SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
February 9, 2017
Sullivan’s
Salvos 2/14/17
In this edition:
*Trump’s America
*Iowa Legislature
*Spreading Salvos Love!
*Real Economic Development!
*Did You Know?
*Trump’s America
Things
have changed since the election. There is a new outrage every single day.
President Trump is as bad as I feared. I feel as though I could write something
in every edition of Salvos, but I am not certain anybody would want to hear it.
Like many of you, I have abundant feelings of anger, insult, and indignation.
I’m still trying to figure out how to deal with this new reality. Please bear
with me.
*Iowa Legislature
I
had the opportunity to testify in front of the Iowa Senate Human Services
Committee this week, talking about the need to change the way we fund mental
health services. I certainly appreciated the opportunity, and hope it made some
type of impact!
That said, for as bad as things are in DC, they may be worse in
Des Moines. Again, I have abundant feelings of anger, insult, and indignation.
And again, I’m still trying to figure out how to deal with this new reality.
Please bear with me.
*Spreading Salvos Love!
I
have been sending Salvos out since I began as a Supervisor in January of 2005.
(Actually, the first couple editions came out in December of 2004, just before
I took office.)
The
newsletter was not named “Sullivan’s Salvos” at that time; that name came from
my friend Charlie Funk. Meanwhile, over the past 628 weeks, subscribers have
received around 590 issues of Salvos. (I have taken a few weeks off for family
vacations, etc.)
I really wasn’t certain that I would be able to maintain this
volume of writing. And I’d be lying if I said it was easy. But it is a bit of a
labor of love.
Hopefully, folks have found it interesting. I have been intrigued
by the responses. A couple dozen folks have unsubscribed in protest over one
issue or another; some have returned, but not all. There are a handful of folks
who offer their thoughts frequently; I really appreciate this! Two or three
people actually respond at length on occasion; I feel as though I have made a
couple of friends this way! Most subscribers stay subscribed, but I don’t
really know if they read it or not. And that is OK.
I
have not done much to increase readership since those earliest weeks. The
number of subscribers quickly grew to 500, dropped off to around 480, and has
remained within about ten of that number ever since.
Johnson
County is a very transient community, and it is truly remarkable how many
people come and go. Unfortunately, 50+ readers have died during this span. Many
of my readers no longer subscribe because they moved away. And just as people
go, new people arrive. I know there are people new to Johnson County who might
be interested in subscribing. Given that, I decided to reach out a bit – hence
this article.
I
ask that you please do me a favor. Forward this edition of Salvos on to a few
friends. Encourage them to sign up. I’d like to add a few new readers to the
mix.
Thank
you for sharing, and thank you for reading! I look forward to your feedback in
the future! It has truly been a pleasure!
*Real Economic Development!
This
appeared in Salvos the last couple of years, but it bears repeating as we enter
tax season.
*What if I told you we could bring in 48 full-time jobs that would
pay $20 per hour?
*What
if I told you these jobs could neither be outsourced overseas nor
subcontracted?
*What if I told you those jobs would be filled by hard-working
low-income people, all of whom are local?
*What if I told you NO bribery (aka “tax incentives”) would be
required to land these jobs?
*What if I told you there were no special workforce training
programs required?
*What if I told you virtually ALL of the money earned would be
spent locally?
What
would happen? Well, the Chamber of Commerce would put it in their newsletter,
and the Ambassadors would do a ribbon cutting. Debi Durham would come over from
Des Moines and do a big press event, and the Governor just might join her. ICAD
would tweet this success to the world. Mayors would grab gold shovels and pose
for a photo. You might get a visit from a US Senator. The Press Citizen and
Gazette would both do front page stories. The Corridor Business Journal would
write a nice editorial. The region would be hailed for its forward thinking,
and folks would talk far and wide about how well we do economic development.
So
what if I told you the exact equivalent has already occurred? It has.
Several
years ago, I went to a National Association of Counties (NACo) conference and
learned about a program that had started in Cook County, Illinois.
As
it turns out, a huge number of low-income workers leave money on the table when
it comes to the federal income tax system, particularly the Earned Income Tax
Credit (EITC). Cook County created a series of free tax clinics to ensure this
money returned to their county.
I
did some investigating, and it just so happened that Johnson County had the
same problem, though obviously on a much smaller scale.
So
I pushed for Johnson County to begin a free tax help program. It struck me that
we had a potential partner in the Tippe College of Business, and as luck would
have it, I could not have had better timing. Dr. Joyce Berg was ready to
greatly expand the work her student tax preparers would do. It was a perfect
fit.
Former
Supervisor Sally Stutsman was very supportive. Amy Correia had just been hired
as Johnson County’s first Social Services Director, and Amy took the ball and
ran with it, including securing grants to cover all operating costs. The Tippe
College, ICCSD, United Way, Iowa City Public Library, and many others have
become valued partners. In recent years, current Social Services Director
Lynette Jacoby has maintained and improved upon all this success.
What
are the results? The Free Tax Help Program brings over $1.9 million into the
local economy every year. It goes to low-income local workers, who spend it
locally. And it uses no local tax dollars.
Remember
when I said “48 full-time jobs at $20 per hour”? That adds up to a $1.9 million
annual impact, less than the Free Tax Help Program. But the Free Tax Help
Program is actually even better, because it serves over 1,300 Johnson County
tax filers and their families!
Economic
Development can take many forms. I happen to believe the Free Tax Help program
has contributed a lot of good things to the local economy. We have not had any
fancy groundbreakings or ribbon cuttings, but we have accomplished something!
The
Corridor Business Journal spends a few hundred words every other issue
badmouthing the Board of Supervisors; I wonder if they will honor us for this
economic development? I’m not holding my breath!
So
if you know Lynette Jacoby, thank Lynette Jacoby. She has done great work! If
you know Joyce Berg, thank Joyce Berg. Her students have given much more back
to this community than they could ever take.
*DID YOU KNOW?
Most economic development incentives put to use in Johnson County over
the past 20 years have come nowhere close to a $1.9 million annual return on
investment.
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.
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
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 9:11 PM
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