At a special meeting of the Kosciusko County Council on June 19, the council passed a wheel tax ordinance with a vote of 5-1.

Attendance at the meeting must have been an all-time high. The courtroom chambers were standing room only. People from all over the county came out to voice their opinion on the wheel tax.

“I think it’s important that we hear from you guys, both for and against,” said councilman Jon Fussle, addressing the crowd.

There was a fairly even split of those for and against. Those supporting the tax recognized the need for increased revenue for road maintenance. Furthermore, some supporters noted that fixing the roads is good for economic development and attracting new businesses.

“For this town to continue to grow, we believe this does need to happen,” said Mark Dobson of the Warsaw Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce. Some supporters noted that the roads give tourists and businesses who may want to set up shop in Kosciusko an impression of the county, and the deteriorating roadways could give these people a bad impression.

Those against the new tax raised several concerns, namely the inequity of the tax. The $25 sur tax for passenger vehicles and $40 wheel tax for trucks over 11,000 pounds didn’t sit well with some citizens.

They felt the large freight trucks do far more damage to the roads than personal vehicles. Some council members agreed that the tax was inequitable, but those amounts are the maximums set by the state legislature. The council couldn’t impose a higher tax on tractor-trailers if they wanted to.

Other dissenters felt the county government should be doing more to cut costs. However, the council, as well as county department heads, feel the county government is running as lean as it possibly can (see related story).

“They’re operating the best they can with what they have,” said councilman Jon Garber. “Our options are kind of limited. I think we do need this tax.”

Ron England brought up the Amish registering their buggies. England feels like many of the buggies using the roads do not have plates, and these buggies are also causing wear and tear on the roads.

“It is an issue, we just don’t have a solution,” said councilman Jim Moyer. “It’s something we can work on.”

“I’ll pay, but I want them to pay too,” responded England.

Austin Brenneman from Winona Lake felt a different solution should be explored. “We’re focusing too much on what the county can do,” said Brenneman. “I think its important to do a sunset provision on this, and come up with some legislation that makes more sense.”

Brenneman hoped the council would work with state legislators to explore new revenue streams. “Indianapolis put us in this position,” he said.

Fussle shared Brenneman’s sentiment. “There is an equitable solution to this, it’s down at the statehouse,” said Fussle.

“This is the only option,” said councilman Larry Teghtmeyer. “The Association of Indiana Counties has lobbied for years. The response has always been, ‘we’ve given you an option to raise funds,’ that’s the wheel tax.”

Ultimately, the council voted to enact the tax. Fussle was the only council member to vote against it. The ordinance will now go through the state legislation for approval.

The ordinance is two fold. The county will adopt both the $25 sur tax for passenger vehicles, motorcycles and trucks under 11,000 pounds and $40 larger transport trucks.

A sunset provision of 20 years was written in the ordinance. The tax also passed with a provision that the council would review that tax and its revenue each May.

“I want us to come back to the public and review it, publicly, so you can see the process we’re going through and that we’re not taking it lightly,” said Fussle.

“We have to find the money,” said council president Robert Sanders. “Come May, I want to look at this again. Come January 2015 we can start collecting this money.”