May 3, 2011: How should we pay for Infrastructure Needs in Linn County, Iowa?

Yes, it's the last day of the month, the 30Th of April 2011.

On Tuesday, May 3Rd, voters in Linn County, Iowa, except for people in three small townships, will vote to extend the local option sales tax for twenty years through 2034. Those other three cities have already done that. The sales tax will remain seven percent, which it is currently.

In Cedar Rapids, Marion, Hiawatha and Robins, each City is planning to use the 20 year extension of the L.O.S.S.T or local option sales tax as an Infrastructure Tax [PDF of ballot]. The fifth city in the voting block of five (Hiawatha) is not.

The infrastructure in Linn County and our communities is getting older. Like with our pools in Cedar Rapids, they reached the age where they needed to be replaced. Much of the infrastructure in Linn County has reached an age, where replacement is needed. In Cedar Rapids, four tenths of every cent (40 percent) will be used for existing street infrastructure.

The City of Cedar Rapids choose to not allocate funds, since 1967 to ward off the historical flood that occurred in 2008. The 1967 Flood Study predicted the Flood of 2008. It is time to have a funding source for flood protection systems. Several plans are being discussed. The City of Cedar Rapids needs a funding source for the final plans.

Sales tax is a natural option for local communities for infrastructure projects. The State of Iowa limits municipal and county governments to one percent. In many cases, like with roads, people who use our roads, can help in funding them. A sales tax over a property tax provides us with that opportunity for those who work and visit our community to help in maintaining that infrastructure.

We are voting "Yes" on May 3Rd. We support a local Infrastructure Tax.

peace

Happy Easter weekend to everyone; May 3Rd L.O.S.S.T vote moves closer in Cedar Rapids, Marion and Linn County, Iowa

Thursday night was a big night, when both sides on the local option sales/service tax vote came together for a community forum sponsored by ImpactCR, among others.

The March 2009 local option tax approved by the voters of Cedar Rapids has come with a price. The ballot language was very broad and it has ruffled feathers, since 2010, when Mayor Ron Corbett and the current City Council began utilizing the tax. Sadly, it is in place through 2014 and can't be replaced immediately by the improved language in the May 3Rd ballot language.

On May 3Rd, the voters of Cedar Rapids will have the opportunity to approve a 20 year tax for the following:

• Property Tax Relief (10%),



• Flood Protection Systems for the East and West sides of the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids (50%) and



• Existing Road Improvements (40%).

We support the L.O.S.T.T. for the City of Cedar Rapids, along with the other infrastructure tax votes in Marion, Hiawatha and Robins. Fairfax is the fifth community voting as a metro block on May 3Rd with the City of Cedar Rapids. We believe a sales tax, as opposed to higher property taxes, is a more prudent approach to resolving the deferred road issues impacting the Cedar Rapids community. Further, in 1967, a flood report recommended flood protection needs for the City of Cedar Rapids. If flood protection is going to become a reality in Cedar Rapids, sales tax is a fair approach to paying for our flood protection needs in our community.

Most communities the size of Cedar Rapids have a sales tax. One percent is very fair tax rate. Take a look at local taxes throughout the Midwest. Currently, five percent of the sales tax collected moves to the State of Iowa in Linn County. An additional one percent of the sales tax collected moves to the State of Iowa for school districts. The final one percent can be used for local municipal purposes. The State of Iowa doesn't allow a higher rate for local communities.

peace

Thirty days and counting until May 3 Tax Extention Vote in Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Iowa

Happy April to everyone ...

March Madness has ended, with the Final Four this weekend and the NCAA Championship Game on Monday night, which will feature UConn vs. Butler.

Major League Baseball has opened for 2011. How long will Chicago Cubs fans carry there hope in 2011?

On May 3Rd, the City of Cedar Rapids voters, along with voters throughout Linn County will consider a twenty year extension of the Local Option Sales Tax. The Pro-Tax folks in Cedar Rapids have started to place blue yard signs supporting the Tax. The group called, Protect Cedar Rapids Committee, is going to be campaigning throughout the month of April holding daily neighborhood meetings during the work week.

In February, the City Council approved the ballot language for the May 3, 2011 vote.

On Friday, April 1, the first Pro-Tax neighborhood meeting was held at Harrison E.S. in NW Cedar Rapids. A neighborhood hit hard from the Flood of 2008.

Cedar Rapids Holds First Public Meeting on LOST Extension‎ - Eastern Iowa Government Option sales tax in Cedar Rapids draws a crowd at a local elementary school. ... Corbett has planned until the LOST vote happens May 3 of this year. ...

Prior to starting the neighborhood meeting circuit, the Pro-Tax supporters meet with The Gazette Editorial Board.

Baird, Corbett test sales-tax pitch before neighborhood meetings - The Gazette

Top Stories - New L.O.S.T Campaign Ad Featuring CR ... - KGAN CBS 2 Mar 24, 2011 ... The Push is on Ahead of May 3rd L.O.S.T. Vote · Iowans Get First Glimpse at New Iowa ... Your 2 Cents with Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett ...

There are groups opposing the Local Option Sales Tax extension in Cedar Rapids. One of the leaders of the local Tea Party group suggested orally they would have an alternative for how Flood Protection for the east and west sides of the river should be funded, but we haven't heard formally how it should be handled differently?

• Sales Taxes


• Property Taxes


• Do nothing - Flood Insurance?


• new local Income Tax

Another group is very vocal against our current Mayor, City Council and the proposed extension of the local sales tax. This group prides itself with the following slogan: "We commit to the citizens of Cedar Rapids that we will work to protect the citizens from the antics of the CR City Council." There web site has the following statement: "Vote No on the Local Option Sales Tax Extension on May 3, 2011." The group has said it is not a political organization.

The another part of the $375 million proposal to build flood protection on the east and west sides of the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids will come from the State of Iowa.

Cedar Rapids flood protection funding begins to take shape in Iowa Legislature - The Gazette DES MOINES – A plan that could provide up to $30 million a year for Cedar Rapids area flood recovery is beginning to take shape in the Iowa Legislature. Although the plan is in draft form, meaning no bill has been filed or assigned to a committee, representatives of Cedar Rapids reminded a 12-member legislative ...

City Manager Pomeranz: “We can never let Cedar Rapids flood again” - The Gazette CEDAR RAPIDS — Invite the public for a visit with high-profile, hotel-buying, Second Avenue-closing Mayor Ron Corbett, and you’re apt to get a crowd. Last night, though, City Manager Jeff Pomeranz held the first of three, Thursday-evening “meet-and-greets” as a way to introduce himself to the community and had only about 15 residents come out to ...

The final step will come from the Federal Government. Sadly, the U.S. Corp. of Engineers recommendation to the Feds does not include funding any protection for the west side of the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids.

Flood Report for Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Calls for Better Protection ... - Insurance Journal Sep 7, 2010 ... The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released a draft report that calls for a better, if limited, flood-protection system in Cedar Rapids, ...

Cedar River, Cedar Rapids, IowaFlood Risk Management - US Army Corp of Engineers

• City of Cedar Rapids flood information


• City's Flood Recovery Plan

The upcoming ballot item is extremely important for the Citizens of Cedar Rapids and throughout Linn County. Hopefully, the community dialogue will be a productive one that gets out the facts and truth about the issue coming before the public.

peace