SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
April 4, 2019
Sullivan’s Salvos 4/9/19
In this edition:
*Increased Property Assessments
*Secondary Roads Stats
*The Politics of Bridge Building
*Dems Hall of Fame Event
*Did You Know?
*Increased Property Assessments
I have heard a number of people complaining about the recent reassessment notices that arrived from the Assessor’s Offices. And I get it! My own home was recently reassessed from $178,000 to $192,000. That is a pretty significant increase – about 8%.
Thing is? This makes perfect sense. Several homes in our area have sold recently. Most were smaller than ours, and most went for over $200,000. Sure, it hurts the pocketbook a bit. But being accurate is critical. And these assessments are accurate.The Iowa City Assessor's Office routinely ranks in the top 2-3 in the state in terms of accuracy(as does the Johnson County Assessor's Office).
Fact is, you may complain about the increase, but would you REALLY sell your property for less than the assessed value? If so, there is an appeals process, and you should use it.
Otherwise, just take a deep breath and remember: if you are making a property tax payment, you are by definition one of the wealthiest 55% of all Johnson County residents. Count your blessings.
*Secondary Roads Stats
The Board of Supervisors reviewed our Five Year Roads Plan last week, as it is due to the state by April 15th. This is an annual endeavor, but it brought to light some statistics I thought you might find interesting.
*Johnson County has approximately 920 miles of roadway. That consists of 41 miles of dirt, 585 miles of gravel, 122 miles of chip seal, 138 miles of asphalt, and 32 miles of Portland Concrete Cement (PCC).
*That means there are 1840 miles of ditches that require maintenance. This includes several thousand culverts.
*Roads are designed to last about 30 years between major reconstructions. Maintenance and rehab projects hold things together between reconstructions.
*Johnson County has over 220 bridges of over 20 feet in length. All bridges over 20’ in length are required to be inspected every two years by federal law.
*Iowa has an inordinate number of bridges, and unfortunately, ranks low nationally in terms of the quality of bridges. Of Iowa’s 24,215 bridges, 5,067, or about 21 percent, are classified as structurally deficient. Six are located on Interstate highways. Bridges are regularly rated for safety on a scale of 0 to 9, with 9 meaning “excellent.” To be considered structurally deficient, one of its major components must measure 4 or below. This does not necessarily mean they are unsafe, but they need to be fixed.
*Johnson County is in very good shape compared to most of the state. Despite this fact, we have 25 bridges that are structurally deficient (aka load limited) and 4 that are functionally obsolete (too narrow).
I found these statistics quite interesting. I hope you did, too! If you want to view the Five Year Roads Plan, just visit the Secondary Roads page of the Johnson County website.
*The Politics of Bridge Building
I find that there are often disconnects between reality and the political narratives we choose to embrace. The issue of rural bridges is a good example of this disconnect.
First, a bit of background: every Iowa county has hundreds of miles of gravel roads. In addition, many of these roads have multiple bridges. Some are concrete, some are steel, and some are timber, but they all serve the same purpose. We replace a few of these bridges every year, and I can tell you the cost is pretty much always between $300-$600,000, depending upon the length.
These bridges are lifelines for the people who live in the area. This is how farmers get to their fields. This is how farmers get to town. The rural economy functions best when these bridges are well maintained.
In addition, there is a public safety factor. Fire trucks, ambulances, and Sheriff’s vehicles need to be able to access the residents of the area via a quick and direct route.
On the other hand, the cost of these bridges adds up. Say we set aside $1.5 million for these bridges each year. That is the same cost as one brand new mile of paved road, or the rehabilitation of 3 miles of paved road.
Some of our paved roads see thousands of cars every day. Often these gravel roads have traffic counts as low as 20 cars per day. Needless to say, many people feel it is foolish to invest so much money in these bridges when the total traffic counts are so low.
I understand both sides of the argument. But time after time, I have come down on the side of the farmer. I have served as a Supervisor for 14 years. In that time, Johnson County has never permanently closed a bridge. I am extremely proud of that fact!
But you won’t find a bunch of farmers singing my praises. In fact, you’ll find the exact opposite; farmers talking about how much they hate my work as a Supervisor.
Here is where the disconnect comes in. Washington County – with more farms than Johnson County – has closed bridges. The Washington County Board is made up 100% of conservative Republicans. But they have closed bridges.
Cedar County is the same way. The Cedar County Board is made up of 100% conservative Republicans, including the Chair of the Iowa Republican Party. But they have closed bridges.
Like many areas of our politics today, the realities of bridge building do not match the political narrative.
*Dems Hall of Fame Event
The Johnson County Democratic Party is holding our Annual Hall of Fame Awards on Saturday, May 11 at 7pm at Brown Deer in Coralville. 2019 marks the 9thconsecutive year that the Johnson County Democratic Party has held a separate Hall of Fame event.
Please join us for coffee, desserts, and plenty of old war stories! A cash bar will be available.
The Hall of Fame inductees for 2019 are: Sarah Swisher and Gary Smith, Valerie Kemp, Orville and Billie Townsend, and the late Kurt Friese. We hope you can join us in recognizing this remarkable group!
Tickets are available for a $25 suggested donation. People who cannot afford that amount should still feel welcome, but please call 354-7199 so we can get a count. Sponsorships are available at the following levels:
$100 includes two tickets
$250 includes 4 tickets
$500 includes a whole table (8 tickets)
$100 includes two tickets
$250 includes 4 tickets
$500 includes a whole table (8 tickets)
*DID YOU KNOW? Iowa’s first two counties, Des Moines County and Dubuque County, were created in 1834 when Iowa was still part of the Michigan Territory.
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 @ 3:12 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home