VMT Fee "Inevitable", Claims Minnesota DOT Chief

MnDOT Transportation Commissioner Charles Zelle needs to fill a $12 billion gap over the next 20 years. The most common question he's asked: "Can it be done without raising fees or taxes?" He stopped by The Mankato Free Press for an interview.

2 minute read

November 30, 2013, 7:00 AM PST

By Irvin Dawid


Dan Linehan interviewed the former CEO of the bus company Jefferson Lines who was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton to head the Minnesota Department of Transportation in December. His response to the above question was, “I guess I’m here to say you need something." He went on to offer long and short term strategies.

In the long term, Zelle said it is “probably inevitable” that transportation will be funded by a system that charges each driver based on how far he or she travels.

In the shorter term, Zelle said options include relatively simple increases to the gas tax, the motor vehicle registration tax and the motor vehicle sales tax, which together account for 61 percent of the department’s income.

Correspondent's note: "The vehicle sales tax supplies about 38 percent of the money the (Metropolitan) Council needs to operate buses and trains," as noted here in 2009.

As for the "simple" increases to the gas tax, when it was last increased in 2008, it proved anything but simple. It took a legislative override of then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto that proved to have serious political repercussions for the six Republicans who supported the override. 

Professor David Levinson of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Minnesota, detailed the consequences to the "override six" in Part 4 of an eight-part bridge series, "The Fall and Rise of the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge" for Streets.MN.

The Override Six are Republicans who voted with DFL to override Gov. Pawlenty’s veto of the gas tax bill. Four of them lost their seats due to Primary challenges, while the Republicans lost two of those seats to the DFL in the 2008 General Election. This leads to the rule that voting in favor of a gas tax increase can be dangerous to your political health, if you are a Republican.

Zelle added tolling as another (unpopular) option, or "devote sales tax money to transportation," as Gov. Mark Dayton attempted to do for the Twin Cities in January.

Finally, he offered a political observation repeated here many times. When it comes to transportation, "both parties 'kind of come together on this issue'."

Monday, November 25, 2013 in The Mankato Free Press

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Bend, Oregon

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing

The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

3 hours ago - Strong Towns

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

4 hours ago - Smart Cities Dive

Green Skid Row mural satirizing city limit sign in downtown Los Angeles, California.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents

The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.

5 hours ago - Los Angeles Public Press