Beginning in 2009, Des Moines residents will be paying an additional $20 vehicle license fee on every vehicle they own.

This was done as another budget balancing strategy by the Des Moines City Council, which is still struggling to fill a more than $350,000 budget gap.

The fee will raise an estimated $467,920 for general road maintenance and repairs.

The state Department of Licensing requires six months notice before the city can begin collecting the fee. The amount collected could be as little as half the estimated amount, depending on how license renewals are spread out through the year.

Councilman Scott Thomasson opposed the ordinance.

"I don't think we have done enough serious looking into cutting the budget and we were too eager to go out and raise fees and taxes," Thomasson said.

Mayor Pro-Tem Dan Sherman agreed.

"We have a .5 percent increase in sales tax that was just voted on, the city just raised its swim rates and then threw a utility tax on top of that," Sherman said. "Anyone who has been saving has seen a reduction in the value of their savings. This is not a time to put more taxes on to cure our problem."

Councilman Ed Pina supported the ordinance, saying that he would be against any more taxes, but that this is a reasonable one.

Councilwoman Susan White added, "I don't think it is asking too much, I really don't."

The motion passed 4-3, with Thomasson, Sherman and Dave Kaplan voting against.

The council also voted to demolish the currently unused restaurant at the marina. It would cost between $250,000 and $300,000 to repair it.

It will cost about $11,000 to tear it down, lawmakers were told.

The owners defaulted on their lease, Thomasson said. The city couldn't lease it until repairs were done, which is cost prohibitive.

"There are opportunities for a restaurant there," said White. "This is not because we don't have the vision to develop down there, because we do."