusively to local transportation infrastructure. The fee is collected by PennDOT when a vehicle is initially registered and/or at the time a registration is renewed.
Revenue generated from the fee is restricted by state law to the construction, repair and maintenance of transportation infrastructure. The county’s transportation responsibility is limited to county-owned bridges, of which there are nearly 40 throughout the county. All roads within the county are owned and maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) or local municipalities.
Maintaining and replacing aging bridges represents a significant financial responsibility. Individual bridge projects can cost millions of dollars, such as the approximately $2.5 million bridge replacement project serving Salt Springs State Park, demonstrating the scale of long-term infrastructure investment required to maintain safe travel for residents, emergency services, businesses and visitors. On the Salt Springs Road bridge project, the county was awarded a $2 million grant Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Multimodal Transportation Fund.
County officials note that the fee helps fairly distribute the costs among registered vehicle owners who use the county bridges, rather than relying solely on property taxes to generate revenue. The county operates an approximately $40 million annual budget and employs over 200 workers who provide essential public services. Property taxes generate about $7.8 million – about 19-20% of total revenues – with the remainder funding generated from grants written and obtained by county employees, as well as through state and federal programs, many of which have remained flat-funded or experienced declining funding over the past decade.
Susquehanna County remains committed to full transparency and public accountability, providing access to commissioner meeting agendas posted on the website ahead of the meeting date, meeting minutes, meeting videos, legal advertisements and the annual county budget. For total transparency, revenue generated through the vehicle registration fee will be held in its own account, separate from the general fund. County accounts are audited at three levels: elected county auditors, independent auditors, and state auditors.
The Susquehanna County Commissioners welcome the insight and input from the residents we serve and, when appropriate within the scope of the office’s authority, are able to schedule opportunities for further discussion. For more information, residents are encouraged to review public meeting materials and budget documents available on the county website, www.susqco.com.