SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
February 2, 2017
Sullivan’s
Salvos 2/7/17
In this edition:
*A Reminder…
*Flag Burning
*Bowl For Kids’ Sake
*Taxes
*Free Tax Help!
*Did You Know?
*A Reminder…
The plaque at the base of
the Statue of Liberty reads: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled
masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched
refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
*Flag Burning
Iowa
City made national news the other day when a FedEx delivery driver stopped a
group of protesters who were burning an American flag.
Is
burning a flag a good way to win friends and influence people? No. Is it legal?
Yes, it is! Unlike many of the actions of our new President, flag burning is
Constitutionally protected! A Muslim ban, on the other hand, is not!
Ask
yourselves: should we be focused on the LEGAL acts of a few people desperate
for attention, or the ILLEGAL actions of our government?
So
remember – while flag burners are idiots, be careful what you wish for. The
next protest the Fed Ex Man decides to break up might be yours!
*Bowl For Kids’ Sake
I chose to get involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters' Bowl for
Kids' Sake because too many young people are struggling at school and at home.
But kids served by Big Brothers Big Sisters get great results!
- 98% of our Littles have avoided the
judicial system
- 63% of our Littles feel more socially
accepted
- 76% of our Littles have increased their
scholastic confidence
- 92% of our Littles who did not believe
they would finish high school before meeting their Bigs now believe they
can and will
- 63% of our Littles who did not believe
college was an option before meeting their Bigs now hope to attend and
believe they can graduate from college
- 69% of our Littles have improved their
grades from the time they began meeting with their Big
- 47% of our Littles have improved their
sense of risk behaviors and do not approve of their peers engaging in
risky behaviors
- 65% of our Littles have improved their
relationships with their parents or caretakers
- 47% of our Littles have improved their
truancy from the time they began meeting with their Big.
We can keep this going. Help me reach my Bowl for Kids' Sake goal
by making a donation today. Your donation will help change a child's life for
the better, forever.
*Taxes
We
are putting the final touches on the FY18 budget, and I thought it made for a
good time to revisit the subject of property taxes.
The total
property taxes you pay is a function of several factors:
1.
Value
of the property: The Assessor for your jurisdiction determines how much a given
property is worth. The property then receives an assessed value.
2.
Classification
of the property: A given property is classified into one of several categories.
With a few minor exceptions, taxable properties are classified as either
Agricultural, Residential, Commercial, or Industrial.
3.
Levy
rates: Each taxing jurisdiction has a levy rate for Ag, Residential,
Commercial, and Industrial. The rate for each jurisdiction is applied.
4.
Credits/rollbacks,
etc.: There are occasional credits and rollbacks that artificially adjust the
taxes due on certain taxable properties.
So, you take
the value of the property, times the total levy rate for that class of property
for each jurisdiction. Then apply any rollbacks or credits, and you have your
total amount of property taxes due.
The
taxing bodies do not have as much control over property taxes as you might
think. Assessors value and classify the property. The state determines credits
and rollbacks. All the taxing bodies control are the levy rates.
The Levy Rate in Johnson County has only increased 14% in ten
years! That is an average of 1.4% per year – well below the average rate of
inflation (2.0%) for the same period.
*Free Tax Help!
VITA
Tax Clinics provide trained student volunteer tax preparers from the University
of Iowa Tippie College of Business to people who, in 2016, earned less than
$55,000. Last year VITA volunteers filed 1,300 tax returns for Johnson County
participants, with Federal refunds totaling $1,900,000.
VITA
is a partnership among Johnson County Social Services, the University of Iowa
Tippie College of Business, Iowa City Public Library, Iowa City Community
School District, and United Way of Johnson County. The program is funded
by Johnson County and ISED Ventures, an Iowa asset development organization
that creates opportunities for low- and moderate-income Iowans to achieve
financial stability. ISED receives funding for this program from the Department
of Human Services and the Internal Revenue Service.
VITA
Tax Clinics will be offered at the following locations (appointments are not
necessary):
Iowa
City Public Library, 123 South Linn Street; Saturdays (11 am to 5 pm), January
28, February 4, April 1 and 8; Sundays (12:30 pm to 4:30 pm), January 29,
February 5, 12, 19 and 26, March 5 and 26, April 2 and 9; Mondays (5:45 pm to
8:45 pm), April 3 and 10; Tuesday (5:45 pm to 8:45 pm) April 11; Wednesdays
(5:45 pm to 8:45 pm), January 25, February 1, 8, 15 and 22, March 1, 8, 22 and
29, April 5 and 12. Spanish interpreters are available at the Sunday clinics.
Southeast
Junior High, 2501 Bradford Drive, Iowa City; Sundays (1 pm to 4 pm), February
12, 19 and 26, March 5. Interpreters available by appointment only
Northwest
Junior High, 1507 8th Street, Coralville; Mondays (6 pm to 9 pm), January 30,
February 6, 13 and 20. Spanish interpreters are available at this site.
Garner
Elementary, 80 Birch Court, North Liberty; Mondays (6 pm to 9 pm), February 27,
March 6, 20 and 27. Interpreters available by appointment only.
To
schedule an interpreter or to request an interpreter for a language other than
Spanish (including sign language), contact An Leonard at 319-356-6090 at least
4 days in advance.
For
more information on these free tax preparation sites, call the United Way
toll-free at 2-1-1 (from a landline telephone) or 1-866-469-2211. Or visit the
Johnson County website at www.johnson-county.com.
*DID YOU KNOW? The
designer of the current United States flag was 17 at the time, and created it
for a high school project. He received a B-.
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
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anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail
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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 @ 8:55 PM
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