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Elkhart council adopts municipal wheel tax and excise surtax; officials say most registrations unaffected
Summary
The council adopted ordinance 26-0-28 creating a municipal wheel tax and excise surtax; chief of staff Megan Arwin said 90% of registrations will not see changes while a small number of commercial registrations will pay $5–$25 more.
On July 27 the Elkhart City Common Council adopted ordinance 26-0-28 to establish a municipal wheel tax and a municipal excise surtax, and to create new dedicated funds for their receipts. Councilmembers debated whether the change represented a new tax; Megan Arwin, the mayor’s chief of staff, told the council "That is correct for 90% of registrations. There are a small number of commercial registrations that will see a small increase between 5 and $25."
During the public-comment period, resident Ralph Spellbring said city-level wheel taxes add complexity and argued counties are the proper entities for those levies. Council members completed roll-call votes and passed the ordinance 8–0. City staff said the tax change was necessary to align the city with funding streams and to remain eligible for certain state matching programs.
