BROOKINGS – Brookings County commissioners approved raising the annual wheel tax Tuesday to $5 per wheel for vehicles exceeding 6,000 pounds, with a total wheel tax not to exceed $20 per vehicle that weighs more than 6,000 pounds.
This wheel tax increase will take effect Oct. 1, 2017. The last increase in this tax was Sept. 2, 2008, which had made the wheel tax $4 per wheel.
Wheel tax is a fee that is paid with vehicle owners' vehicle registration each year.
The only discussion of the measure came from an explanation provided by Commissioner Stephne Miller: “The reason that we’re doing this is not that I like to tax our citizens, but this will give us another edge in the point system we have to abide by for the (Deparment of Transportation) to get grant money for our bridges. That’s the only reason we are doing this.”
It was then unanimously approved.
The county applies every year for bridge improvement grant funds provided by the South Dakota Department of Transportation, which awards those grants based on a points system; those submitted projects with the most points are given priority.
There are many other factors beyond the wheel tax that determine how many points an application receives, including the structure’s condition and its impact on motorists who use that structure.
Wheel tax revenue goes towards maintaining roads and infrastructure such as box culverts and bridges.
Contact Eric Sandbulte at esandbulte@brookingsregister.com.
