Wheel tax referendum unnecessary

How do you feel about a wheel tax? Some La Crosse County supervisors want to know. At least one member of the county board wants to hold a referendum in April to ask voters how they feel about a wheel tax, which would add $20 to their annual vehicle registration fee. But it seems the question is moot, given that there are no plans by the county to approve a wheel tax. Under a wheel tax, the state would charge you an extra $20 to register your car, and that money would be returned to the county to be used exclusively for road building. It is estimated that could generate more than $1.5 million a year. No question that money is needed, as the state has continued to struggle to identify a sustainable way to pay for our road needs. But that is something that should be addressed at the state level. And more and more lawmakers are starting to at least talk about things like higher gas taxes or even toll roads as a way to generate the money we need to to build new roads and fix the ones we have. But holding a referendum on a local wheel tax makes little sense. It is a hypothetical question, so there would be no clear consensus no matter the outcome. And we don’t know yet what the state will be willing to do to provide more money for roads. Let’s at least hold off on asking voters what they think about a wheel tax until there is some possibility of actually enacting one.