Overview
- Cudahy’s common council voted 3–2 to scrap a proposed $50 annual vehicle fee that city officials said would have raised about $600,000 toward a $1.1 million budget gap.
- Mayor Ken Jankowski warned the decision could mean unfilled vacancies in public works, police and dispatch, with broader service cuts under review before a Nov. 18 budget meeting.
- Eau Claire raised its municipal wheel tax from $24 to $50 this week, the highest city fee in Wisconsin; combined with Eau Claire County’s $30 charge, residents there face the state’s highest local registration costs.
- A Wisconsin Policy Forum analysis finds 64 jurisdictions now levy wheel taxes, with nearly half of residents expected to pay them by year’s end and total collections estimated at about $70 million in 2025.
- Republican lawmakers are advancing proposals to require local referendums for new wheel taxes, seek retroactive voter approval for existing fees and limit spending to transportation uses.