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rodsullivan.org
SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
July 27, 2008
Sullivan’s Salvos 7/29/08 Summer is just FLYING by… if you have not done so yet, please visit any of our wonderful local farmer’s markets. You’ll be glad you did! Fun Days in Swisher happen this weekend, August 1 and 2. I urge you to join the fine folks of Swisher for their annual town celebration. I wrote a couple weeks ago about flood “heroes”. Most Salvos readers agreed that people who selflessly assist others during a crisis can rightly be called heroes. With that in mind, I would like to mention a couple folks who have become heroes to me. Tom Trump is a member of the Solon Volunteer Fire Department, and it just so happens Tom has a great deal of disaster experience. That experience was tested during the recent floods. Tom volunteered in the Johnson County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for over two weeks, serving as the person in charge of getting resources (pumps, sandbags, generators, etc.) to the people who needed them. This was an incredibly stressful job, with requests coming from all directions (Hills, Coralville, Iowa City, the UI, the National Guard, etc. were all requesting assistance) at all hours of the day. Tom handled it all masterfully. In addition, the guy worked his tail off. I got into a rhythm where I would get up about 6 AM, ride my bike to check the water levels at the Ambulance Department and Admin Building, then go report in at the EOC. I would stay there most of the day, occasionally going to check things out as requested, and go home around 6:30 PM or so. It made for long days. Tom was always there when I arrived, and always there when I left. Finally, and most importantly, Tom brought a great attitude to the job. He was so calm, confident, competent, and positive. He had a laser focus on keeping people safe. He really helped keep the whole place going the right direction. If you are ever up in Solon and meet a guy named Tom Trump, tell him thank you. We ALL owe him a debt of gratitude! Now for our second hero of the day… Dave Moran is retiring after several years of service to Johnson County. Dave has held a number of social services positions in his time with Johnson County, and has handled each one with class. Dave was always one of my favorite people with whom to work. I respected the fact that Dave was often assigned the “difficult” clients. Never one to complain about the daily uphill battles of his job, Dave worked hard on behalf of some of the least fortunate residents of Johnson County. Caring, compassionate, humble, intelligent, diligent… Dave quietly served the people of Johnson County well for many years. Congratulations on your retirement, Dave Moran! I have written before about the pride I take in Johnson County’s environmental efforts. As I have noted, one of the first things Johnson County needed to do was establish our carbon footprint. Well, here are those results! Johnson County’s greenhouse gas emissions can be lumped into three general categories: buildings, fleet, and employee commutes. Our buildings put off 1788 tons of carbon, and Johnson County has annual utility bills of about $176,000. Johnson County is already poised to improve this significantly once our LEED certified (Silver level) Health & Human Services Building opens. The new building projects an average annual savings of $16,000 on electric alone! Johnson County vehicles put off 2871 tons of carbon, with an annual fuel bill of about $715,000. Employee commutes add up to 844 tons. Employees commute 7096 miles to and from work (an average round trip of 18 miles/employee). Very few employees carpool, even fewer take the bus, and only a couple routinely bike. That totals 5505 tons of carbon annually. In order to meet the goals of the Kyoto Protocols, Johnson County will need to reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2050. This will require a reduction of about 4% per year. I think Johnson County can reach these goals, but the difficult work has yet to be done. Specific goals will require people to change their behaviors, and that is where it gets tough. It will take bold and definitive leadership from elected officials to really make Johnson County “green”. DID YOU KNOW? According to the Heritage Area Agency on Aging (from information supplied to them by FEMA authorities), 51% of those applying for FEMA assistance in the seven county area served by Heritage are persons aged 60 and above. This suggests that the floods disproportionately impacted the elderly. 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. If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line. If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you! ---Rod
July 20, 2008
Sullivan’s Salvos 7/22/08
It is Fair week! I hope you get the chance to get out and explore the Johnson County Fair. Free parking, no fee to enter, great food, exposure to our local agricultural community, entertainment… this is a must-do event!
