(Spirit Lake)– Another ripple effect from the September 11th terrorist attacks is hitting home. A decrease in travel means people are buying less gasoline. That translates to less gas tax money for road projects.
The money is divied out to counties through what’s known as the “Road Use Tax Fund”. For the first quarter of the current fiscal year, Dickinson county Engineer Dan Eckert says the county is projected to receive 122-thousand dollars less in funding. He says it’s still too early to tell just how that’s going to impact road projects. He’s hopeful the projection is high and the actual reduction won’t be that much.
Eckert is optimistic the decrease in Road Use Tax Funds will soon reverse. He says the lower gas prices will hopefully encourage people to hit the roads again.
