The fate of the wheel tax depends on what the voters of Warren County decide at the polls in March.The Warren County Commission narrowly passed a resolution Monday night to place a wheel tax referendum on the presidential primary ballot to be held March 6, 2012.With two members absent, the vote was 12-10 to give the citizens of Warren County the opportunity to vote on whether to continue the $30 wheel tax which will expire in June 2012 after the bonds for Warren County High School and Hickory Creek Elementary are paid.The current wheel tax, which generates around $1 million annually, was enacted in 1991 and was tied to the bonds to finance the high school and Hickory Creek.With current school construction projects at Morrison and Dibrell, many county officials are in favor of continuing the wheel tax to help pay off those projects. The reasoning is once the wheel tax ends, the county would have to raise property taxes by around 20 cents to make up the difference in the budget.Proponents of the wheel tax say of the more than 38,000 county residents only some 30 percent own property, while there are around 38,000 vehicles registered in Warren County, so a wheel tax spreads the tax out over more citizens rather than putting the majority of the tax burden on property owners.However, the vote Monday was not about the fairness of the tax, or an effort to see if there are enough commissioners in favor of a wheel tax to pass it. It was about whether the public should decide to enact a wheel tax or if commissioners should decide for them.It was this aspect of the issue which generated controversy.Commissioner Charles Morgan asked if the wheel tax could be brought back before the commission even if it failed in the referendum.