Jon Fussle was the lone nay vote for a new wheel tax for Kosciusko County. The vote was taken during Thursday night’s meeting of the Kosciusko County Council.

Last month, county leaders proposed the implementation of a wheel tax to help offset the county’s disbursements of operating funds that far exceeded receipts.

During last night’s meeting, the wheel tax passed on first reading with a 5-1 vote. Today, Fussle said he was the only councilman to vote against the tax for, among other reasons, “it is not equitable.”

In his blog, Fussle wrote, “First and foremost, it is a new tax. This is pretty straight-forward. I oppose new taxes, although I am willing to consider the big picture and what is best for the people of the community and if it serves the best interest of the community, I would not oppose it. This new tax, I feel, does not.”

One of the main issues Fussle sees with the wheel tax is the 20-year sunset provision. “I initially floated a 2- to 5-year sunset (provision) … Since then, I have amended my position to require a 1- or 2-year sunset provision, and the proposed ordinance is just nowhere near where I would need it to be in order to vote for it.”

Simply, Fussle sees the need for a wheel tax as a short order solution to the county highway’s budget problems, which can largely be blamed on the harsh winter and the excessive dollars spent for overtime in clearing heavy snowfalls.

As it has passed, the wheel tax will be added on passenger vehicles under 11,000 pounds at a fee of $25 per year. A tax of$40 per year will be collected from tractor trailers and other larger transport vehicles. The sunset provision means the tax will be collected annually for the next 20 years.

“My answer is that if this is a tax that the people want and it corrects a problem we have, then it would be easy to renew the tax next year, and the year after that … every year,” Fussle noted in his blog. “… but to have a sudden problem and to address it with an almost certainly permanent solution takes away our ability to hold our government (both local and state) accountable.”

Because the vote was not unanimous, the county council will meet in special session on Thursday, June 19, at 7 p.m. for a second vote on the wheel tax.