A wheelage tax could be returning to Polk County as soon as 2022. From 2015 to 2017, Polk County had a minimum $10 wheelage tax, and with the proposal set forth before the board of County Commissioners, the wheelage tax that would be in effect in 2022 would be $20 a year.
Polk County Engineer Richard Sanders brought the proposal before the board at last week’s Polk County Commissioners meeting, and it will be reviewed at their meeting on July 27th. The wheelage tax is one way for transportation to be met without raising gas taxes or tab fees on vehicles.
Sanders said the state was reviewing options in 2010-2014 for ways the counties could collect money on their own from residents, and the wheelage tax was one of the options given. “Right away, Polk County opted in for a wheelage tax as one of the three options given back in 2015,” said Sanders. “We raised a little bit over $1.3 million over the four years that we had it, and at the end of 2017, the county decided to go away from the wheelage tax and to a local option sales tax instead.”
As time has gone on, Sanders noted that costs have gone up and that he is looking for solutions to meet funding for transportation needs. “As time has gone on, costs have gone up, and I’m looking for ways to benefit our transportation system in Polk County,” said Sanders. “I’m asking the board to review the local sales tax and instead go with a $20 wheelage tax instead.”
A wheelage tax may seem like an added tax to worry about, but the money goes towards useful projects in the county. “The $20 wheelage tax would raise roughly $700,000 a year, and that would help transportation purposes,” said Sanders. “You can use it for county road projects, to funding transportation studies as well as maintenance projects you may want to do.”
The wheelage tax could also be used to offset property tax increases in the future. This would keep a stable property tax base instead of increasing the property tax in the future.
Sanders says the department needs the money for the gravel road stabilization projects they are currently conducting. “Everyone seems to love our gravel road stabilization projects that we are doing,” said Sanders. “Currently, we have 150 miles stabilized and still have 250 miles to go. This wheelage tax would be perfect for that program.”
The state is no longer funding counties or giving them money, meaning that there are only a couple of ways money can be raised. Sanders says people should look at it as a small cost over the course of a year, almost like a small gas increase. “If you think about it as paying for it over the entire year, the $20 is basically equivalent to a $0.03 gas tax increase,” said Sanders. “If you raise the price at the pump by $0.03 per gallon, you pay that $20 over the course of the entire year.”
Sanders wishes he had more options for how to deal with transportation needs but does not. “I wish the legislation could take care of us better, maybe come up with different ideas on how to fund transportation so that the counties aren’t in this position,” said Sanders. “I would love to have all the tools in my toolbox to provide a great transportation infrastructure to Polk County.”
It is still yet to be seen whether the wheelage tax will be implemented in 2022 or not. The state will need to know by August 1st what direction Polk County will turn, so a decision will need to be reached at the Commissioner’s meeting on July 27.
