The Greene County supervisors at their April 10 meeting approved a resolution in opposition to Senate File 550, a bill that would eliminate the 1-cent Local Options Sales and Service Tax (LOSST), now in place in most Iowa counties, and replace it with an additional 1-cent state sales tax. The state sales tax would increase from 6 to 7 cents.
County attorney Thomas Laehn prepared the resolution for the supervisors’ consideration. It is based loosely on a resolution approved by the Poweshiek County supervisors, Laehn said.
He explained two areas of concern with SF 550. First, it would take away the discretion of local voters in approving the local option tax. Second, although the draft bill states that counties would receive funds from the state equal to the funds they now generate through the LOSST, the bill has a sunset provision, meaning the revenue back to counties could be discontinued. Laehn said the revenue would be “at the whim of the legislature,” and that two or three times in the past 10 years the legislature has promised counties revenue but changed the plan after a few years.
The county uses LOSST revenues for road and bridge improvements, property tax relief, and other purposes.
If SF 550 were enacted, 3/8-cent of the 1-cent increase would automatically go the Iowa Water and Land Legacy trust fund for conservation efforts.
The resolution approved by the supervisors states that the Iowa Water and Land Legacy trust fund “deserves to be fully funded” but encourages legislators to “find an alternative means of funding….that does not undermine local self-government, strip municipal governments of their control over Local Option Sales and Service Tax revenue, or risk a substantial increase in the tax burden on Greene County property owners.”
The county supervisors, all Republicans, voted unanimously in favor of the resolution. Greene County is represented in the Statehouse by Republican Senator Jesse Green and Republican Representative Carter Nordman. Passing a resolution in opposition or in support of actions in the Statehouse is not typical for the supervisors.
None of the supervisors had personally contacted Green or Nordman in advance of the board resolution, GreeneCountyNewsOnline learned.
In other business, the supervisors approved awarding $4,000 to the Bell Tower Community Foundation from Louis Dreyfus funds for an update of the Mahanay Bell Tower website. Foundation board president Carole Custer told the supervisors the website has not had a complete overhaul in eight years.
The update will be done by Fusebox Marketing of Carroll.
The supervisors also agreed to move forward with having a new door installed at the bell tower rather than wait for a 28E agreement to be inked between the County and the Bell Tower Foundation.
Attorney Laehn has insisted in recent meetings that the 28E agreement should be in place prior to the county expending funds on the bell tower. However, with a mid-May opening planned for the bell tower, ordering the door and scheduling the work needs to be completed before the Bell Tower Foundation’s next meeting on April 18. Cost of the door is $12,625.
County engineer Wade Weiss updated the supervisors on needed revisions to the Iowa DOT FY24 secondary roads budget and 5-year construction plan. Changes in the budget will not impact the overall carry-over budget. Added to the budget is a new bridge across Snake Creek on County Road P-46 just north of Rippey.
Changes in the 5-year construction plan are primarily clerical, with a change of a bridge number.
Jefferson city administrator Mike Palmer updated the supervisors on projects in Jefferson including the E. Lincoln Way entrance to the city, the regrading and resurfacing of W. Lincoln Way from Elm St to Grimmell Rd, landscaping at the Jefferson Community Golf Course, renovation of the front entrance to City Hall, staffing at the new animal shelter, and the search for a new city administrator.
