Highway superintendent urges wheel-tax increase to avoid future road deterioration; culvert purchase approved

Minnehaha County Highway Superintendent Jacob Morris told the County Board of Commissioners on May 6 that the county’s current road revenues are not keeping pace with rising construction and maintenance costs and recommended increasing the wheel tax to avoid a substantial decline in road condition over the next decade.

Morris said the county last raised wheel tax rates in 1995 and noted costs for road materials have climbed sharply — from about $16.15 per ton of asphalt in 1995 to roughly $67 per ton in 2025 — while revenue has only grown about 2% per year since 2015. “If we were to spend $2,000,000 a year…to maintain where we’re at today would cost approximately $4,400,000,” Morris said, summarizing his pavement management study and five-year plan projections.

The pavement study Morris presented showed the county’s pavement condition index was 75.3 in 2023 and that, under current spending, the percentage of deficient lane miles could rise from 4.5% in 2023 to about 27.9% by 2028. Morris said raising the wheel tax for all vehicles to the maximum allowed under state law would produce the largest revenue increase and help the highway fund maintain a target reserve. “With the $5 per wheel for everyone, we end up around $3,000,000,” he said, adding that the department prefers to keep roughly $3.5 million as a reserve for emergencies such as a bridge failure.

Morris also explained that Minnehaha County is unusual in South Dakota for not using general fund (property-tax) support for highway operations; the highway fund is financed primarily by user fees (license plate fees, wheel tax, gas tax). He said the county’s practice of relying on user fees helps align who pays with who uses the roads, but it also makes the highway fund sensitive to inflation in construction costs and to grant-application competitiveness: some state and federal grant scoring gives points for a $5 wheel tax. “We’ve missed out on grants in the past by less than 2 points,” Morris said.

Commissioners asked how revenue choices would affect reserves and future conditions. Morris said that without a wheel-tax increase the department would push reconstruction projects farther out, increasing deterioration and ultimately raising the replacement cost. He recommended posting the five-year plan online and holding a public meeting each fall on the pavement management plan so residents can view planned projects and condition data.

Separately, the board approved a highway purchase request. Morris asked for authorization to purchase up to $130,000 of metal culverts from the Beadle County culvert bid (True North Steel) to support township culvert replacements. The highway department will apply $50,000 budgeted annually for township culvert assistance plus FEMA reimbursements received from prior township projects (approximately $40,000 from Wellington Township and $24,000 from Clear Lake Township) to reach the requested total. A motion to approve the purchase carried on a roll-call vote.

Why it matters: The highway fund finances maintenance on roughly 3,470 miles of county roads, and doing less maintenance now will raise the long‑term cost of replacements and risk leaving the county without the reserves needed for emergency repairs.

Practical next steps: The highway department will post the five‑year pavement plan online, continue grant applications, and return with an updated pavement study next year. Commissioners indicated support for further consideration of wheel-tax adjustments but took no final tax action at the May 6 meeting.