A Message from the Wright County Highway Department
The Wright County Board approved a 0.5 percent Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) for transportation projects in 2017 to help cover the transportation funding gap for transportation. The current LOST authorization expires at the end of December 2022. Without the revenue from the LOST, the county will face a transportation funding gap of almost $10 million per year (as identified in the 2019 Wright County Long-Range Transportation Plan).
Wright County has used LOST revenues to help fund eight highway projects since 2017. If the LOST is extended the revenue would help fund more than 30 highway projects in the future, ensuring that Wright County highways are able to handle local, commuter, business, and agricultural needs in one of the top population growth counties in the state.
The 0.5 percent tax on non-essential purchases means that a nickel for every $10 spent goes towards these important transportation projects.
The University of Minnesota Extension Office completed a study in March 2020 that determined that about 25 percent of the LOST revenue was generated from non-county residents that came to Wright County for purchases that contributed $1.7 million in revenue. The study estimated that each Wright County resident contributed about $38.73 on average in 2018 that raised $5.2 million.
Please provide your input and feedback to the County Board to let them know what you think about extending the Local Option Sales Tax for Transportation.
In-person open houses will be conducted from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12 at the South Shore Event Center (731 Sixth St.) in Howard Lake and from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27 at the Wright County Highway Building (3600 Braddock Ave. NE) outside of Buffalo.
A link for a virtual online open house will be announced Thursday, Oct. 7 and will run through Thursday, Nov. 4.