The Indianapolis City-County Council is taking public input on a tax proposal to raise funds for road improvements, including fixing potholes, bridges, and other aging infrastructure.
Prior legislation passed in the Indiana General Assembly enabled Indianapolis to raise $50 million in 2027 to receive the state match of $50 million.
Research by the Indianapolis City-County Council determined that Marion County needs $100 million in taxes yearly starting in 2031 to address the aging infrastructure. Proponents say that would ensure the county meets both the state match and infrastructure needs.
Initially introduced in a June 1 full council meeting, Proposal 192 would indefinitely override the standard tax charged to Marion County drivers when registering their vehicles.
The first establishes a $240 wheel tax for buses, recreational vehicles, semitrailers, tractors, trailers and trucks. The second is a $100 excise tax for passenger cars, trucks, motorcycles or vehicles under 11,000 pounds. The tax would be charged based on the weight of a vehicle.
The City County Council Administration and Finance Committee discussed the measure in a meeting June 9.
Council President Maggie Lewis addressed members of the public directly before testimony began.
“No elected official wakes up and says let's raise taxes or raise any type of fees,” Lewis said. “We have put in a lot of thought and effort into this whole thing, but this is where we’re at.”
Inside the packed committee room, members of the public expressed overarching concerns of affordability, logistical complaints and potential impacts on issues regarding small businesses.
Charis Carpenter is 81 years old and testified against the proposal alongside her husband Pat Carpenter, 86. Carpenter said she is concerned for elderly residents who may not be able to afford the tax.
“My husband and I are on social security, that's all we have. I'm 81 years old,” Carpenter said. “I do not want to have to go back to work to pay taxes in order to pay for my living, but that's what we're facing because we are taxed on taxed on taxed.”
Mayor Joe Hogsett openly opposes the proposal, stating that many residents cannot afford a higher tax.
“Right now, families across our city are already stretched thin by rising costs as the gas pump, in utility bills, at the grocery store, and on everyday essentials,” Hogsett said via Instagram. “This is not the moment to ask them to shoulder an additional financial burden—especially with a proposal that puts the heaviest burden on those who can least afford it.”
Others argued the tax would make Marion County residents pay to repair damage caused by large vehicles from across the country using Indianapolis roads.
Resident Scott Scheel said the $100 wheel tax would only be fair if a massive wall were built around Marion County to keep non-residents out.
“We are being unfairly levied to pay for roads that are being used by all of these warehouses in Plainfield and up in Lebanon and Greenwood,” Scheel said. “All those fleet companies that are registered out of state that avoid that $240 charge, they're beating our roads up.”
Not all members of the public were against the proposal. Taylor Firestine, Director of Healthy Communities at Health by Design, said he hopes the measure will open an overarching conversation about public space funding.
“Health by Design supports Proposal 192 even as we know that state law restricts matching funds from being used for sidewalks, bike lanes, greenways and trails,” said Firestein. “Despite our disappointment with the state laws' multimodal exclusions, we believe that graduated increases to the county option wheel tax remain the city county's best opportunity to leverage the state's $50 million commitment.”
On June 16, the Rules and Public Policy Committee will vote to recommend either approval or denial by the full City-County Council.
Contact WFYI reporting intern Chloe White at cwhite@wfyi.org
