A northern Indiana county where horse-drawn buggies are damaging local roads is seeking a solution to its persistent road repair costs.
Elkhart County Commission President Mike Yoder said Monday the county needs to study both its annual $50 buggy plate fee and its yearly costs for repairing roads left pitted by horses’ hooves and the buggies.
Yoder says if county officials opt to increase the plates fees they should coordinate that increase with adjacent LaGrange County.
Both counties have large Amish populations that use horse-drawn buggies for transportation.
The Elkhart Truth reports that Elkhart County collected more than $184,000 in buggy plate fees last year and all of that went for road repairs. The commissioners on Monday approved spending $84,000 in economic development funds to complete this year’s road repairs.
