INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The City-County Council committee voted 14-10 in favor of increasing vehicle registration-related taxes in Marion County to pay for road repairs in Indianapolis.
Under the wheel-tax proposal, most Marion County drivers with vehicles under 11,000 pounds would pay a flat $100 annual fee when registering their vehicles. Larger vehicles would be subject to the county wheel tax with a flat annual fee of $240.
The council hopes to raise $50 million, which would make it eligible to receive $50 million in state funding.
Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett has disagreed with the proposal. He could veto it. If he does not, the new taxes would take effect Jan. 1st, 2027.
Another failed proposal
On Monday, the City-County Council failed to pass a proposal that would change the city’s public safety curfew. The curfew would have added 17-year-olds to the curfew hours, but the proposal failed to pass in an 8-16 vote.
Although 17-year-olds won’t be included in the curfew, they still must follow the state’s current curfew laws.
Additionally, during Monday’s meeting, the Indianapolis City-County Council rejected a proposal that would have subjected the Marion County Office of Public Health and Safety (OPHS) to additional oversight.
Proposal No. 190, which was authored by Republican city-county councilor Michael-Paul Hart, failed by a vote of 6-18 on Monday night.
Under the proposal, OPHS would have had to create a centralized system for tracking and managing contracts and invoices. The measure would have also required the agency to ramp up training for its employees.
