From the Anderson Herald-Bulletin:
Critics of reinstating the excise tax surcharge and wheel tax Monday night characterized it as burdensome and implored the Madison County Council to live within the fiscal constraints of this year’s budget.
Supporters of the fees, which are usually lumped together and simply called the wheel tax, say they’re necessary to make sure roads are adequately paved to support business and economic development, self-sufficiency and emergency services.
Public testimony on the plan went back and forth like that for a good two hours Monday as the County Council heard public testimony about the tax. A vote on the measure could come at the regular County Council meeting on May 20.
Alexandria resident Danny Hayes said low wage workers in Madison county can’t afford to pay the tax, and several people testified that large percentages of students in both Elwood and Anderson are eligible for reduced cost school lunches, which means many families already face daily financial hardships.
“People in this county making $10 an hour cannot afford this,” Hayes said.
County resident Bud Riley presented the county with a petition containing the names of 120 people who oppose reinstatement.
Riley said while collecting those names he didn’t ask people about their politics.
“I’m just here to tell you that people in this county do not want this tax,” he said.
“We’ve got to get business back in this town,” countered Micah Mitchell, who supports the wheel tax. “If we don’t take care of our infrastructure, who’s going to?”
The previous council voted to rescind the $25 surcharge and $40 wheel tax on commercial vehicles and large trailers in early April last year over the objection of local government leaders who said they depended on the taxes to pay for road paving and provide matching funds for projects that receive state and federal funding. The taxes were in effect from 2009 to 2012.
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See the full article here:
http://heraldbulletin.com/breakingnews/x6231123/Public-hearing-on-reinstating-wheel-tax-scheduled-for-tonight
