From the Muncie Star-Press:
Four years after a wheel tax was enacted in Delaware County, it seems incredulous that it still causes debate.
By a 4-3 vote, the measure was renewed Tuesday by the Delaware County Council. The three Republicans sitting on that body voted against it. The tax will have a final vote next month.
Nobody likes to pay taxes, especially one that is collected when buying already expensive license plates for cars and trucks, but at just $25 a year for a car, this fee is reasonable and affordable. It’s the only source of revenue restricted to buying asphalt and other materials for road repair and construction.
Last year, Muncie and the county each received roughly $1 million. The tax helped pave about 32 miles of road in the county, and 30 miles in the city. It’s helped fill the gap as local road and street funds, generated by a tax on gasoline, have fallen over the years.
There’s also another compelling reason to have a wheel tax: The state is strongly encouraging counties to enact one if they want to share in state money for transportation projects. All East Central Indiana counties except Blackford have a wheel tax.
A budget bill now being debated in the Statehouse aims to move funding for the state police and Bureau of Motor Vehicles to the general fund, thus freeing up excise tax dollars for transportation projects.
...
With several hundred miles of paved roads in the county and Muncie, it could be decades between pavings for any given street or road. Infrastructure that is falling apart does not serve our economic interests, and it also poses a safety issue to motorists.
We can think of no valid reason to vote against a wheel tax, especially when the state will force the issue. Council members can insert language to “sunset” the tax, but realistically, there’s little chance this fee will go away anytime soon. And if it does, then our leaders will need to explain to the public where paving dollars will come from.
And that could prove to be an interesting conversation.
http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013304250043