I would like to particularly urge you to make a point of exploring the 4H exhibits at Montgomery Hall… this part of the Fair is too often overlooked.
RAGBRAI hits Johnson County Thursday and Friday, with an overnight in North Liberty on Thursday. While this marks North Liberty’s first time as an overnight host, I have no doubt that the community is up to the task.
I hope my friends with the Sutliff Bridge Authority will be taking donations on Friday, when RAGBRAI heads through.
The Board recently addressed the topic of property tax abatements for properties affected by the recent floods. I am opposed to property tax abatement. Here are eleven reasons why:
1. The taxes paid are based on the assessment from two years ago. Taxpayers are paying for services already provided, based upon the condition of the property at that time. This is VERY important – here is why. After the 1993 floods, almost every valuation in the flooded areas went up considerably (when compared to pre-flood valuations) within one year. If people choose not to rebuild, their taxes will reflect it next time.
2. Abatements affect ALL taxing bodies; in Iowa City and Coralville, about 40% of each tax dollar goes to the ICCSD.
3. Abatements take tax money that governments require in order to operate. Governments have incurred tremendous costs through this whole process. Cities (and counties) can (and perhaps should!) address the needs of homeowners and business owners in other ways. Johnson County is already providing assistance to anyone affected by the flood, regardless of income, through a substantial donation to the United Way Flood Relief Fund. Other folks can qualify for additional County benefits based upon income and resource guidelines.
4. Similarly, governmental budgets are built upon the expectation that a certain dollar amount will be collected in taxes. If a government can suddenly decide to forego this income, what in the hell were they doing collecting it in the first place?
5. Affected people do not expect MidAmerican to provide free gas and electric, Hy-Vee to give them free groceries, or BP to provide free gas. Why would they expect local governments to provide costly services with no revenue? Why is the public sector expected to forgo revenues when the private sector is not?
6. I write frequently about the inequities in our tax system, and the idea of a property tax abatement strikes at the heart of these inequities. A person who rents a trailer in North Liberty and works at a fast food place on the Strip is now out of a job. If the Board grants a property tax abatement, she gets nothing. On the other hand, a guy who owns 200 apartment units and lost 8 of them to the flood gets a tax break. Granted, I understand that he has very real losses. But what about her? I believe that the role of government is to provide a hand up for those who need it, not to comfort the comfortable.
7. People who lost property to the flood are far from the neediest among us. Only 50% of the population in Johnson County owns a home. There are lots of poor folks out there who lost their rental homes and never owned anything to begin with. A person with a home has a valuable asset that almost half of us lack. If taxes become such a burden that you feel it is no longer worth owning property, sell the property. This sounds callous when posed to a flood victim, but we need to look at all flood victims, not just property owners.
8. Some of the affected businesses are run by local franchisees that will need help. Other businesses are corporately owned, by companies with billions of dollars in assets. If we can only help one, which should we help? Abatements give us no control over that situation.
9. Some people always assume that landlords deserve a set amount of profit. If an individual invests in the stock market, we assume she took some level of risk. If the person invests in gold, we assume she took some level of risk. When a person invests in the local real estate market, we assume she is somehow entitled to a certain profit. We do not hear the tax hawk politicians pleading with landlords to accept less profit and help out flood victims; it is somehow the job of government to help them. Yet do it with less tax revenue.
10. Deciding which circumstances qualified for abatement and which did not would be a very difficult process.
11. Finally - and I REALLY want to emphasize this - I am not opposed to helping people who need help! As a matter of fact, I think that is one of the primary roles of government. I just think tax abatements are a dubious way to do that. For example, say a billionaire landlord who lives in Chicago wants an abatement. I'm not sure he needs a tax break the way others might. If they all just pay, we can redirect money to those most in need.
So, what do you think? Should the Johnson County Board of Supervisors have voted to abate property taxes in the affected areas? I want to know what you think!
DID YOU KNOW? Over 3.7 million Veterans and/or their beneficiaries receive pension benefits from the VA.
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.
If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.
