Frequently Asked Questions
Lane County Vehicle Registration Fee on Ballot in May
In May 21 primary election, Lane County voters will decide whether Lane County should establish a county vehicle registration fee. The Board of County Commissioners decided to put the vehicle registration fee on the ballot because of significant funding cuts that threaten the ability of Lane County to keep its roads and bridges safe and well maintained.
Fee Details
If authorized by the voters, 40% of the funds will be shared with the incorporated cities throughout the county. The proposed vehicle registration fee amount is $35 per year for most vehicles and $20 per year for motorcycles and mopeds. $35 per year is equivalent to $2.92 per month. If adopted the $35 annual fee would generate approximately $11 million countywide. Approximately $6.6 million would go to the county and $4.4 million to cities based on population. The City of Eugene would receive around $2.7 million annually and Springfield would get about $1 million per year.
City of Eugene Projects
The City of Eugene would receive about 25% of the countywide vehicle registration fees collected. In terms of how these funds would be used, Oregon’s Constitution requires taxes and fees on motor vehicle fuel and use, including vehicle registration fees, to be used exclusively for construction, reconstruction, improvement, repair, maintenance and operation within the street right of way. The City could use the funding for the following kinds of projects:
- Pavement preservation projects to address Eugene’s $84 million street maintenance backlog.
- Replacement of deteriorating traffic signals to make them more durable and also make the traffic signals work better for all travel modes.
- Construction of sidewalks on the many miles of city streets that currently lack sidewalks.
- Other pedestrian and bicycle safety projects within the street right of way.
At the request of Lane County, the City of Eugene identified three specific projects that are currently unfunded, could be implemented if funding becomes available, and are in need of repair according to the City’s pavement management system:
- Amazon Parkway from 24th to approximately 29th avenues, an overlay project that would cost about $440,000 and fix about 1.4 lane miles
- Franklin (westbound) from Walnut to Agate streets, an overlay project that would cost about $430,000 and fix about 1.4 lane miles
- The City portion of NW Expressway from Maxwell to about a half mile south, a reconstruction project that would cost about $1.7 million and fix about 1.9 lane miles
More information is available on the Lane County Vehicle Registration Fee web page.