STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU) — Portage County highway and finance leaders took time Monday for a public hearing regarding a proposed wheel tax which will be voted on by Supervisors next Tuesday.
Nathan Check, the county’s Highway Commissioner, said his department is currently running a $3 million budget shortfall, and they are starting to run out of options to close that gap beside cutting services. “Primarily the cuts we would look at are our winter maintenance [or] the level of service we provide during winter storm events. The other major cuts would come from our pavement improvement projects,” he said when asked about what cuts could be made if Supervisors vote the tax down.
The proposed $25 fee would be added on to all vehicle registration notices sent to residents who store their vehicles in Portage County. Despite the name, the tax is actually charged per-vehicle, not per-wheel, and applies to most passenger vehicle such as cars and pickups along with motorhomes under 8,000 pounds. Busses, motorcycles, mopeds, trailers, and larger motorhomes are exempt. The money is collected by the state, which keeps 17 cents of every payment collected as a processing fee, then sends the rest of the money to the county.
Money from the wheel tax would be used exclusively on county highway projects. No city or state/interstate projects would benefit from the money.
Check says the fee would amount to about $1.4 million annually for the county, which makes up for about half of that shortfall. The rest would come from either borrowing or cuts made in the budget. As it stands, the ordinance does have a five-year sunset clause in it, but Check says that can be amended at any time. He did leave open the possibility that the tax could be canceled early if the county receives additional funding from the state under new Governor Tony Evers, such as in the form of a gas tax.
Many at Monday’s meeting expressed concern about how the $25 per vehicle fee would affect them, one man said it could cost his family as much as $125 annually for five vehicles. Check said that’s why the county didn’t go for a $50 fee which could cancel out the current shortfall completely, and if approved it’s up to his staff to be responsible with the money. “Any time you look at imposing a new fee or tax there will be a public concern, it’s our job to prove that money is going to a cost-effective operation and a service that’s needed by the traveling public.”
If approved Portage County would become the 9th Wisconsin county to add a wheel tax to vehicle registration fees. That list includes Dane County which added a $28 last month, and Marathon County which has a $25 fee. Others range from $10 in Chippewa and St. Croix Counties to $30 in Milwaukee. Additionally, nearly 20 villages, cities, and towns have added their own fees ranging from $10-$20. That list includes Milwaukee, Janesville, Beloit, Appleton, and Platteville.
