CENTRE COUNTY — Centre County’s $5 vehicle registration fee, enacted under Pennsylvania’s Act 89 of 2013, continues to play a critical role in funding much-needed local road and bridge improvements, officials said at the Commissioner’s meeting Tuesday, July 22.
Centre County Transportation Planner Richa Rimal outlined how the county’s “Fee for Local Use” (FFLU) program has helped supplement traditional road funding streams, contributing nearly $1.5 million to local transportation projects between 2018 and 2025.
That additional funding has helped close a significant gap — nearly $6.2 million — that would have existed if the county had relied solely on revenue from the Liquid Fuels Tax.
“All funds collected are returned to the county,” Rimal said. “The $5 vehicle registration fee is reinvested into the local transportation infrastructure projects.”
Under Act 89, Pennsylvania counties can add a $5 surcharge to each vehicle registration within their jurisdiction. In Centre County that fee — combined with revenue from the 1931 Liquid Fuels Tax Act and Act 13’s “At Risk Bridge” funds — feeds into the local transportation fund used exclusively for road and bridge construction, maintenance and repair.
“I’m really glad that these funds have been able to help us fund bridges that otherwise if they weren’t repaired, would have been really detrimental to the people who live in those areas to not have those bridges,” Commissioner Amber Conception stated.
“Often these projects are projects that are bigger than a municipality can take on in any one big bite all by themselves,” she continued. “Filling in this funding gap is really crucial to getting some of these projects done. They may be a once-in-a-decade kind of project for a community or municipality to fund on their own. This helps fill that gap and being able to spread the money across the county is clearly an important goal of this effort.”
Funding requests are evaluated through a priority system based on urgency and condition, safety impact, prior county investment in a given area and whether additional support is being contributed by municipalities or partner organizations.
Since the implementation of the program, 24 transportation projects have received FFLU funding support. Among them are one project in Walker Township and another in Potter Township.
These projects highlight both the geographic diversity of investment and the practical impact of the funding.
“This Fee for Local Use has built or is building two bridges in Howard and Bellefonte Borough where it’s the only way in and out of those neighborhoods,” Commissioner Mark Higgins said. “No bridge. No property value. No small businesses.”
According to the county, the current FFLU fund balance stands at approximately $2.2 million, with a portion of those funds already committed to several in-progress transportation upgrades. The County also has $862,000 remaining in unallocated funds.
As infrastructure costs continue to rise, county officials praise programs like FFLU for helping maintain the safety and efficiency of Centre County’s roadways and bridges, especially in rural municipalities where funding shortfalls are most acute.
For more information about the FFLU program or to view a full list of completed projects, residents can contact the Centre County Planning Office at 814-355-6791.
