Wheel Tax Could Be On The Ballot In May

It has long been debated, but now could be closer to reality. Is a wheel tax in the future for Cocke County? We may soon find out. Earlier this week that was one of the subjects that was discussed during a meeting of the Cocke County Budget Committee. At issue is the need for a new jail, which the county desperately needs. The problem is how to pay for it. The cost for building a new penal facility in Cocke County would run close to $40 million…the county would need to pay $2.5 million a year for the new facility. Discussion was made that a wheel tax should be put on the ballot for citizens of Cocke County to decide. A wheel tax would add anywhere from an estimated $675,000 to possibly nearly $1.7 million a year depending on the amount of the wheel tax per vehicle in the county. The budget committee will be working on getting a possible wheel tax on the ballot for next May so that Cocke County citizens can decide for themselves. Most surrounding counties have a wheel tax in place.