Wheel It Pass?

On January 19, 2015, the Jefferson County Commission approved, with more than the required 2/3 vote, Resolution 2015-05, which will levy a wheel tax increase of $25 for automobiles(motor driven vehicles) and $15 on motorcycles, motor driven bicycles and scooters for a total of $50 for for automobiles and $30 for motorcycles. On March 12, 2015 the resolution passed its second reading with the County Commission and now the fate of the resolution is in the hands of voters. Election Administrator for Jefferson County, Charles Gibson, said late last week that, while a petition has been picked up to take the wheel tax resolution to referendum, it has not, yet, been submitted. A successful petition will require 1,046 registered voters for it to be certified and it must be presented by 30 days from the second passage, meaning April 10, 2015 is the deadline for a petition to be filed. Jefferson County Mayor Palmier declined to sign or veto the resolution last week,giving it neither the nod of approval nor kicking it back to the Commission floor, instead leaving the ultimate fate of the resolution up to the citizens of Jefferson County.

Historically, wheel tax has not been well received by voters. In an effort to provide information on the issue, should it go to referendum, Gibson contacted 94 counties and 61 responded. Of those 61 counties, 37 have not had a referendum in the last three election cycles ( 2010-2014). Twenty five counties indicated that they have, in one form or another, held a wheel tax in the past, some, such as Greene County, going to referendum more than once. In total responding counties indicated that 28 referendums where held concerning wheel tax and of those 28, only 6 passed. Twenty two were voted down, but not every county with a wheel tax chose to go to referendum. It is notable that two counties, Stewart and Claiborne, were passed by private act of the General Assembly, even though voters had previously declined to pass the wheel tax in Stewart.

With the Jefferson County entering the budget season $3.8 million dollars in debt and the worth of one penny of property tax riding around $114,000, it remains to be seen if citizens are content to let the April 10, 2015 deadline pass without petitioning for a referendum. Should a referendum be called for and signatures verified, the election will likely take place in late spring. If citizens allow the resolution to stand, the new wheel tax will go in to effect on July 1, 2015.