(Vehicle) Sticker Shock

Readers,

I've received many emails requesting a post/forum about the city vehicle sticker increase.  In terms of emails and posts, the most recent concerns around the city budget are: 1.  public safety.  2.  vehicle stickers  3.  library services.

The $60.00 vehicle sticker increase (the price of a city vehicle sticker will go from $75.00 to $135.00 for vehicles weighing over 4000 pounds) is especially concerning to many families who live in the 41st ward.  In this article, Susana Mendoza, the City Clerk brought up specific numbers for individuals/families who will be effected by the sticker price increase, 5995 families in the 41st ward to be exact, and here is the quote from the Tribune:

Told 5,995 vehicles in her Northwest Side ward would get hit with the higher rate, Ald. Mary O'Connor, 41st, said, "Oh, boy, that's 6,000 votes".

Concerning the sticker price increase, is the lack of evidence 4000 pound vehicles do more damage than other cars, as the mayor has asserted.  Additionally, why such a steep increase?  We know the sticker price will need to go up in the future, so why not an incremental increase?

I strongly encourage all of you who are opposed to the vehicle sticker increase, the public safety budget/ number of police officers in the 16th district, the cuts in library services and other concerns related to the city budget proposal to call or email the alderman's office.  Now is the time to let your objections be known. 

Emanuel doesn't back up sticker fee case

Emanuel doesn't back up sticker fee case
Co-author of only report cited says study taken out of context

 October 21, 2011By John Byrne and Hal Dardick
Mayor Rahm Emanuel says there is "compelling" data to support his argument that minivans and SUVs do more damage to city streets and should be hit with higher fees, but as of Thursday, his administration was unable to back up his claim.

The weight debate was a focus of a heated City Council budget hearing, where City Clerk Susana Mendoza questioned the administration's position. Mendoza, whose office administers vehicle stickers, emphasized that she wasn't looking for a fight with the mayor but wanted aldermen to ask the mayor's office, "Where's the evidence behind that?"  the data since Emanuel's budget speech last week, mayoral aides have provided only a transportation study about commercial trucks in Oregon. A co-author of that study suggested Thursday that his research was taken out of context.

"All these light passenger vehicles do very little damage," Portland State University professor Anthony Rufolo told the Tribune.
The lack of details from the mayor's office adds to questions about how he rolled out the proposed increase.
In his budget speech to the City Council, Emanuel said it is estimated that "80 percent of the damage to Chicago's streets is caused by the small share of heavy vehicles like trucks and SUVs. So we are proposing a modest increase for heavy vehicles that do most of the damage."

What Emanuel didn't say was that he was also proposing a lower weight limit for so-called heavy vehicles � a change that would move 184,000 SUVs, minivans and certain sedans into the higher class, where owners would face a $60 increase in the sticker fee to $135.
In defending the move, Emanuel said data show that cars and trucks over a 4,000-pound benchmark are damaging streets.
"If you look at the data, which is pretty compelling, the weight class should be at 4,000, not 4,500," he said.

But Rufolo said his 1999 study cited by the Emanuel administration dealt with how weight taxes changed commercial truck drivers' behavior in Oregon. He said the great majority of road damage is done by heavy trucks like 18-wheelers and buses, and that there's essentially no difference between a 4,000-pound vehicle and a 4,500-pound vehicle.
Emanuel stuck by his guns Thursday without providing any new backup.
"We have data, and it shows it, and other states have taken the same data and actually gone down to 3,500 (pounds for the heavy vehicle limit)," he said.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, drivers in New Jersey are charged $25 to register newer vehicles under 3,500 pounds and $50 for vehicles over that limit. A handful of other states follow similar standards.

Mendoza said it makes more sense to target scofflaws who don't buy the stickers.

"Let's go after the folks who are not in compliance with the law, which would basically, potentially, give us the same amount of money that we would be getting by going after folks who are in conformance with the law," she said.
But Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, said the city needs more money for road repairs.
"No one on the City Council here is interested in socking it to consumers, but I think we've always relied upon wheel tax revenue as an impact fee. If you're causing the wear and tear, you've got to pay up," he said.
"And whether we like it or not, this heavier class of vehicles � and I admit it, these are to serve families by and large � they are creating more wear and tear on our roads," Reilly said. "And we need to find some way for those people who have a greater impact on our infrastructure to pay their fair share."

And Ald. Proco "Joe" Moreno, 1st, said the mayor's plan will encourage Chicagoans to drive smaller, more ecologically friendly vehicles: "There's no debate they take up more room and cause more environmental pollution."

Other aldermen expressed reservations.

"We ask the average family to pay an extra $60 a year for a vehicle that this year was $75," said Ald. John Arena, 45th. "This budget looks at spreading the pain around, but we're not doing that in this case."
Mendoza came to the budget hearing armed with the number of registered vehicles that would be affected by Emanuel's proposal in each ward.

Told 5,995 vehicles in her Northwest Side ward would get hit with the higher rate, Ald. Mary O'Connor, 41st, said, "Oh, boy, that's 6,000 votes."