GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Green Bay is considering a new way to pay for some road construction.
There’s a plan before the city council to add a wheel tax. It would be paid on top of citizens’ yearly vehicle registration.
Currently, property owners pay special assessments, to pay for road reconstruction. Those can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Under state law, a wheel tax can cost up to $20 a year.
The city looked into how much a $10 and a $20 tax would generate for the city. The findings showed a possible $1.5 million and about $3 million, respectively.
The proposal went before the city’s finance committee.
Ald. Barbara Dorff proposed it.
“I think we should all share that cost. And guess what? If you’ve had that assessment in the past and you’re thinking, ‘oh, how come, now it’s going to be different?’ Well, I believe people have a parent or child, or a best friend that then won’t have to go through that”
No one spoke against the wheel tax at the meeting.
However, critics have said it’s unfair to impose yet another tax for everyone.
They’ve also said the people paying for special assessments pay for reconstruction on the roads they own property on. So, in theory, critics say the people paying use the roads the most.
About a dozen communities in Wisconsin have wheel taxes. The City of Appleton recently instated a wheel tax to replace some special assessments.
