Commission considers raising motor vehicle facility fee to $10 under temporary provision

At a Sept. 16 study session, Miami County Treasurer Trisha Lee and county budget staff discussed using a temporary statutory provision to raise the motor vehicle facility fee toward the $10 cap for a limited period to reduce a years‑long operational deficit.

"We run about 45,000 transactions," a staff member said, and staff presented a revenue/expense model showing estimated annual operations expenses around $769,000. The county increased the facility fee to $5 on July 1; staff said a further increase to $10 (the temporary cap established by recent legislation) would move the department closer to covering costs.

Staff explained the state now applies the facility fee to all transactions and that change increased the count of fee‑bearing transactions to about 45,000 per year. The legislation creating the temporary $10 allowance also establishes a vehicle service modernization task force and requires counties to report the impact of fee changes to that committee; the temporary provision is time‑limited and will sunset after three years.

Commissioners did not take a formal vote during the study session but asked staff to prepare draft language and analysis so the commission can consider a resolution before the Sept. 30 submission deadline. If the commission approves a fee increase, staff said any approved change would be scheduled to take effect Jan. 1 following the administrative deadlines discussed at the meeting.