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Onalaska council approves $25 municipal vehicle registration fee after heated public comments and amendments
Summary
After more than 90 minutes of public comment and council debate, the Onalaska Common Council approved an ordinance to add a $25 municipal vehicle-registration fee, including a three‑year sunset. A proposed requirement for a citywide public hearing before any extension failed.
The Onalaska Common Council on July 8 approved Ordinance 18-26-2025 to impose a $25 municipal motor-vehicle registration fee, a measure supporters said would provide a steady revenue stream for street maintenance and critics called a new tax on residents.
The council passed the ordinance 4-2 after approving a three-year sunset amendment for the fee; an amendment to require a public hearing before any extension of the fee failed. The ordinance, as amended, sets the fee to take effect Nov. 1, 2025, and to sunset Dec. 31, 2028, unless council acts otherwise.
The measure prompted extensive public input during the meeting’s public-comment period. Resident Jerry Every told the council, “I don’t care what you want to call it, it’s a tax,” and urged the council to move a proposal like this out of the consent agenda so it receives committee-level review. Several other residents —…
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