This story has been updated.
Mayor Joe Hogsett on Thursday vetoed a proposal to increase vehicle taxes that was recently approved by the Indianapolis City-County Council.
The proposal was designed to help repair and maintain roads across Marion County using new funds raised by higher vehicle registration fees. It would implement a $240 wheel tax for buses, recreational vehicles, semitrailers, tractors, trailers and trucks and a $100 excise tax for passenger cars, trucks, motorcycles, or vehicles under 11,000 pounds. Currently Marion County residents can expect to pay between $10 and $50 a year in registration fees.
The reason for the tax hike stems from previously passed legislation that requires Marion County to raise $50 million in revenue to receive matching funds from the state. Legislators on the council saw Proposal 192 as a way of getting state funds that would then go towards repairing roads and infrastructure across Marion County.
Mayor Hogsett had already voiced his opposition to the proposal before it passed. In a video posted to X on Thursday announcing his veto, he reiterated the reason — affordability.
"Throughout this conversation, one reality has been impossible to ignore: Many households are already stretched to the limit. That is why I have decided to veto proposal 192," Hogsett wrote.
Council President Maggie Lewis released a statement after Hogsett's veto. She said councilors will reconsider the proposal and vote on whether to override the mayor's veto, which she said would require support from 17 council members.
The initial proposal passed with a 14-10 vote.
More information about when this potential override vote will likely come through the City-County Council’s regular public meeting process.
Indianapolis city-county councilor and mayoral candidate Vop Osili weighed in with a plan for how to spend the new road funding should an increase on wheel taxes in Marion County become law.
Osili did vote for the increase at the July meeting. The city-county council can vote to override Hogsett’s veto.
Osili laid out plans to use the increased funds to make long-term improvements using local labor.
In a statement, Osili said, “Every resident deserves quality streets, connected sidewalks, and infrastructure that we can rely on.”
Contact WFYI Digital Producer and Reporter Jeremy Reuben at jreuben@wfyi.org
