APPLETON — The city's $20 wheel tax that has been in effect for nearly a decade could be increased by $10 later this year to help pay for rising street reconstruction costs.

Common Council member Nate Wolff introduced a resolution to raise the fee to $30. The new fee would take effect 120 days after approval by the council. The resolution will be considered May 20 by the Finance Committee.

"We need to start figuring out ways to make sure we're staying up with inflation and the cost of construction," Wolff told The Post-Crescent. "Right now, we haven't figured that out. It hasn't been updated since 2014, so it just makes sense to do it now."

The current wheel tax generates $1.28 million annually, according to the city budget. The proposed wheel tax would generate an additional $640,00, bringing the total to $1.92 million.

That doesn't fully cover what Appleton spends on reconstruction projects. The balance is covered by property taxes.

Wolff considered a $20 increase in the wheel tax but said that would be too much for a family of four that owns multiple vehicles.

A wheel tax is an annual vehicle registration fee enacted by a municipality or county to raise money to help pay for street improvements. The revenue can be used to offset property taxes or street assessments or a combination of the two.

Appleton, Chilton, Green Bay, Kaukauna, Manitowoc, New London, Oshkosh and Sheboygan all have wheel taxes. They range from $10 to $35.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation collects the wheel taxes for the municipality or county, retains an administrative fee and sends the rest to the municipality or county.

Appleton's wheel tax was approved in September 2014 and took effect in 2015. It replaced street reconstruction assessments that often left abutting property owners with bills totaling thousands of dollars.

Wolff is a former Amazon delivery driver and is familiar with street conditions between Green Bay and Oshkosh. He said Appleton's streets are in better shape than most.

"Appleton right now has some rough roads, but the rough roads compared to other municipalities are still better than their rough roads," he said.

Wolff's resolution is co-sponsored by council member Brad Firkus.

Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DukeBehnke.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton considers raising wheel tax to $30 to offset rising costs