Lane County voters strongly rejected a proposed vehicle registration fee to fund road repairs. The vote was 66% against and 33% in support. The fee would have raised $11-million a year.
Lane County faces a $9-million deficit in its road fund. The measure would have raised $6 million for county roads and about 5 million for city roads. County spokeswoman Anne Marie Levis says the outcome is disappointing, but the message is clear.
Levis: "I think the perception in the community is our roads are in pretty good shape. And then sort of a resounding thing with people just really didn’t want to pay a fee at this point. I think we're moving out of the recession but there's still people that feel that was too much for them to pay."
Lane County is working on its budget for next year. Levis says without the fee revenue, about 18 full-time positions will be eliminated. There was a nearly 35% Lane County voter turnout in Tuesday's special election.