Ohio County council hears options for wheel tax and local income-tax changes as state bills loom
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Summary
A presenter told the Ohio County Council that adopting the wheel tax with an excise surtax at maximum rates could generate roughly $350,000 for the county; members were urged to delay final budget adoption until legislative changes and DLGF credit posts clarify net revenue impacts, which the presenter estimated could reduce county property-tax revenue by about $75,000.
A presenter at the Ohio County Council meeting outlined options for local revenue that include adopting a wheel tax together with an excise surtax and urged caution because pending state legislation could change distribution rules.
The presenter (identified in the transcript as Speaker 1) told the council that "if you adopt the wheel tax and exercise surtax, those 2 tax to have to be adopted together" and said adopting the wheel tax at the maximum could generate "an additional $350,000 in revenue." He said the wheel tax applies to larger vehicles (trailers over 9,000 pounds, trucks over 11,000 pounds, buses, semi tractors, RVs) and is charged per vehicle — not per wheel — with a statutory per-vehicle range of $5 to $80. The excise surtax, the presenter said, typically takes a flat-rate form (most common) with a floor of $7.50 and a ceiling of $50 or, less commonly, a percentage of value between 2% and 20%.
The presenter noted statutory exemptions for state agencies and political subdivisions, certain nonprofit vehicles, school buses and funeral vehicles, and said revenue projections used a small deduction (15¢ per vehicle) to arrive at the county estimate. He advised the council that the county must adopt the wheel tax by Sept. 1 for it to take effect Jan. 1 of the following year.
The presenter also described other local options, including increasing the capital development (CCD) fund rate (maximum 0.0333; the county is currently at 0.0133) and changes to local income tax (LIT) allocations. On LIT, he summarized the current splits and warned that pending legislation could change who receives what share and when those changes take effect.
On the broader fiscal picture, the presenter said state property-tax relief measures are likely to reduce Ohio County’s property-tax revenue by roughly $70,000–$80,000 (he used "about 75,000" as an estimate) and recommended the council wait for DLGF to post final credits in April before locking budget decisions. "We will know then for sure," he said of the April DLGF posting.
Why it matters: the council must balance near-term service needs, such as EMS funding, with longer-term uncertainty from the state legislature. Adopting new local taxes or raising CCD rates would change who pays and how much revenue is available for roads, capital projects and other priorities.
What’s next: the presenter offered to run a detailed LIT analysis for the county to model scenarios through 2031 and recommended the council delay final budget adoption until legislative outcomes and DLGF numbers are clear.
