Sun Commercial Reports Differing Views on Wheel Tax in Knox County

From the Vincennes Sun-Commercial:

Mixed emotions are surfacing over a possible wheel tax that could bring in more than $1 million for road and street repairs throughout the county.

“If we were to pass this, it would be money for the city and the county, and it would have to be used for road projects, that’s the only thing it can be used for,” said commissioner Larry Holscher. “Some people worry the small towns aren’t getting enough, but a lot of those roads are actually the county’s responsibility.

“They may not realize that, because no one has fixed some of them in 30 or 40 years, but we think it’s time for a change,” he went on. “It’s obvious everyone around here is short on funds, or else they’d be out doing projects right now.”

Not everyone is as sold on the tax and its benefits.

“I know some towns around the county could really find it beneficial, but I’m just not sure we need it,” said Bruceville council president Tim Murphy. “For years all of these farmers around here haven’t had to pay taxes on their equipment and now they’d be faced with paying an excise for being on the road.

“I just am not sure if I see the advantage to that, in relation to what we’re going to be getting back,” he added. “I’m still really just learning about it, though, and I’m trying to figure out what it’s all going to consist of, I’m not sure if anyone really understands that, yet.”

The county commissioners are considering any and all ways to possibly increase the money available to repair and maintain the nearly 900 miles of roads and more than 200 bridges under their charge.

“It costs us $80,000 per mile to put a road in that will last an average of 15 to 20 years,” said highway superintendent Ron Cardinal. “And we get around $280,000 from the state right now, so that’s pretty simple math — we’re looking at three miles of road a year, and we’re just not keeping up with what the county needs.”

The new state budget shifted money to go to local governments for road repairs; the county is expected to get around $730,000.
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http://suncommercial.com/articles/2013/06/08/news/local_news/doc51b3debabea49256838979.txt