Council directs staff to draft ordinance to raise Transportation Benefit District car-tab fee to $50

Des Moines City Council voted unanimously, 6-0, to direct staff to prepare a draft ordinance that would raise the Transportation Benefit District car‑tab fee from $40 to $50. Deputy Mayor Symons moved the directive and Council member Mahoney seconded; the council approved the motion after discussion.

Tommy Owens, city engineer, told the council the TBD was established by the city council in 2008 and began collecting fees in 2009. State law changes in 2015 allowed a higher authorized fee; the city currently collects $40 per vehicle renewal and this generates about $950,000 a year in restricted transportation revenue. Staff estimated that increasing the fee by $10 (to $50) would raise roughly $240,000 annually and that the city has authority by ordinance to impose the higher fee. Owens said an additional $240,000 could fund about 1.5 full‑time equivalent street‑maintenance positions or increase annual asphalt paving volumes by about 25 percent.

Council members who spoke during debate said they understood the public frustration with new or higher fees but emphasized the connection between TBD revenue and visible road and pavement work. Several members called the TBD fee a straightforward inflationary adjustment; others cautioned that approving multiple small revenue measures piecemeal could be perceived as ‘‘nickel‑and‑diming’’ residents. Staff noted that imposition requires notice (about six months) and that revenues from a change likely would not appear until 2027.

The motion approved at this meeting directs staff to draft an ordinance for council consideration; no ordinance was adopted at this meeting and the increase will not take effect until the ordinance process, required notice and any other legal steps are complete.