PATCH POLL: Opinions Split on Iowa Fuel Tax Hike, What Do You Think?

We spend a lot of money on gas already, and the price is expected to go up.

That's why on the surface a suggested Iowa fuel tax hike leaves a sour taste for many motorists, even if the tax is only 8 to 10 cents per gallon and will go to maintain Iowa's roads.

Iowans are split on what to do.

What do you think? Vote in the Patch Poll below and let us know in comments.

In Cedar Falls, lawmakers Sen. Jeff Danielson, a Democrat, says he is keeping an open mind to a gas tax increase because something is needed to take care of the roads, while his colleague Rep. Walt Rogers, a Republican, said increasing a gas tax now would be detrimental to the economy, but added that we need to find a way to improve our roads.

Economists, such as Iowa State University professor Dave Swenson, are backing the fuel tax. He says a 10-cent per gallon increase would cost the average family about $32 a year.

Meanwhile, opinions around the state are equally varied.

Take Bill Roads, a truck mechanic who commutes daily from Marshalltown to his job at in Ames. He says a tax is needed to maintain roads. Jill Ackerman, the president of the , said the tax would support the expanding city of Marion.

Others such as Carmella Jones, owner of in Ankeny, says a tax hike will force her to increase delivery fees, which will hurt her customers, and Rafat Alawneh, owner of #1 CAB taxi service in Iowa City, said they will hold prices so it will hurt his business.