SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
November 22, 2017
Sullivan’s
Salvos 11/28/17
In this edition:
*50-50 Rock Agreements
*Holiday Shopping and Events?
*Money for Mental Health
*Poverty
*Did You Know?
*50-50 Rock Agreements
Johnson
County maintains a number of so-called “50-50” rock agreements on rural roads.
Allow me to give a bit of history, and I’ll explain my frustrations.
Right
of way (ROW) is the area between the actual road and your yard. In the country,
it includes the ditch, and usually goes to the fence line. In town, it is the
area between the sidewalk and the street. ROW is actually owned by the property
owner, but the government maintains a permanent easement. If the government
needs a bigger easement, they must purchase it from the property owner.
Years
ago, federal and state standards were changed to require 66’ of right of way
for rural roads. Like other jurisdictions, Johnson County attempted to comply.
In most cases, landowners dedicated (gave) the necessary ROW, because they
wanted the improved road that would follow.
In
other cases, the landowners refused to donate ROW. Sometimes the County
relented and paid for it. In other cases, the County simply left the road in a
more primitive condition. Today we call those “minimum maintenance” or Level B
roads.
So,
in most cases, people who refused to donate ROW ended up with property abutting
Level B roads. In some cases this made sense, because the road got very minimal
use. In other cases, the roads in question were nothing more than long
driveways, with no real public purpose.
Then, over time, something happened. Some of the people who owned
land along these roadways argued that they deserved/needed rock on their roads.
Never mind that the situation existed in the first place because their
granddaddies were stubborn! By God, they pay taxes, and they deserve rock!
So decades ago, the Board of Supervisors enter into “50-50” rock
agreements. This meant that the person who owned the property would pay half
the cost, and the public would foot the rest of the bill.
Understand – these roads were NEVER technically Level A roads –
they never met the minimum requirements. But they were given special treatment,
creating a nonexistent class of “A-“ or “B+” roads.
Over time, many of these 50-50 agreements have faded away. But
there are still a couple dozen out there. And they cost you $4500 annually just
for the rock. This does not include plowing, grading, and other maintenance.
But the cost to the public really isn’t the issue. These roads do
not meet minimum standards. From a liability standpoint, they should be signed
as Level B. It really doesn’t matter what condition the road is in – the public
needs to understand that the road does not meet minimum standards, and they
enter at their own risk.
So, the Board finally got around to passing a long-overdue
ordinance cleaning up this mess. People with 50-50 agreements can keep things
just the way they are. But the County is going to put up a Level B sign where
the road lacks the required right of way.
Some neighbors are angry, claiming this will harm their property values.
Thing is, the County has not allowed homes to be built on Level B roads for a
couple decades. These few cases are just grandfathered in. It is not good
public policy to permit the building of a home on a Level B road. It never was.
So, a couple dozen families are angry. But I am convinced (as is
our legal staff) that we have just made a significant improvement in terms of
lowering our liability. The travelling public is now safer. I am willing to
take that trade.
*Holiday Shopping and Events?
Planning
your Holiday events? Starting your Holiday shopping? If so, please remember to
look for the little blue sign that says, “We support the Johnson County Minimum
Wage - $10.10.”
Obviously,
Republicans in the Iowa Legislature took away Johnson County’s ability to set a
minimum wage. But a coalition of local individuals, led by the Center for
Worker Justice, have gone door-to-door to local businesses, asking them to
pledge to pay at least $10.10.
And
the campaign has been very successful! Already over 150 local businesses have
made the pledge, with more businesses pledging every day.
I
am going to spend my dollars in a way that does some social good. I am going to
spend my dollars in a way that reflects the teachings of the season. I am going
to support businesses that pay $10.10 this Holiday season. I hope you will do
the same!
*Money for Mental Health
Iowa
Department of Human Services Director Jerry Foxhoven recently said, “There will
never be enough money to properly provide the mental health services. That’s
true not only in Iowa, it’s true all over the country.”
Bullcrap!
What total bullcrap! The US spends just under $200 billion annually on mental
health care, most being spent in prisons and jails. The US has spent about $2.5
TRILLION fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Basically, those wars could pay
for mental health care thirteen times over!
And
you are about to see that $2.5 TRILLION number again soon – that is the net
worth of the 400 wealthiest families in the US.
So,
Mr. Foxhoven – stop lying! The Federal and State governments CAN afford to
treat our mental health care needs. You are simply choosing to do other things.
*Poverty
The
Dow Jones sits at an all-time high, and the net worth of the 400 wealthiest
families is now over $2.5 TRILLION. Yet 5 million more people are food
insecure. The total number of food insecure Americans is now 41 million – more
than the combined populations of Texas, Michigan, and Maine. (Statistics from
The Nation.)
Things are very similar in Johnson County. The poverty rate in
Johnson County has risen from 18% in 2005 to 28% in 2014. Wealthy people here
are doing very well, while the poor fall farther and farther behind.
I labeled this section, “Poverty”, and frankly, it is a poor choice
of labels. Unfortunately, we have come to use “poverty” as an important
indicator. In reality, poverty is just an artificial construction.
Mollie
Orshansky, a statistician at the Social Security Administration (SSA) developed
the current U.S. poverty measure in the early 1960s. Orshansky developed her
poverty thresholds by taking the cost of a minimum adequate diet for families
of different sizes and multiplying the cost by three to allow for other
expenses. In 1969, the Office of Management and Budget issued a directive that
made these thresholds the federal government's official statistical definition
of poverty.
This
is important, because a single person requires at least twice the poverty
threshold ($12,000) just to live. In Iowa City, market rate rent for a
one-bedroom apartment is $775/month. That adds up to $9300 in rent alone. That
does not include water, gas, electric, or any other utilities. So take
$12,000-9300 – still no utilities included - that leaves $2700. $2700 divided
by 12 = $225/month – for everything else. That simply does not cut it.
The
poverty definition fails to an even greater degree as you increase the family
size. According to current definitions, poverty for a family of four is $24,000
– only twice that of a single adult.
We
really need a new definition of “poverty” in the US – one that realistically
reflects the minimum amount a person needs to get by. When you hear about
programs that use 130-150% of poverty? That is a step in the right direction.
Just understand that anyone earning below 200% of poverty is simply not meeting
her basic needs.
*DID YOU KNOW?
Five Johnson County cities -
Coralville, Hills, North Liberty, Oxford, and University Heights - will have
female majority city councils in January. (Source: John Deeth.)
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.
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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 @ 5:07 PM
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