After Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway proposed a $40 "wheel tax," otherwise known as a vehicle registration fee, the debate heated up about what the revenue could fund, or whether it's necessary at all.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway included a proposal for a $40 vehicle registration fee in the city's draft 2020 budget, calling the fee essential to fund projects in a city hamstrung by limits on property taxes.
"The vehicle registration fee is expected to generate $7.8 million, and that money has to go toward transportation services, as required by state law," according to an article explaining the proposal by Rose Schmidt.
The proposal immediately proved controversial, and some councilmembers have questioned the necessity of the proposed tax.
A follow up article by Jamie Perez provides more insight into that debate, especially about the potential for the new tax to reduce congestion by contributing revenue to the city's transit system. Madison's Metro Transit and the Madison Area Transit Planning Board already have public transit plans in mind, releasing a study for an East-West Bus Rapid Transit line earlier this year.
FULL STORY: Transportation expert says new bus rapid transit system would help decrease Madison's congestion
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Despite major opposition by residents, the Madison Common Council approved a $40 motor vehicle registration fee (aka 'wheel tax') on an 11-8 vote on Oct. 29 to help fund the city's new East-West Bus Rapid Transit system.
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