County Accused of Double Dipping with $5 Registration Fee

 Submitted by: Mark Rabo

Once again the Luzerne County Manager is trying to impose a $5 registration fee on the county taxpayers to pay for the county roads and bridges. This fee was rightfully defeated last year because the taxpayers are already paying for county roads and bridges through their county taxes and the other fees in the Act 83 Transportation Law that was passed in 2013 raising everything from the state registration fees, tolls, and the most overbearing of all the damn gasoline tax which PA has the highest in the country. I have told the County Manager and the County Council that they should demand the state appropriate Luzerne County their share for the county roads and bridges as most of them are off of state roads. The other problem with this $5 fee is that PennDOT charges an administrative cost for collecting the fee for the county. As a result the county will receive LESS than the $5. I have suggested over the past 2 years for the County to pursue federal grants to get our share of money for the repairs for our county roads and bridges but our county officials would rather play go along to get along with their masters in the state as political slaves who do as they’re told. 

Make no mistake about it, the taxpayers are just sheep to be fleeced from because for decades the taxpayers are expected to just shut up and pay whatever is charged by their elected officials with out questioning their reasons or complaints about their wrongdoing. Charging more for something that is already priced in for what you’re currently paying for is overcharging. Having a fee on top of a tax for a service you’re being provided is called double dipping which what the registration fee is in this case. I ask my fellow taxpayers to email the County Council and County Manager to say NO to establishing this fee.

County Council Members email: LCCM@luzernecounty.org
County Manager Pedri: County.Manager@luzernecounty.org