St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter proposes 1% pothole tax
ST. PAUL, Minn. – St. Paul public works officials are calling this the worst pothole season in a generation.
Mayor Melvin Carter wants to raise taxes to try and fix the roads.
"It's just constant having to dodge these and I've been lucky to not hit any really big ones," said resident Steve Baker.
Long stretches on several major roads have suffered from potholes.
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"If you go up Dale, going down Summit, going down Grand, it's just really bad," Baker said. "Snelling by Macalester is like really bad."
Carter tweeted last week in response to a state lawmaker who blew a tire: "We really do need to fix these darn roads. Luckily, we have a #SalesTax proposal at the legislature right now to do exactly that!"
The proposed 1% increase would raise nearly a billion dollars over 20 years, according to the city.
"That's a tough one for me, man," said Mitchell Tomczyk, another resident in the city. "I guess it's worth it as long as it goes to [fixing roads]. That would be great."
Baker also says he supports the tax increase.
It still needs approval from the legislature before it can go before the voters.
Minneapolis city leaders are holding a press conference Tuesday morning to go over what they're doing to address potholes.
