(Editor’s Note: The following article was submitted by Wright County.)

In 2017, the Wright County Board of Commissioners approved a 0.5% Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) for transportation projects 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% 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. See below for the upcoming opportunities to provide feedback.

Virtual Online Open House Link 

(Oct. 7th to Nov. 4th): WrightLOST-wsbeng.hub.arcgis.com/

In-person Open House meetings:

Tuesday, October 12th, 2021 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the South Shore Event Center; 731 6th Street; Howard Lake, MN 55349.

Wednesday, October 27th, 2021, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Highway Department Building; 3600 Braddock Ave. NE; Buffalo, MN 55313.