Yankton County residents will soon be paying a dollar more per year in wheel tax.
During its regular meeting Thursday, the Yankton County Commission voted 3-2 in favor of adopting a $1 hike in the county’s road tax, going from $4 per wheel on up to four wheels to $5 per wheel on up to four wheels.
Commissioners Don Kettering, Joseph Healy and chairperson Cheri Loest voted in favor, while commissioners Dan Klimisch and Gary Swensen voted against the ordinance.
The item received a single public comment from current County Commission candidate Bob Gleich, who said he favors the rise, but felt the commission should have looked at a sunset provision for the hike.
“Fifteen years down the road, you could revisit it again,” he said. “The public’s going to say, when your roads are fixed up, ‘Why are you still taking that $20 out of my pocket?’’ ... If we have a sunset clause, they know when it’s going to end, or possibly going to end.”
Swensen said he’s seen very little support for the action.
“I meet with the constituents of Yankton County every day,” he said. “Only one has said that they were in favor of the wheel tax. I’m just telling you what my constituents are telling me.”
However, Commissioner Don Kettering said he’s heard the opposite.
“Everyone that I’ve talked to has been in favor of (the wheel tax hike),” he said. “Some have said you could go and be more aggressive.”
Commissioner Dan Klimisch said he has some questions about the fairness of not charging for additional wheels.
“I don’t feel it’s fair that the little old lady who drives once or twice per week is paying the exact same amount as somebody who has a big semi,” he said. “We all know the semis are causing a disproportionate amount of damage to the roads. I understand they’ve got to drive on the roads, but this really is money to repair the roads — why don’t we go to a maximum of six wheels instead of four? The response I’ve gotten is people realize we need to pay more dollars, but it doesn’t sit right with a lot of people that a car is the same amount as a semi.”
The county could legally go up to $5 per wheel on up to 12 wheels, a number that Healy said some people support.
“Some people would not have any issue with 12, and I would not have a huge issue with it either,” he said.
Loest said that it’s a better idea to take a small step for the time being, especially given what could happen with the tax hike.
“We have a feeling this is going to be put to a vote,” she said. “We’ve already been told by a citizen that if we pass it, they’re going to petition to put it to a vote. So it comes down to what we think the folks will buy into.”
She added that the wheel tax hike — while expected to bring in an additional $113,000 per year — is largely to put the county into better position to get state BIG (Bridge Improvement Grant) grants to cover larger bridge projects the county is considering.
“The only way to get that done is to get our score higher than all of the other counties,” Loest said. “And there’s only $16 million or so for them to allocate. … We have done phenomenally. The challenge is more counties are starting to kick in more than 20% (matching). Where’s that money coming from if we’ve got to kick in 30%? It’s a little bit easier to get a little bit more points going from $4 to $5 than it is going from 20% to 30%.”
In other business Thursday, the commission:
• Approved the revised employee handbook;
• Approved a conditional-use permit and a plat;
• Heard an update from Pathways Shelter for the Homeless.
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September 18, 2020 at 10:06AM
https://www.yankton.net/community/article_cc200ea0-f95b-11ea-ad70-07bf120ce682.html
Wheel Tax Hike OK'd | Community - Yankton Daily Press
https://news.google.com/search?q=Wheel&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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