By Tom Grace
Cooperstown News Bureau
If you expect to travel out of the country, you should consider buying a passport as soon as possible, Otsego County Clerk Kathy Sinnott-Gardner said.
``The price is going up, and not just a little bit,'' she said Thursday.
This month, a passport for an adult costs $100, with $75 going to the United States Department of State and $25 to the processing agency, which might be a county clerk, city clerk or U.S. post office.
On Feb. 9, however, the state department proposed raising rates and began a 30-day comment period.
After comments are tabulated, new rates are likely to take effect, raising the cost of an adult passport by $35 to $135 next month, Sinnott-Gardner said.
``I could understand a small increase, but $35?'' she said, adding that all of the funds taken in by the increase will go to the federal government.
The cost of passports for those under age 16 will rise from $85 to $105.
For people whose foreign visits are limited to Canada and Mexico and who are not traveling by airplane, the state department offers passport cards. For adults, the cards' price will rise from $45 to $55, and for children, it will go from $40 to $45.
In the Federal Register, the state department justifies the increase by noting that passports cost more to issue than the government receives in its fees.
Sinnott-Gardner said she doesn't know what it costs to issue a passport, but she noted that the fee paid to processing agencies has been cut from $30 to $25 in recent years, though more staff time is required and postal costs have risen.
When Oneonta City Clerk James Koury first heard the proposed new fees, he said: ``I was shocked. I could see $10 or even $20 more, but I was shocked when I saw $35.''
Koury and Sinnott-Gardner said they're likely to hear comments from customers upset at the rising cost of visiting aboard.
Sinnott-Gardner noted the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles offers an enhanced driver's license, which allows motorists to cross the Canadian border without a passport or passport card.
At $30, the enhanced driver's license (EDL) or enhanced non-driver photo ID card may the least expensive way to cross the border.
``When people come in for passport cards, we'll mention the EDLs, too,'' she said. ``It might save them some money.''
