On Transportation, Metro Taxpayers Give More Than They Get: Report

A new report finds that rural Minnesotans receive much more money for transportation projects than its residents pay in taxes.

Metro counties include Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington County.

A Star Tribune investigation of transportation funding found that metro and greater Minnesota taxpayers both provide about half the money for the state's roads and bridges, but rural Minnesota receives twice as much back in projects:

Even when state money for transit is factored in, greater Minnesota receives 22 percent more state transportation money than the metro, according to three years of transportation funding data.

The Star Tribune also noted the that division of state transit dollars is a crux in the broader debate among lawmakers about the Southwest light rail project and other metro public transit projects:

Greater Minnesota lawmakers are convinced that their constituents are paying for what they view as a colossal boondoggle, while metro legislators contend their constituents’ contributions should be compensated with a robust transit system to lessen traffic.

Read the Star Tribune's entire analysis here.

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