By a vote of 11-1 at its March 24 meeting, the Hawkins County Commission allocated about $345,000 in newly retired debt to the Highway Department, as opposed to implementing a tax decrease.
The debt being retired was for Highway Department dump trucks and accounted for about one-third of a $20 wheel tax increase that occurred in 2010.
Commissioners considered the possibility of using the newly retired debt to reduce the wheel tax by $6.67…