DC Board approves “sunset” provision on proposed wheel tax
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — On a vote of 15 “yes” to 12 “no,” the Dunn County Board has approved an amendment for a sunset provision on the proposed ordinance establishing a $20 annual county vehicle registration fee.
The Dunn County Board considered the proposed ordinance for a first reading at the October 16 meeting and will vote on whether to adopt the vehicle registration fee at the November 12 meeting.
The $20 annual vehicle registration fee, also commonly known as a “wheel tax,” is expected to generate $726,000 in revenue annually and would include vehicles under 8,000 pounds, such as passenger cars, vans, SUVs and pickup trucks.
Vehicle registration fees can only be used for transportation-related purposes.
Gary Seipel, county board supervisor from Eau Galle and chair of the highway committee, noted that state law requires a farm license plate exemption for vehicle registration fees.
As a farmer himself, Seipel said he does not agree with the mandatory exemption for farm vehicles.
Pulling a gravity box loaded with tons of corn will do more damage to the roads than the vehicles included in the registration fee, he said.
“I do not agree, and we should pay it,” Seipel said.
The recommendation for a vehicle registration fee was a tough decision by the highway committee, he said.
The reason for the recommendation is the state-imposed levy limits, Seipel said.
Roads in Wisconsin — and Dunn County is no exception — “are suffering from decreased transportation aids from the state,” he said.
Dunn County has experienced “significant increases” in the winter maintenance expenditures, and winter maintenance last year cost $900,000 more than had been included in the budget, Seipel said.
“Hot mix” to pave the roads costs more, and prices for equipment and salt to keep the ice off the roads also has increased, he said.
“We need to keep up the county roads so they are not a danger,” Seipel said.
An alternative to implementing a vehicle registration fee would be to reduce services and not plow snow and to reduce the number of employees, he said.
The vehicle registration fee is the best option for the county’s highway budget, and that’s why the highway committee is recommending the registration fee, Seipel said.
Sunset
The original version of the proposed ordinance stated, “this section may be reviewed annually to determine whether the registration fee should be adjusted, terminated or subject to a sunset provision.”
James Anderson, county board supervisor from Menomonie, said he supported the proposed ordinance but that he believed a sunset provision of one year should be included.
Mike Kneer, county board supervisor from Menomonie, agreed the ordinance should have a sunset provision.
The proposed ordinance states that it “may be” reviewed annually, meaning that the county board is not required to review the ordinance annually, which means that the vehicle registration fee is actually “a permanent thing,” Kneer said.
Kneer suggested a sunset provision that would repeal the vehicle registration fee after two years unless the county board votes to extend it.
“I want to have to vote on this in two years … I would have more faith if we have to vote instead of just to ‘review,’” Kneer said.
Kneer also suggested that the ordinance be amended to include the provision that the highway committee, by July 31, 2022, must review the vehicle registration fee and make a recommendation to the county board whether to adjust the fee, either up or down, or to remove the fee all together.
Gary Stene, county board supervisor from Colfax, said the section pertaining to review should be removed all together.
The county board can revisit the vehicle registration fee “any time,” he said.
Impact
Nick Lange, Dunn County Corporation Counsel, pointed out that it is desirable for the county board to know the impact of the vehicle registration fee.
A sunset provision would set a time for review and also would give the county two full years of experience with collecting the registration fee, he said.
Including a sunset provision would mean that unless the Dunn County Board acts to extend the vehicle registration fee, it would automatically expire December 31, 2022, Lange said.
Dunn County is required to give 90 days of advanced notice about a vehicle registration fee to the state Department of Motor Vehicles, he said.
No end
Larry Bjork, county board supervisor from Menomonie, said he objected to the idea of the registration fee.
The City of Madison has a $40 wheel tax on top of a Dane County tax of $28 or $30, he said.
“Sooner or later, government has to live within its means,” Bjork said, acknowledging, however, that the state has failed to provide enough funding for transportation.
The registration fee will start out at $20, and then maybe another $20 or another $10 will be added — “there is no end to it,” he said.
The state must provide more support to the counties, Bjork said.
No sunset
Seipel pointed out the highway committee had discussed the idea of a sunset provision “at length” and had also considered whether to include “shall be reviewed” as opposed to “may be reviewed.”
A sunset provision and “shall be reviewed” will “tie our hands on a review,” he said.
Considering how the state has underfunded transportation, Dunn County needs the additional revenue for more than two or three years, Seipel said.
The county highway department has been “trying to hold the line on spending,” he said.
“I do not like the two or three year sunset. I have no doubt it will be reviewed. We should not tie our hands,” Seipel said.
Kelly McCullough, county board supervisor from Menomonie, said he was opposed to a sunset provision as well.
The county will need four or five years to “catch up” on road maintenance, and sunsetting the vehicle registration fee in two or three years “will not do it,” he said.
Amendment
Jim Zons, county board supervisor from Colfax, wondered if an amendment could be approved at a first reading or whether the ordinance would have to be amended at the second reading.
The Dunn County Board’s rules do not specify when the ordinance must be amended, Lange said.
As the county’s corporation counsel, Lange recommended voting on the amendment at the October 16 meeting and noted that the ordinance could also be amended again at the second reading when the county board votes whether to adopt the vehicle registration ordinance.
The county board “should do a roll call vote when we are going to tax people,” Larry Bjork said.
Vote
The amendment to automatically repeal the $20 vehicle registration fee on December 31, 2022, unless the Dunn County Board extends the ordinance, with the provision that the highway committee review the vehicle registration fee by July 31, 2022, to make a recommendation on whether to extend the ordinance, remove the sunset provision or adjust the fee, was approved by the Dunn County Board on a vote of “15” yes to 12 “no.”
Those who voted in favor of the amendment included Gary Bjork (Colfax); Vaughn Hedlund (Boyceville); Kneer (Menomonie); Donald Kuether (Menomonie); Tim Lienau (Menomonie); Theresa Lyell (Menomonie); Charles Maves (Boyceville); Diane Morehouse (Menomonie); Tom Quinn (Downing); Michael Rogers (Menomonie); Sheila Stori (Menomonie); Robin Sweeny (Menomonie); Jim Zons (Colfax); David Bartlett (chair; Boyceville); and Anderson (Menomonie).
Those who voted against the amendment included Larry Bjork (Menomonie); John Rocco Calabrese (Menomonie); Elton Christopherson (Elk Mound); Dale Harschlip (Mondovi); Brian Johnson (Colfax); Sarah Kennedy (Menomonie); McCullough (Menomonie); Randy Prochnow (Menomonie); Seipel; Ron Score (Boyceville); Stene; Carl Vandermeulen (Menomonie).
County board supervisors Mary Solberg and James Tripp were absent from the meeting.