Drive to increase Appleton's wheel tax draws mixed reactions from officials, residents

APPLETON — The city's Finance Committee hit the brakes Monday on a proposal to raise the city's wheel tax from $20 to $30.

That doesn't necessarily mean the issue won't move forward.

Though the committee voted 3-2 to deny the increase, six of the nine Common Council members who spoke on the matter expressed an interest, if not outright support, for a higher wheel tax to partially pay for the rising costs of street reconstruction projects.

"There's never going to be a good time to do this," council member Brad Firkus said, "but the longer we wait, the worse it gets."

A $10 increase won't fully cover Appleton's street reconstruction costs, but council member Denise Fenton said it could be a part of the solution.

"The big monster is still on the table," Fenton said, "but it's the old, 'How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.' I think we have to make this step."

The council will decide the matter June 5.

What do opponents of the increase say?

Council members Katie Van Zeeland, Sheri Hartzheim and Chris Croatt voted against the increase in committee.

"I don't understand why we would ask this of our taxpayers now," Van Zeeland said. "Our taxpayers are dealing with inflation. They're dealing with high home costs, costs of child care. This is not their responsibility, for us to put on them at this time."

"It's an insult to our less affluent folks in town to say, 'You can suck it up, 10 bucks more a car,' because we can't figure out some other way to fill this gap," Hartzheim said. "That's just insulting to me, and I won't stand for it for the citizens of this city."

"I think it comes down to priorities," Croatt said. "At some point we have to look at making the tough, tough decisions versus just pushing the easy button and saying, 'Let's collect more money.'"

What is a wheel tax?

A wheel tax is an annual vehicle registration fee enacted by a municipality or county to raise money to help pay for street improvements. The revenue can be used to offset property taxes or street assessments or a combination of the two.

Appleton, Chilton, Green Bay, Kaukauna, Manitowoc, New London, Oshkosh and Sheboygan all have wheel taxes. They range from $10 to $35.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation collects the wheel taxes for the municipality or county, retains an administrative fee and sends the rest to the municipality or county.

How much money does Appleton's wheel tax generate?

Appleton enacted a $20 wheel tax in 2015 to replace street reconstruction assessments that often left abutting property owners with bills totaling thousands of dollars.

The current wheel tax generates nearly $1.3 million annually. The proposed increase would generate an additional $650,000, bringing the total to $1.95 million.

The amount doesn't fully cover what Appleton spends on reconstruction projects. The balance is covered by property taxes, transportation aids and federal and state grants.

Appleton considered enacting a transportation utility fee to replace the city's wheel tax, but the legality of such a fee hasn't held up in court.

Firkus said there are no good options available to the city.

"I would call raising the wheel tax the least bad option of a lot of bad options," he said.

What are residents saying about a $10 increase?

Council member Vered Meltzer sought feedback from residents on the proposed increase.

"Overwhelmingly, my constituents said they were fine with it," Meltzer said. "The tiny handful of people who expressed that they would like me to oppose this was so small I was astonished."

Appleton resident Walter Blank told the Finance Committee that city taxpayers are hurting. He questioned wringing out another $10 for the wheel tax.

"Young families are choosing not to live in Appleton due to the high tax rate and all of the fees," Blank said.

Appleton resident Nancy Jones said state shared revenues haven't kept pace with expenses, forcing the city to seek other revenue sources.

"I am not opposed to this wheel tax increase," Jones said. "I think it makes sense."

Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DukeBehnke.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Proposed increase in Appleton's wheel tax draws mixed responses