SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
January 19, 2023
Sullivan’s Salvos 1/24/23
In this edition:
*Kirkwood in Iowa City
*Raw Materials and Public Education
*Conference Boards
*Property Taxes
*Did You Know?
*Kirkwood in Iowa City
I am angry about the recent decision by Kirkwood Community College to close their Iowa City campus. Iowa City has ALWAYS gotten short shrift from Kirkwood, though plenty of IC property taxes flow to that institution.
I heard their justifications, and I heard how they plan on “mitigating” the loss. And I don’t buy it. They simply want more resources for their Cedar Rapids fiefdom. I think we should get a group together and see if we can get a competing junior college to take over the space. Maybe a different group could do better than an 11% graduation rate for black students.
Yes, I’m pissed. My constituents are being done wrong by this institution once again, and I am sick of it.
*Raw Materials and Public Education
I read a great article once by a gentleman named Jamie Vollmer. Vollmer was a top executive with Great Midwestern Ice Cream Company. (One of the downtown Iowa City businesses I miss the most!) The story goes like this:
Vollmer was one of the many who thought the public education system was broken, but was blaming the wrong people. He was certain that a great business mind like his could fix what ailed public education. So he started to get involved.
One day, a teacher asked him about his ice cream. “You think it is the best in the world?” “Yes, I do.” “Why is that?” Vollmer named a few things, but right at the top was “quality ingredients.” The teacher stopped him. “So what if you got a bad shipment of blueberries?” “Oh, that has happened,” Vollmer replied. “We will not accept that. We send it back.” The teacher just smiled and said, “And public schools do not get to do that.”
This story had an impact on Vollmer, who became a huge advocate for public schools and public school teachers. The link to the article is here if you want to read it yourself. https://www.teachers.net/gazette/JUN02/vollmer.html
Please keep this in mind as we discuss vouchers – public funds for private schools. The private schools will get public money, but they do not need to accept kids who require special ed services. No kids with emotional issues such as anxiety. No kids with depression or other mental health concerns. No kids with physical disabilities. No kids who speak languages other than English. No kids with ADD or ADHD.
Heck, they can even choose to refuse kids with allergies, kids who are not a certain religion, kids whose parents are divorced, and kids who cannot afford the tuition. They can require tests for admittance. They can choose their blueberries.
Private schools have every right to exist. But they should *NEVER* receive public funding. The Governor’s plan is simply a transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich. The exact opposite of Biblical teachings. I wonder how all the Bible-based private schools will explain that?
*Conference Boards
The City and County Conference Boards are meeting soon to discuss the performances and budgets of the Iowa City and Johnson County Assessors.
Assessors are the folks who determine the value of all our taxable real estate. Every county has an Assessor; so do several of the larger cities. In some areas, notably Des Moines/Polk County and Waterloo/Black Hawk County, the City Assessor’s Office has been absorbed by the County Assessor’s Office.
The Iowa City Assessor handles all the property inside Iowa City proper; the Johnson County Assessor does everything else. The IC Assessor is responsible for just over $7 billion in appraised value; the JC Assessor is responsible for just over $9 billion. (Meaning the actual total assessed value in Johnson County is just over $16 billion.) Both serve about 77,000 residents.
Houses, businesses, farms and the like all go up and down in value. Because Johnson County has historically been viewed as a very good place to live, property values here have gone up steadily. When property values across the country crashed as the housing bubble broke in ‘08, property values in Johnson County remained fairly flat. Since then, the rise has been precipitous.
Property tax-levying governmental units (county, cities, schools) are represented on the Conference Boards. So the IC Assessor’s Office is overseen by Johnson County, Iowa City, and the ICCSD. The JC Assessor’s Office is overseen by Johnson County, ten cities (all but IC), and ten school districts (including the ICCSD).
Now for some very good news: Assessors are measured for accuracy and ranked every year. The IC Assessor’s Office and JC Assessor’s Office routinely rank in the top 2-3 of about 115 offices statewide. That is correct – Iowa City and Johnson County are the best! In all my years as a Supervisor, Johnson County has finished number 1 seven times, number 2 six times, and number 3 four times.
In addition to being number one as a simple matter of pride, we should be extremely pleased by these results. This means that property taxpayers are likely paying their fair share. You are not likely paying too much, nor are you paying too little, relative to all property taxpayers. That is a very good thing.
I know, I know. You all think your assessed value is too high. There is an easy way to check this. Would you sell your property today at assessed value? Most folks I know would not; they think it is worth more. There is your answer. If you DO think it is too high, assessed values are easy to appeal. Just call the appropriate Assessor’s Office.
We are being well served by our Assessors. Congratulations to Iowa City Assessor Brad Comer, Johnson County Assessor Tom Van Buer, and all their employees on these tremendous accomplishments!
*Property Taxes
We are working on the FY24 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 actually dropped 7 of the past 8 years. That is because values continue to rise.
*DID YOU KNOW? Johnson County has about $11 billion in assessed value; that does not count any UI or government buildings.
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.
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 12:55 PM
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