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Council advances city wheel tax on first reading; resident warns of burdens on local businesses and antique vehicles
Summary
Ordinance 2026-24 to impose a city-collected wheel tax and motor-vehicle license excise surtax passed first reading; council members said residential fees for qualifying vehicles remain $7.50 while heavier commercial vehicle fees could rise (examples cited moving some commercial fees from $5 to $25); resident Blake Boffman raised concerns about impacts on antique-vehicle owners and trucking operations.
The council moved Ordinance 2026-24 on first reading to create a municipal wheel tax fund and a motor vehicle license excise surtax fund administered by the city. Officials explained that, under recent state legislative changes, collecting the surtax and wheel tax locally could make the city eligible for additional lane-mile distribution funding; they said residential registrations for qualifying vehicles would remain $7.50 while certain heavier commercial registrations could shift from $5 to $25.
During public comment, Blake Boffman of Auburn expressed concern about fairness and the financial burden on small operators and owners of multiple trailers. "There's a lot of operations that have 4, 5, 10 times the amount of trailers as they do trucks... You're gonna be compounding that cost tremendously," Boffman said, adding he faces dozens of registrations and could pay hundreds more annually unless he reorganizes registrations outside the city. City staff advised that exemptions are set by state statute and that the city is awaiting state lane-mile allocation numbers before finalizing the practical effects; council members noted the ordinance must be filed with the BMV before Sept. 1 for eligibility on the next distribution cycle.
