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Cedar Rapids resident Bruce Koerber was one of about 20 people who took part in a symbolic "tea party" on the 1st Avenue Cedar River Bridge to protest the proposed local-option sales tax.
Proponents of a five-year, one-penny, local-option sales tax believe that residents of Linn County and Cedar Rapids must show state and federal officials that they are willing to work toward their own flood recovery. Opponents of the sales tax measure, which will be weighed by voters on Tuesday, believe the ballot question is written too vaguely to ensure the monies collected in Cedar Rapids are spent on houses damaged or destroyed by the June 2008 floods.
Only a simple majority of voters is needed to approve or deny the optional tax.
Gary Ficken, a local businessman and co-chairman of Vote Yes For Our Neighbors, pitched the proposed tax increase to members of the Linn County Democratic Central Committee last week, and said “inaction is worse than any other possible choice.”
While deriding both the state and federal governments for their continued slow response to disaster recovery in Iowa, Ficken said legislators at all levels want to see the area “put some skin in the game,” and help themselves while requesting more disaster aid.
Ficken said the city really had only two choices — a sales tax increase or a property tax increase. Choosing a sales tax, Ficken argued, will allow those who regularly shop, but do not live in Linn County to assume part of the recovery.
“A sales tax,” he said, “helps spread the burden.”
Bruce Koerber, a Cedar Rapids resident, gathered with several other opponents of the tax on Saturday in a symbolic “Cedar Rapids Tea Party,” in the spirit of the 1773 Boston Harbor protest. Since the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said dumping tea would pose an environmental risk, the group dumped buckets of previously collected river water off the 1st Avenue Bridge into the Cedar River below.
Opponents of the tax believe that the Cedar Rapids City Council, especially since the state is in the midst of an economic downturn, should cut spending to help flood victims in lieu of raising taxes. They also argue that the ballot language is too vague to ensure tax revenues will be spent on flooded housing.
Although the entire county will vote on the measure, each municipality and the county can set its own earmark for the additional revenue. The Cedar Rapids City Council passed a resolution last week indicating that it will split the money 90-10, with 90 percent of all funds going toward housing — buyouts, rehabilitations and relocations. There are roughly 1,300 homes in Cedar Rapids that need a buyout. The remaining 10 percent of the collected tax is earmarked for property tax relief.
The rub for opponents of the tax is that despite the 10 percent being used for property tax relief, such taxes are still expected to increase in Linn County. If the optional sales tax passes, it is likely they will not increase as much, but they would still increase.
Linn County officials have stated that the first year of revenues will be used for flood recovery and to offset budget shortfalls related to the temporary closing of the county jail (due to the floods). The other four years of revenues will largely be spent on rural roads and bridges.
All other Linn County cities — except Bertram, Central City, Coggon and Prairieburg, which already have a local-option tax in place — have indicated they will use the added revenues for infrastructure projects. A more detailed list of each city’s earmarks for the proposed tax can be found on the Linn County Auditor’s Web site.
Opponents also argue that despite the City Council’s resolution, the actual ballot measure language is still too vague to ensure the money would be used as was indicated. On Feb. 11, the council voted to create a nine-member Citizen Oversight Committee to monitor distribution of revenue garnered from the tax.
If passed by voters, the local-option sales tax is expected to take in roughly $28.5 million each year throughout the county. The vast majority of that figure — roughly $17 million — would be Cedar Rapids’ portion of the proceeds.
All regular poling places will be open Tuesday, March 3, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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