As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
July 11, 2008
Sullivan’s Salvos 7/15/08
Salvos arrives a bit early this week, as I travel to the National Association of Counties (NACo) Convention in Jackson County, Missouri (home to Kansas City). Previous NACo conferences have been quite informative; I look forward to sharing what I learn!
It is Beef Days this weekend (July 18 & 19) in Solon. Beef Days remains the Godfather of all small-town “days”. See you there for a steak and a beverage or two!
Don’t forget the Johnson County Fair July 21-24. I am very proud of Johnson County’s Fair; in addition to being FREE, it is fun and informative for the whole family.
So many county fairs have sold their souls to lure in aging rock stars… then they also get all the associated problems. I am glad the focus here remains on the local Ag community.
Last week, I asked if the term “hero” was overused. The verdict is in from Salvos readers – you overwhelmingly felt that heroism was widespread during the floods. I particularly liked this take, from a reader who shall remain nameless:
“We as a society shouldn't reserve the distinction of hero only for people connected with war. True, we should be careful when conferring such status on celebrities and athletes, but we've already got too much war thrown at us every day.
Someone who inspires others to do good things or better their life or be a better parent or whatever, can and should be recognized, even if it comes only from the person who found some hope and inspiration from their hero's triumphs.”
One of my fellow Supervisors and I have been asked recently what Johnson County does to promote economic development. I am glad we were asked! The week prior to the County Fair seems like an appropriate time to address this topic.
Johnson County is urban in the eyes of many, but we still have a vital agricultural economy. Johnson County has 1261 farms, covering approximately 300,000 acres of land. That is 75% of the surface area of the county. (The land in the average county in Iowa is 89% farms.)
As a matter of fact, after applying multipliers, ag makes up a $408 million slice of the Johnson County economy. Ag related industries amount to over 3,000 jobs, more than Pearson’s and ACT combined. This accounts for about 11% of all jobs in Johnson County. In addition, ag assessments add up to 4% of the property tax in Johnson County. (Source for all statistics cited above: Gene Mohling, ISU Extension.) Though we are more urban than most of Iowa, agriculture matters in Johnson County!
Johnson County supports agriculture in many overt ways, but some of the support is less obvious. The biggest example of this support is our investment in rural roads and bridges.
In addition, Johnson County supports several zoned economic development areas. These areas are home to several thriving businesses. Johnson County also has hundreds of home-based businesses, several of which have grown to the point that County staff people have encouraged these businesses to move into our cities. Johnson County also dedicates $45,000 annually to the Iowa City Area Development Group (ICAD). That compares quite favorably to our cities, as the total amount of public money ICAD gets annually is $250,000. Plus, each city stands to benefit more than Johnson County due to our own adopted policies.
Every bit as important as what we DO are the things we DO NOT do. I cannot emphasize this enough!
First, Johnson County purposely chooses not to compete with our cities for projects. We are frequently asked to do commercial and industrial developments, virtually every one of which is dutifully directed towards our cities. Our Land Use Plan calls for most commercial and industrial development to be directed toward cities – as it should. Since I have been on the Board, we have followed that plan.
Secondly, Johnson County rarely gives away tax dollars to private interests. The biggest help any political subdivision can offer to business is providing good services. Good roads, fire and police protection, and other public accommodations are what municipalities SHOULD do, and that is where Johnson County focuses its efforts.
I think Johnson County is doing the right things in terms of economic development, though I would like to see us put more energy and resources into 4 different areas:
1. Encouraging entrepreneurs. I have always felt that too many resources were placed into recruiting multi-national corporations that have no connection (nor loyalty) to the community, and simply hunt down the best deals. By nurturing entrepreneurs, we increase the odds that businesses they develop will stay in Johnson County.
2. Developing the local food network. Locally grown food makes sense from economic, health, national security, and other perspectives. Johnson County can and should do more to promote this.
3. Johnson County needs to “sell” our cities on the role of County government. Far too many city leaders forget that County government serves the citizens of their cities. The County should be at the table when the cities are making plans.
