The county board of supervisors at its regular meeting Monday approved the first reading of an ordinance enacting the Local Option Sales and Services Tax (LOSST) approved by voters in the Nov. 4 election.
Per the Code of Iowa, the county can approve one ordinance enacting the tax in all jurisdictions, even though the stated purpose for the revenue is not the same everywhere.
The new ordinance will not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2017 in Dana, Grand Junction, Jefferson, Paton, Scranton and the unincorporated portions of the county, and on July 1, 2017 in Rippey. The ballot language specified the same expiration date of June 30, 2027, for every jurisdiction. The LOSST expires in Churdan that date also.
Renewing the LOSST was a ballot issue in 2014 so that if it failed, there would be ample time to pose the question again before the levy expires.
The LOSST is a one-cent tax on all transactions on which the state sales tax is paid. It is used primarily for property tax relief and for infrastructure needs.
The supervisors will do the required second and third readings of the ordinance at the Nov. 24 and Dec. 1 meetings.
Moving radar units: The board of supervisors also approved the purchase of three moving radar units for the sheriff’s department with the $4,200 cost covered by grant funds from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau.
According to sheriff Steve Haupert, one of the units will go into a vehicle that will be purchased later this fiscal year. The other two will replace units that are 6 to 8 years old. The new units will be state-of-the-art and will be more reliable than the current units.
The purchase will bring the total number of radar units to eight.
