Seventeen local governments are going back to taxpayers for more after recent election asks.
Three cities, one county, and 13 schools are going back to taxpayers asking for more money in the November 2024 election despite their other recent ballot measures that asked taxpayers for more money. Six of these local governments recently enjoyed either passage of a bond measure or renewal of a property tax levy. The remaining 11 are returning to taxpayers who recently rejected either a tax increase or a bond proposal. Either way, taxpayers are not getting a break in these 17 jurisdictions.
Déjà Vu for Voters
In some cases, taxpayers see two proposals close together because state law requires a bond request and the tax increase to pay for the bond to be put forward in separate elections. Emmetsburg Community School District (CSD) and Van Buren CSD are in this position. The fact that these districts have back-to-back ballot questions is a procedural matter, and not indicative of an unquenchable thirst for collecting more tax dollars.
That said, given the low cost and high reward of putting questions to taxpayers, local governments often seem inclined to ignore results they don’t like when taxpayers have voiced their opinions. One example is the City of Boone, which in 2022 asked voters for a $10 million bond to build a recreational complex. When that failed, the city tried again in 2023, but community pushback limited the city council to creating a task force to study the issue, instead. Now (surprise, surprise) Boone is back in 2024, looking for a do-over of the 2022 vote.
Many public-school districts have responded to voters’ rejection with a sort of serial negotiation, scaling back projects and reducing the amounts they are requesting with their bond proposals. Lewis Central CSD is the best example of this. After failing to receive $90 million last year, the district is giving $30 million a try this year, with the deal sweetened by avoiding an immediate property tax increase. In instances like that, maybe the system is working as the elected leaders at least seem to be taking voter input into account.
On the other side of the coin is brazen disrespect for taxpayers when a local government responds to ballot defeat by asking for more than the original proposal in a subsequent election. Lawton-Bronson CSD is guilty of this behavior during this election cycle. That school district had a $15.5 million bond measure fail, and now they are back asking for nearly $17 million just one year later.
Spending Adds Up
At a time when a majority of Iowans favor limits on their annual property tax burdens, local voters must remember how the accumulation of numerous small proposals can add up to substantially higher property tax bills over the years. For example, multiple school districts successfully renewed their physical plant and equipment levies (PPELs) recently, but now these same districts are asking for bonds. If the bonds pass, property taxes are likely to increase to pay for the debt, as either the rate goes up or the valuation increases without an automatic reduction in the rate.
Some communities have bonds nearing expiration, and instead of allowing taxpayers to benefit from the resulting savings, officials are replacing them with new bonds while promoting the fact that tax rates will remain unchanged. This is similar to a consumer whose car loan is almost paid off. Rather than enjoying the extra savings from no longer having a monthly payment, they rush to the dealership to make a new purchase, feeling satisfied that their monthly payment hasn’t increased.
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