Greenwood Common Council approves wheel and vehicle excise tax

GREENWOOD, Ind. -- The Greenwood Common Council has approved a new wheel and vehicle excise tax. The results of Monday night's unanimous vote mean that residents will pay $25 every year if their vehicle is registered in Greenwood. Any residents who own a bus, semi, or RV will pay $40. In the buildup to the vote, which saw the council approve the measure 9-0, city officials said the additional money collected from the new wheel tax would be allocated toward extensive road repair projects. The Greenwood Common Council had passed the ordinance on first reading on July 6, setting up Monday night's final decision on whether the tax would be formally adopted or not. FOX59/CBS4 previously spoke to Greg Wright, the controller for the City of Greenwood. He explained that, in order to participate in the road funding grants that are offered throughout the state, the city would need to implement a municipal wheel tax. Wright confirmed that the city receives $1.5 million every year from the state that they are then tasked with matching to fund road maintenance projects. "We’ve been hearing lately through the grapevine that there will be more changes to road funding coming, and that we’re going to have to have one if we want to participate in some of the road funding grants through the state,” said Wright. "I know it’s not going to be popular, but at the same time, neither are potholes, you know." Mike Campbell, the president of the Greenwood Common Council, said he supported the decision and that he felt it was best for the community. "As you have heard several people say, we feel like we are being forced into this by the state because the state has said in the law they passed that if municipalities don't have a wheel tax, they don't qualify for the matching crossing grants," said Campbell. "Greenwood citizens already pay a county wheel tax. The original language in the bill did not stack them and said if the county had one, the city didn't have to have one. But then they took that out. Greenwood is being forced and other municipalities in Johnson County are doing it." Campbell said the council is actively working with state legislators to address the issue and convince them to drop the county and city wheel taxes. "Either we are exempted from the county wheel tax, so we don't have to pay both," said Campbell. Wright noted during Monday's meeting that the council would retain the option of inserting a sundown clause if they choose to reconsider the tax at a later time. "It is a necessary evil, unfortunately," said Wright. "Without it, it is going to be difficult to keep up with costs to keep our roads in shape." Last week, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett vetoed a proposal to increase vehicle and wheel taxes in Indianapolis. The proposal was initially approved by the Indianapolis City-County Council on July 6 in order to help finance road improvements. That increase would see residents with passenger vehicles pay $100 annually for registration instead of $20. Now that the ordinance has been approved in its second reading, it will head to Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers for final approval.