SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
September 3, 2024
Sullivan’s Salvos 9/5/24
In this edition:
*RIP Tom Hoff
*Conservation Bond
*Heat Wave
*Housing Trust Fund 20th Anniversary
*Limitarianism
*Suggestions for Iowa City Charter Review
*Did You Know?
*RIP Tom Hoff
I was sad to hear of the passing of Tom Hoff of Iowa City. Tom served several years on the Johnson County Conservation Board, in addition to service on the boards of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and Ducks Unlimited.
Tom was a conservationist through and through, and passionate defender of our natural environment. RIP, Tom.
*Conservation Bond
One of my proudest moments as a County Supervisor came on November 4, 2008. While I did get reelected on that date, that was not what I am talking about. On that date, almost 40,000 Johnson County residents voted to approve the $20 million Conservation Bond to protect water, air, and soil quality, to protect animal habitat, and to purchase land for parks and trails.
This was the first such effort in the State of Iowa, and looking back over the past 16 years, it was even more successful than we could have hoped! The 2008 bond has been utilized, successfully, for 16 different projects. It has leveraged an additional $17 million in grants, donations and revenues; acquired 1,177 acres of land, and built 9.2 miles of hard surface trails throughout the County. This has all contributed tremendously to the quality of life in Johnson County.
Despite all this good work, there is more work left to do. We still have air, water, and soil quality issues. We still need to protect animal habitat. And we still need more parks and trails. That is why we want to do it again!
The Board of Supervisors has voted to put a $30 million Conservation Bond on the ballot this November. I fully expect it to be just as successful as the last bond in contributing to the quality of life in Johnson County.
I hope you will support this effort. Please feel free to contact me with questions, or visit https://www.ourlandwaterfuture.org for more information. It is not a done deal! There will be moneyed interests fighting against this effort! We can only win if you help to spread the word!
*Heat Wave
The recent heat wave and the associated cancellations got me thinking about the decision the ICCSD made a few years ago to air condition every building. What a great idea! What foresight! I’m proud to live in a District that really cares about kids.
When we were running the bond that paid for the AC, I heard some grumbling: “I didn’t have AC in school when I was young, and I got through it!” I have two responses to that.
First, climate change has really affected the temperatures. (Want to help address that? See the Conservation Bond article above!)
Secondly, my Dad always had a good comeback for those arguments. He said, “I was born in a house with a dirt floor, no electricity, and no indoor plumbing. Why would I want that for my kids?”
I’m really glad the ICCSD took that step!
*Housing Trust Fund 20th Anniversary
I am a proud Board Member of the Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County (HTFJC), a local nonprofit that helps to fund virtually all affordable housing that gets built in this community.
We just celebrated our 20th anniversary, and at that celebration, I learned an amazing fact: The HTFJC was started with $1000. One thousand. Over 20 years, that $1000 turned into $142 MILLION worth of affordable housing! Unreal!
Congrats again to the HTFJC!
*Limitarianism
I just finished a book called “Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth” by Ingrid Robeyns. In the book, Robeyns explains why extreme wealth in the hands of just a few people is bad for people, bad for our planet, and bad for democracy. Robeyns calls for limiting individual wealth to approximately $10 million.
I really enjoyed this book and the arguments it makes. And the statistics are sobering: Between 2020 and 2022, the top 1% gained TWICE as much wealth as the other 99% combined! Unthinkable!
Here is another amazing bit of info: The average loss in an instance of tax evasion is $309,000. The average loss in a robbery is $2100. Yet only 67% of tax avoiders are charged, serving an average sentence of seventeen months. In the case of robberies, 99% of offenders spend some jail time, with an average sentence of 107 months.
A common claim among defenders of the rich is that they aren’t hurting anyone else; others are simply jealous. Robeyns spends quite a bit of time debunking this. Between ill-gotten gains, inherited ill-gotten gains, unfair applications of laws, environmental and social destruction, and propping up undemocratic processes, these folks ARE hurting everyone else on planet Earth.
My only complaint is that I would have liked to play around more with the details. How would we make change? What would this do to the less fortunate? What would it do to tax rates? What would it mean for the ability of government to do certain things?
Robeyns touches on all of these topics, and while she assures her readers it is all doable, I wish she had gone into greater detail on some possible scenarios. I like playing around with real numbers! Anyway, check out Limitarianism!
*Suggestions for Iowa City Charter Review
I wrote earlier this year about my frustration at being passed over for the Iowa City Charter Review Commission. I also previously listed the changes I would like to see happen to the Iowa City Charter. Below are the things I feel are most imperative, listed in order of importance:
1. Maintain the referendum process: Iowa City has a limited referendum process. By “limited,” I mean there is an extensive list of things for which no referenda are allowed. This includes anything having to do with taxes, salaries, or anything in any way financial. Obviously, this is extremely limiting. But I find it important that the voters have some say outside of elections. I love that Iowa City has at least some minimal ways in which the public can be heard. I think it is extremely important to maintain this process.
2. District votes for District Councilors: Iowa City has one of the worst and most convoluted systems imaginable in terms of who gets to vote in District Council elections. Under the current system, only District voters vote in a primary; all voters get to vote in the general election. This is extremely confusing, and frankly, unnecessary. District voters should be the only voters in District elections. I know some voters feel they should be able to vote on every seat, but that is why At-Large seats exist. Hell, that is why Districts exist! This change would clean things up and strengthen Districts.
3. Directly elect the Mayor: Even though the Mayoral position is not dramatically different from that of the other councilors, it still means something. The public cares who represents them to the outside world, and they want to have a vote in the matter. Because of this, I firmly believe Iowa City should create an At-Large Mayoral seat.
4. More Districts, less At-Large seats: The 2004 and 2014 Charter Commissions spent a lot of time on this topic. There are good arguments for only having Districts – there is a greater chance that individual neighborhood concerns, demographics, etc. get represented. On the other hand, it is entirely possible that the two best people for the job live on the same block. Because of this, IC has always favored a hybrid system.
I agree that a hybrid system is a good solution. But I would lean into Districts just a bit more. In my perfect system, you keep 7 Councilors, with 4 District seats and 3 At-Large seats. (Those numbers are currently reversed.) One of those At-Large seats is the directly elected Mayor.
This would give more power to Districts, but also keep an At-Large option. And here is the cool part – every voter in IC could still vote for a majority of the Council. They could vote on their own District Councilor, two At-Large seats, and the Mayor. 4 out 7. Yet Districts have a bit more power.
So, what do you think of my list? Agree or disagree?
*DID YOU KNOW? A few of the projects funded by the ’08 Conservation Bond include the Clear Creek, Mehaffey Bridge, and Solon to Ely (Hoover) trails; Cedar River Crossing, Ciha Fen, Cangleska Wakan, Two Horse Farm, and the Melinda Reif Reilly Fen and Prairie.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 9:56 AM
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