SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
November 9, 2017
Sullivan’s
Salvos 11/14/17
In this edition:
*RIP Calder Wills
*Election Results
*County Budget
*Did You Know?
*RIP Calder Wills
A
twelve-year-old young man from Iowa City named Calder Wills just passed away
after a long battle with cancer. To be honest, I never met Calder. I had a
couple of meetings with his mother, Brianna, and while she seemed delightful, I
can’t say I know her well.
But
Calder attended Hoover Elementary, where my kids went for many years. I have
seen how much Calder meant to so many in the tears of my friends and neighbors.
It is pretty remarkable.
It
is easy to see that Calder was special. I simply cannot imagine such a loss. My
thoughts and prayers go out to the Wills and Hoover families.
*Election Results
The
2017 city council elections are in the books, and in some ways, these elections
were monumental. Perhaps that is fitting, as 2017 is the last year where
Council elections are run separately from School Elections.
In
Iowa City, incumbent Kingsley Botchway and newcomer Mazahir Salih handily defeated
“Nighttime Mayor” Angela Winnike for the two At-Large seats, 78-19. Salih
becomes the first Muslim and first black woman to serve on the Iowa City
Council, and I am told she is the first person of Sudanese descent to be
elected in the US! (I can’t figure out how to confirm or deny that!) What an
accomplishment!
In the District B race, student Ryan Hall took on incumbent Susan
Mims, with Mims winning 59-41.
In
Coralville, the lines were drawn between a conservative old guard and more
liberal “newcomers”. Meghann Foster was the candidate both sides agreed upon,
so she cruised to first place. After that, incumbents Tom Gill and Laurie
Goodrich held their seats.
In
North Liberty, incumbents Brian Wayson and Annie Pollock faced off with
challenger Jennifer Goings. Pollock was the top vote-getter, and Goings edged
Wayson for the final seat.
Other
results of note: Lone Tree incumbent Mayor Sandy Flake lost a close one to challenger
Jonathan Green. In the Council race, 5 candidates, including incumbents Kice
Brown and Ken Barton, faced off for 3 seats. Ryan Ronan ran away with the top
spot, followed by newcomer Tyler Baird and Barton.
Tiffin
had three incumbent Councilors challenged by two others, including a former Mayor.
There incumbents Jim Bartels and Al Havens will be joined by newcomer Eric
Schnedler.
True to form, University Heights had 8
candidates (including 3 incumbents) for 5 spots. Herbold, Moore, Quezada, and
Maher carried the day there.
Turnouts
were a mixed bag. As usual, University Heights led the way with 50% turnout.
Oxford was close behind at 44%, and Lone Tree came in at 26. It only got worse
as we get to the bigger cities. Iowa City turnout was 15.5%, Coralville 12.4,
and North Liberty 4.9.
While
there have certainly been years that had worse turnout, I think we need to call
these vote totals what they are – abysmal. Of course, everything changes next
year under the new Iowa Election laws, almost all of which are specifically
designed to limit voting by students, seniors, people with disabilities, and
people of color. So perhaps 15% will look really good in a few years.
It is easy to see why people choose not
to run; why subject oneself to the headaches of governing? While I understand
this thinking, I am certainly glad that not everyone feels this way. Our
government does not function unless people step up to fill these roles. My
sincere thanks to everyone who ran, win or lose.
*County Budget
Johnson County is beginning the budgeting process for Fiscal Year
2019 (FY19), which will begin July 1st of 2018. Here are some
ongoing budget issues, and my take on them:
General Fund versus Rural
Fund: If you pay
property taxes in Johnson County, you pay into the General Fund. All taxpayers
do. If you live in the unincorporated area of the county, you also pay into the
Rural Fund. The Rural Fund covers expenses specific to rural residents – mostly
roads, but also libraries, landfill, and a couple smaller expenses. There are
wide variations between counties as to what should be supported by the rural
fund. Johnson County pays for virtually everything from the General Fund. (The
Rural Fund is only about $6 million of the over $100 million dollar budget.)
Other counties do things differently.
Any single individual can
easily create a budget:
It isn’t that hard to support the programs and services you like, then cut the
ones you don’t. It is much more difficult to do this for 150,000 people.
Similarly, it isn’t that hard to decide how much you think you ought to pay in
taxes, then apply that County wide. It is more difficult when you then
recognize how many valuable services would need to be cut. Creating a budget
that works for 150,000 people is challenging.
Taxes versus services: I had a man complain to me about his
taxes. The next day, his wife complained about the condition of their road.
They simply can’t have it both ways! Yes, this is an anecdote, but it sums up
the fundamental budgetary difficulty- people want to pay less in taxes, but get
more services. It cannot be done.
Mandated versus optional
services: Some
services are required by law. For example, Johnson County is obligated to hold
elections. Other services are optional. On the other hand, Johnson County has
no legal obligation to fund DVIP. I take issue with things being portrayed this
simply. Let’s go back to elections. While elections are mandated, there is no
mandate as to the amount of elections staff, computer equipment, or other
expenses. The law says we must do it, but it does not specify the amount we
must spend. Funding DVIP (while not required) may, in fact, be a very
productive way to work toward Johnson County’s mission.
Conservative budgeting
versus low taxes: It
is important for folks to recognize that the lowest possible tax rate does not
equate to the most conservative budgeting. For example – the most conservative
budgeting includes money for maintenance. You need to spend money on upkeep,
whether roads, buildings, or vehicles – or you’ll spend more in the long run.
And I REFUSE to buy into the idea that taxes are inherently bad! Taxes are the
price of supporting a civilized society.
Want to know a government’s priorities? Look at the budget. With
that said, I encourage citizens to join us at our budget meetings. (The calendar
is on the website.) Meanwhile, what are your priorities? Now is the time to let
us know!
*DID YOU KNOW?
The last student to serve on the Iowa City Council was David Perret, who
won election in ’75 and ’79. Perret, though a full-time UI student, was also a local
who attended high school in Iowa City.
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 @ 9:07 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home