MONROE — Green County’s recent adoption of a wheel tax for vehicles registered in the county became a topic of discussion July 1 for the Monroe Common Council.
Alderman Michael Boyce told the council he recently registered a vehicle and the wheel tax added $20 to his overall registration fee. The tax is generally to be used by the county to improve county highways.
Boyce said he used Wisconsin Department of Transportation statistics and estimated the tax would raise $890,020 overall annually for Green County. Of that, 31 percent or $279,020, would come from vehicles registered in the City of Monroe.
Boyce asked Monroe Director of Public Works Al Gerber how many county highways enter the city of Monroe and would be improved due to the tax.
“We have small sections of County DR and County K in the city limits,” Gerber said. “(The) county maintains these areas since they are broken up and in small stretches.”
Gerber indicated that sections of highways the city shares with the state, such as Wisconsin 69 and Wisconsin 59 are maintained by both the state and city. The DOT pays for state highway replacement costs.
“It seems unfair the county can pass a wheel tax and have 31 percent of it come from the city of Monroe, but not be spent in the city of Monroe,” Boyce said.
Assistant City Administrator Sam Liebert said the council discussed having a future dialogue with the county on perhaps diverting some of the wheel tax gathered from city residents to be used to improve city streets. Liebert said the issue would have to be referred to a city council committee for future discussion.
“We need to send a formal inquiry to appropriate personnel at the county” to see if it can divert wheel tax money and what units of government could be involved, Boyce said.
Green County Highway Commissioner Chris Narveson said every municipality in Wisconsin is “struggling” to have enough money to repair roads and the county’s wheel tax, which he estimates will raise $600,000 annually, was the best option for addressing the county’s problems. He said each municipality could pass its own wheel tax to raise revenue.
“I don’t think the county board liked passing the wheel tax, but when looking at what options we have to raise revenue, this is basically it,” Narveson said. “I see it from the point of the city and the towns – I’m a town chair, too. I understand the frustration of anyone paying the wheel tax.”
Trying to share wheel tax revenue taken in by the county with other municipalities is not an option, because the county would have to raise the wheel tax so each municipality could get a useful share, Narveson said.
“This is the only way you can get additional revenue because the state has a clamp on what you can get from new taxes,” Narveson said. “Ultimately this is a question that has to be solved by the state legislature in Madison.”
Narveson said the first wheel tax money that will be spent in Green County will be used to replace a portion of County F in Monticello. That project is estimated to cost $160,000.
The county has 60 culverts that have failed and there’s not enough money in the budget to repair them all before the next winter.
In other action, the council:
● Approved hiring Brittney Rindy as the new Monroe city clerk/treasurer with her first day being July 22. The city combined the clerk and treasurer positions and Rindy has been hired at an annual salary of $48,178. Her employment is contingent on some pending screenings. Liebert said the city’s former clerk and treasurer left on good terms and combining the positions helped the city gain efficiency and flexibility.
“For a city our size, these positions are often combined,” Liebert said.
City Administrator Phil Rath said the new clerk/treasurer will be eased into the new position and the goal is to “make sure the city is in a good place” with its administrative team in the future. Rath has a background that includes duties done by both city clerks and treasurers.
● Learned that Liebert, after two years with the city, will be resigning his position at the end of July to take a new job. Liebert said he’s leaving the city on good terms and that working for the city of Monroe has been enjoyable.
“This position, and many like it at other municipalities, are often stepping stones to other things, and that’s what has happened for me,” Liebert said.
Liebert informed Rath that he’d be leaving last week and notified the council on Monday.
● After a closed session discussion, rejected an offer to sell city of Monroe land in the North Industrial Park. The offer was turned down by a voice vote and the identity of the entity making the offer was not publicly identified, Liebert said.