MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin drivers will pay more for vehicle title transfers and driver's license renewals starting October 1 as part of the state's new biennial budget.
The vehicle title fee will increase by $50, from $157 to $207, whenever you buy, sell, or transfer a vehicle's ownership. The fee is waived if the vehicle is transferred from a deceased person to an immediate family member.
Class D license renewal fees, which apply to all regular cars, will increase from $24 to $32.50.
Some Milwaukee residents feel like these increases come on top of already substantial registration costs.
Wisconsin law allows counties and municipalities to collect a registration fee or "wheel tax" exclusively for transportation-related purposes. Currently, Milwaukee residents pay nearly $150 annually to renew their registration.
"Can we get a break? A piece of a break? We got to keep paying and paying and paying? Like, where's this money at?" said Willie Murphy, a citizen planning to purchase a car.
Watch: Wisconsin drivers to see higher title fees, license renewals this fall
"I'm already trying to survive every day, you know? So it's like even more of a downfall," Murphy said.
Both the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County impose a $30 fee each year, in addition to the state's $85 registration renewal fee. Fifty different municipalities and 13 different counties throughout Wisconsin have implemented a wheel tax.
Last month, Alderman Peter Burgelis mentioned registration fee increases as a tool DPW says could raise millions of dollars a year.
He cited Department of Public Works estimates indicating it would take $821 million to improve all streets rated "poor to good" to "excellent" condition.
The DPW reports that each $10 increase in registration fees could generate $3.1 million annually.
Jesse Rodriguez, who drives an electric vehicle with an additional annual fee of $175, hopes the money supports public transit improvements.
"Closing your eyes, and biting the bullet and just knowing you're going to have a little bit less the following year," Rodriguez said.
After passing the budget, Governor Tony Evers wrote that these changes will help generate nearly $200 million in revenue to build up the transportation fund."If they could allocate that more to public transportation, so I wouldn't have the need to have a car, like once you have a kid."
This story was reported on-air by Brendyn Jones and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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