SULLIVAN'S SALVOS

January 22, 2008

Budget discussions are happening at the local government level. While things seem to be going relatively smoothly in governments countywide, I do have an ax to grind.

I have heard several elected officials express concern over higher taxes. Some initiative or package of services will cost taxpayers $10-20 per $100,000 valuation. Without fail, an elected official (or four or five) will say, “I just don’t know how much more the taxpayers can take,” or “Somebody around here needs to look out for the taxpayers.”

If these same elected officials were REALLY concerned about the impact taxes have on their constituents, they would have joined me in opposing the one-cent sales tax.

Just do the math. $20 per $100,000 valuation will cost someone who owns a $100,000 house $10/year after the residential rollback. For a $300,000 house, it will cost $30/year. For a $500,000 commercial property, it will run $100/year.

Now look at the impact of the sales tax. The poorest families in Johnson County will probably pay around $100 more per year in taxes. The wealthiest will pay somewhere around $300. (These estimates are admittedly tough to nail down, and depend upon several factors.)

Not only was the one cent sales tax a much bigger impact on everyone – it hit the poor harder! Where were the budget hawks when this passed? I did not have much support from elected officials back then! The Press Citizen and Gazette kept calling me because they could not find other elected officials who were publicly opposed.

Local groups that oppose higher property taxes worked to pass the sales tax. How can this be seen as anything other than an attack on the poor and middle class?

At least the public got to vote on the Sales Tax increase. Though I was personally opposed, I felt it was important to let the people vote. I did not like the outcome, but I voted to allow the people their say.

Putting the regressive versus progressive argument aside for a moment - I get tired of taxes being demonized. Taxes are not a bad thing. Taxes are the price we pay for living in a civilized society.

My wife can attest to the fact that I am thrifty. I still wear clothes that are 25 years old, much to her chagrin. I do not believe in spending money carelessly. At the same time, I am proud of the services Johnson County provides. Trust me – if I think we are wasting money somewhere, I’ll say so. You’ll likely read it here. If you see waste that I do not, please call it to my attention.
Meanwhile, let’s cool the tax rhetoric. If you really wanted lower taxes, you missed your golden opportunity.

Excited over Democratic control of the Iowa Legislature and Governor for the first time since 1965, I created a “wish list” for the 2007 Iowa Legislature. Let’s see how well my priorities were addressed:

• Raise the minimum wage. Yes
• Tax all income the same. Reward work at least as much as we reward investment. No
• Increase the income tax rate for the top earners, and reduce it for the middle class. Maintain a progressive income tax system. No
• Allow local governments to set their own property tax caps. No
• Allow local governments to use local option income taxes. No
• Eliminate Federal deductibility for State income taxes. No
• Increase the tobacco tax. Yes
• Repay the Senior Living Trust. Yes
• Repeal the so-called “Right to Work” laws. No
• Adopt Fair Share legislation. No
• Add OSHA inspectors. No
• Fully fund Medicaid, and expand HAWK-I. Yes
• Initiate same-day voter registration. Yes
• Allow for local control of smoking ordinances. No
• Expand the Bottle Bill to include all plastic containers. Increase the deposit to 10 cents. Give 1.5 cents more to handlers, and put 3 cents toward REAP funding. No
• Require all vehicles sold in Iowa to meet low emissions standards. No
• Increase requirements for utilities to develop wind power, and allow private wind producers access to the grid. No
• Increase teacher pay to greater than the national average. Yes
• Increase State funding for Regents institutions. Yes
• Institute public campaign financing, and strong campaign finance laws. No
• Add sexual and gender identities to the Iowa Civil Rights Code. Yes
• End mandatory sentencing. No
• Repeal the 2000 foot law for sex offenders. No
• Adopt “Sunshine Laws” similar to those observed by city and county governments. All meetings of 4 or more Legislators should be open to the public. No
• Encourage stem cell research. Yes

Obviously, some of these issues are complex enough that a simple yes/no does not sufficiently explain what happened. But in general, it looks like the Legislature accomplished 9 of my 25 priorities.

The real watershed issue for me was the change to the State Civil Rights Code. The real measure of the 2007 session was if the Legislature would grant increased civil rights to Iowans. When that passed, so did my judgment of the session. To me, that was the single make-or-break issue.
I see Legislative action as comparable to baseball; one out of three is pretty darned good. With that in mind, I’ll take batting .450! Especially if the Legislature manage to pass a couple more of my priorities this year.

DID YOU KNOW? Big Brothers Big Sisters of Johnson County served around 800 youth and families in 2007.

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website - www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

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SULLIVAN'S SALVOS

January 22, 2008

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