4. We need to investigate the best practices in economic development. None of this is new. We need to learn what works in other places, and copy the best ideas.
So… what do you think of Johnson County’s economic development activities? Are we doing the right things? What should we be doing differently? I am curious as to your thoughts!
DID YOU KNOW? Johnson County SEATS spent $61,000 on fuel in FY04; that amount was $151,000 in FY08. (Miles traveled rose considerably, along with gas prices – obviously!)
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.
If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.
As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
July 6, 2008
Sullivan’s Salvos 7/8/08
When it comes to local government, Johnson County has dual roles. The floods illustrate this point.
In addition to the higher-profile flooding in Iowa City and Coralville, several rural residents (and a few rural businesses) were flood victims. About 50 properties were faced with mandatory evacuations, and about 100 rural residents have filed with FEMA. (Interestingly, these tend not to be the same people. Most of the evacuations were because roads were cut off, not because properties were in jeopardy.)
In these cases, Johnson County fulfills the same role that Coralville or Iowa City fills for residents of those cities. Johnson County is opening roads and bridges, inspecting houses, helping with cleanup, and providing all the other services necessary for recovery. For folks in unincorporated areas, we are essentially their “city council”.
Meanwhile, all Johnson County flood victims benefit from the Emergency Operations Center, Department of Public Health, Social Services, Ambulance, Mental Health, and other programs funded by Johnson County – regardless of where they live.
In an earlier edition of Salvos, I referred to state, county, and municipal employees as “heroes”. A regular Salvos reader replied with the following:
“It seems to me as though the word hero is being used a bit loosely these days. Throwing yourself on a hand grenade (like Max Cleland did in Viet Nam) strikes me as being in a totally different category than the efforts of our State, County, and Municipal employees who contributed to the flood effort. Inflation seems to have affected more than the value of the dollar. But maybe I’m just a grouchy old man.”
I agree in principal with the idea that we are more given to hyperbole than in the past. On the other hand, there were some tremendous efforts in response to the flood.
The dictionary definition of a hero calls for “selfless courage.” Does one need to take a big personal risk to be a hero? Can a hero be an athlete or entertainer, if that person inspires others? Is a person who volunteers to sandbag or clean up someone else’s place a hero? All food for thought.
So… is the term hero overused? Is our friend a grouchy old man? Both? I am curious as to your thoughts!
It is July now, and I have now completed 6 months of my year as Chair of the Board. The way things are done in Johnson County, serving as Chair does not mean much. Each Board member gets a turn, and there aren’t many fights over agenda items. I suppose a given individual might run a better/worse meeting, but that is about it.
That said, I have had one heck of a run! First there was the winter weather – the worst in years. Then we had record flooding. The Board had not held an emergency meeting as far back as anyone could remember; we have had two in the past 3 weeks– one in the lobby of the jail! Add in the unprecedented mandatory evacuations and mandatory curfews, and I have been presented with some challenges. Heck, we even had a small earthquake!
And it probably isn’t over. There will be flood-related controversies over tax abatements, buy-outs, and the like. 2008 is an election year, and looks to be a record turnout. Who knows what lies ahead in the next 6 months? I am ready for locusts, fires, and just about everything else.
I am hopeful that the Primary Election results indicate a big year for Democrats. 3,648 Democratic votes were cast for County Supervisor, while only 1,478 Republicans voted for their Congressional & Senatorial candidates.
Contrast this to 2002, which saw 3,386 Republicans turn out to select GOP Gubernatorial and Senatorial candidates. (Choosing Doug Gross over Steve Sukup and Bob VanderPlats, and selecting Greg Ganske over Bill Salier.)
Look for your next edition of Salvos just a bit earlier next week. We’ll be back to the normal schedule in two weeks.
DID YOU KNOW? The Chicago Cubs last won the World Series in 1908. That same year, women could not yet vote. Oklahoma became a State. Henry Ford introduced the Model T. Man first reached the North Pole.
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.
If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.
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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