On November 9, 2022, the City Council adopted Ordinance 2022-16 establishing a $10 vehicle registration fee pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes Section 341.35. The annual fee will be imposed on all motor vehicles registered in the State of Wisconsin and customarily kept in the City of River Falls. The fee revenue will be utilized to finance a portion of the City’s costs for street maintenance that are otherwise being financed through property tax levy. A public hearing was held at both the first reading of the ordinance at the October 25, 2022, City Council meeting and the second reading and adoption at the November 9, 2022, meeting. The effective date of the new fee is April 1, 2023.
The fee is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), and they retain a $0.17 administrative charge per renewal and pass $9.83 out of every $10 collected through to the City. The fee will appear on registration renewal statements issued by the WisDOT, which increases the total amount owed for each registration renewal. If residents have questions about whether the fee should apply to them or not, they should contact the WisDOT at (608)-264-7447.