Minnesota Transportation Funding Redistribution (2009-2014): Who Contributes More, Who Receives More?

Abstract

The focus of this analysis is the redistribution of transportation funding across Minnesota. Transportation funding comes from all levels of government – the federal government, the state government, and local governments that include counties, cities, and townships. Transportation funding that are directly generated by local taxes and fees are used in corresponding local jurisdictions. Federal or state transportation funding – generated through a variety of federal or state revenue sources – are also contributed by people in local jurisdictions, but these revenues are allocated through certain budgetary procedures and may or may not be used in the original point of collection. Hence are the questions of transportation funding redistribution: What are the areas that contribute more to transportation funding? What are those that receive more? What are the areas that contribute more than they receive, or verse versa? Those are empirical questions to be answered in this report, for the purpose to facilitate informed decision making.