SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
January 3, 2014
Sullivan’s
Salvos 1/7/14
In this edition:
*Happy New Year!
*Campaign Promises
*Property Tax Rates
*Property Tax Rates, Part Two
*Did You Know?
*Happy New Year!
Welcome
to 2014! Let’s make this the best year ever!
*Campaign Promises
I
may be crazy for doing this, but I thought I’d take a look back at the platform
I ran on when seeking reelection in 2012. I am now one year into that 4-year
term; let’s see how I am doing. I listed 5 goals for this term:
Goal: Work with cities for
sensible TIF usage.
Results: This is a pretty
tough lift. After the Governor’s huge commercial tax cuts, cities have few
other places to look for revenue. Cities have zero incentive to do anything
else. And when a city and the county go head to head, the county ALWAYS loses.
Legislators have priorities, and those are cities, not counties. The task is convincing
city leaders that county government matters. Obviously, this will require
ongoing work.
Goal: Improve rural
housing conditions.
Results: Nothing like
choosing easy goals, huh? While this problem remains daunting, there actually
have been some significant improvements made on this front. First, the Health
Department adopted a new and improved Health Nuisance Ordinance, which covers
many of the health issues we found in our run down housing. While this doesn’t
accomplish everything our failed Property Maintenance Ordinance would have
addressed, it has made a measurable improvement in many properties. Secondly,
the County has twice spent $20,000 with the Housing Trust Fund to identify and
address serious home improvement needs. This has resulted in key life safety
improvements to several rural residences, mostly mobile homes. Finally, the
cities of North Liberty, Coralville, and Iowa City have agreed to join the
County in looking at affordable housing issues countywide. This could well be
the biggest victory of all! So, while much work remains, some very good things
have occurred.
Goal: Increased support
for Human Services.
Results: While the actual
dollar amount going toward human services has not increased, it has not
decreased, either. Given the aforementioned commercial tax cuts, this may be
the best we are able to do. There was another big positive, of course – the
County sold the old Public Health Building to the Crisis Center for $1, kicking
off the 1105 Project. I’m extremely proud of my role in that endeavor!
Goal: Improve Affirmative
Action results.
Results: If you walk into
a County building, you will either find someone who speaks your language, or an
employee can hook you up to a telephone translator. That is pretty cool! The
County now has a Diversity Committee, which is succeeding in bringing some new
voices into the conversation. We have several ideas to implement, and Diversity
has been included as a goal in the County’s Strategic Plan. That said, the
employment numbers still have a long ways to go. Johnson County is about 80%
Caucasian, but our workforce is closer to 97%. We’ll continue to work on that.
Goal: Improve race
relations.
Results: Another
easy one! The County Attorney, Sheriff, and Jail Diversion staffs have begun
greater outreach to minority communities. I am an original member of the
Coalition for Racial Justice, which has the possibility of being a huge asset
to local governments down the road. As you might imagine, much work remains.
So,
those are the results as I see them. Obviously, it takes 3 votes to get
anything done on the Board of Supervisors; I find myself on the losing end of
far too many 3-2 votes. That said, part of the job is convincing your
colleagues to join you in voting for the things you think are important. I
still have work to do on that front.
What are your thoughts? You are the ultimate judges as to whether
or not we have achieved any successes. I look forward to your comments!
*Property Tax Rates
Lots
of people like to lie about property tax rates in Johnson County, claiming,
“They are some of the highest in the country!”
Bull!
Here are the facts - 43 Iowa Counties have higher property tax rates than
Johnson County, ranking Johnson 44 out of the 99 counties. (Source: Iowa State
Association of Counties.)
I have not mentioned this in quite some time, but it bears
repeating. Misinformation abounds. Now YOU have the correct information, so
when somebody says otherwise, you can set her straight.
*Property Tax Rates, Part Two
A
friend recently sent me the following interactive map from the Brookings
Institution: http://www.brookings.edu/research/interactives/2013/county-property-taxes-map
You
can click on any county in the US, then see where that county ranks in terms of
several property tax metrics. I found this really fun!
While
the map is fascinating, it deserves greater explanation. For one, we need to
once again stress that the biggest factor in high property taxes is valuable
property. An apartment building in Manhattan is worth a lot more than a mobile
home 200 miles from Albuquerque. Because it is worth much more, it will pay
much more.
Secondly, these taxes include all taxing jurisdictions. So totals
include cities, schools, counties, community colleges, and a couple more tiny
levies. When I discuss our levy rates, I focus on the county rates. This makes
sense, as those are the only rates over which I have control.
Thirdly, different states have different ways of funding local
governments. There are places with low property tax rates, but quality services
– these locales rely more on income and/or sales taxes. Or certain states might
fund things that are county-funded in other states. So comparisons are probably
best within states.
Finally, some states (and counties) fund very few services,
period! In Iowa, for example, counties vary wildly in the amount they spend on
Public Health. While Johnson County spends almost $4 million, some counties
spend under $100,000. Personally, I am willing to fund Public Health. From what
I’ve heard, so are most of my constituents.
So
how did Johnson County rank? Average home value = $180,200. Home value rank =
537 (out of about 3,100). Average taxes paid = $2649. Taxes paid rank = 258
(out of about 3,100). Taxes as a share of value = 1.47%. Takes as share of
value rank = 555 (out of about 3,100).
There
is much to digest there. Suffice to say, I am extremely comfortable with the
tax rates in Johnson County. If you would like to discuss this in greater
detail, just give me a call.
*DID YOU KNOW?
Property taxes in the US date to the very earliest Colonial times. By
1796, state and local governments in fourteen of the 15 states taxed land.
Anyone
interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the
County website-
"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.
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come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the
whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise
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As always,
feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to
serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 1:15 PM
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