Fond du Lac County is in the early phases of planning a new jail, and the debate over how to pay for it is already beginning.One proposal from county board member Gary Will is a county-wide wheel tax."A $20 dollar wheel tax woul d generate about two and a half million dollars in money, that we could then use for the highway department, and then funds that we are using for the highway department could therefore be shifted towards the jail," Will said.A wheel tax is an additional fee that is collected by the county or municipality on top of a yearly registration fee for a car.According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, 14 counties have, or are going to implement a wheel tax this year.And over 50 municipalities in Wisconsin also collect a wheel tax.Will says the numbers currently are rough estimates of what a potential wheel tax could bring in.WATCH JACK PORTER'S FULL BROADCAST STORY HERE... Fond du Lac County considers adding wheel tax to help fund new jail projectHe says property taxes could potentially go up a couple of hundred dollars due to the need for funds for the jail project."If it generates enough revenue that the 680 could come down to 300. And then I would pay $80 dollars, two-wheel taxes at $ 40 apiece. So, I would pay 380 instead of 680," Will said. "I net save in my family 300 dollars a year in property taxes."Fond du Lac resident Santo Soto has lived in the city for over 20 years, says a wheel tax could be a fairer way to spread the cost."Definitely yeah, and take the burden off the property taxes, cause its awful, it's a lot," Soto said. "Especially with people on fixed incomes and struggling and everything that going on in the economy."Leigh Paral, who also lives in Fond du Lac, says offsetting a potential property tax hike with a wheel tax is something she could support."I think that's better than a property tax, because that raises all the properties up and that's not just the owners, you know," Paral said. "But the people who are renting might have to pay more then too."County Board member Gary Will also says it could be six to nine months before the full cost of the potential jail is known. But exploring ways to fund the project doesn't hurt. ...read more read less