September could decide wheel tax issue in La Crosse

Whether there’s a new tax for cars and trucks in La Crosse could be decided this month.

The city council was set to consider a new wheel tax in town beginning this week.

The wheel tax, as proposed by La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat, would be $25 per eligible vehicle and sunset after five years.

Big trucks, motorcycles and motorhomes are among those vehicles that would be exempt from the tax, which would raise approximately $1.2 million per year — money that, by state law, would have to be dedidicated to transportation.

Kabat says, after spending down the city’s reserves to fund current road projects, a wheel tax is about the only way to come up with money to maintain fixing streets at a rate of six to seven miles per year.

Kabat added that money sorely needed to maintain a pace of road reconstruction that puts the city on a 30-year replacement schedule. Until just recently, the city was on a pace to replace roads after every 50 to 70 years.

La Crosse County is also considering a wheel tax at $56 per vehicle.