SULLIVAN'S SALVOS

March 15, 2026

Sullivan’s Salvos 3/19/26

In this edition:

*Congratulations Susan Denneny!

*Strategic Plan

*CCA School Resource Officer

*War With Iran

*ICCSD Budget Woes

*Conference Boards

*Property Taxes

*Budget Expertise

*Did You Know?

*Congratulations Susan Denneny!

Susan is retiring from Johnson County Public Health – and just in time for St. Patrick’s Day! Congratulations, Susan, and thank you for your great work!

*Strategic Plan

Johnson County is in the process of developing a new strategic plan. If you would like to weigh in, please visit:

https://engageberrydunn.mysocialpinpoint.com/johnson-county-strategic-plan

*CCA School Resource Officer

On Wednesday the 11^th the Board heard from representatives of Clear Creek Amana Schools who were requesting a contract with Johnson County that would have put a School Resource Officer (SRO) on the High School and Junior High campus in Tiffin. The officer would be a full-fledged Johnson County Sheriff’s Deputy.

We had a similar discussion with the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) eight or nine years ago. I recalled that Johnson County Social Services Director Lynette Jacoby had provided us with a great deal of data at that time, so I asked her to resend it in preparation for the meeting.

We do not take a formal vote until Thursday the 19^th, so I cannot be certain how my colleagues will vote. But I am going to be a “no.” I spoke at some length about my own experiences as a parent and foster parent.

If you are interested in seeing the video, you can view it here: https://johnson-county.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=3595

It is a long discussion – a bit over an hour – but it is the first item on the agenda.

*War With Iran

I said exactly this last week, but it bears repeating: President Trump has started a war with Iran. This is illegal, unjustifiable, dangerous, and stupid.

Only Congress can declare war. But Trump did it anyway. His lap dogs like Ashley Hinson and Marianette Miller Meeks will be just fine with it, too.

We just did what Putin does. What Hitler did. What evil dictators do. We attacked another sovereign nation unprovoked. Trump just committed a war crime in our names.

Iran posed no particular threat to the US. But they do now. Prepare for another couple decades of motivated young terrorists.

Obama had reached a nuclear agreement with Iran. Trump railed against it, although it was working. He ended the agreement. With no agreement, Iran began increasing their nuclear capabilities. So Trump bombs them. He broke things, then broke them again trying to fix it.

Meanwhile, people are dead across the region, including American troops.

I cannot WAIT until November when we can vote out awful Trump rubber stamps like Ashley Hinson and Marianette Miller Meeks.

*ICCSD Budget Woes

By now you have probably all heard about the budget problems that have occurred in the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD). These problems are serious, and the Board faces some real challenges now in determining what steps to take next.

I do not pretend to have any extra or special knowledge of the situation. But I do have a request of you all. Show a bit of grace.

I get it – you may be furious. And perhaps you have a right to be. But will displays of anger – even righteous anger – help our kids right now? I urge everyone to learn everything they can about the situation, and once you have the correct info, to exercise your right (I would say duty) to hold the ICCSD accountable. But please try to do so in a productive manner. Our kids deserve that.

*Conference Boards

The City and County Conference Boards met recently 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. All told, there are about 110 Assessor’s Offices in Iowa.

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 almost $10 billion in appraised value; the JC Assessor is responsible for about $13.5 billion. Both serve about 80,000 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. In addition, new construction is always being added to the rolls. Iowa City has seen quite a bit of growth three directions. And the growth in Tiffin, Solon, and North Liberty goes without saying!

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) each represented by their Mayor, and ten school districts (including the ICCSD) each represented by a school board member. Not every city or school district is represented at every meeting, but there are always enough representatives to have a quorum.

These Conference Boards review the performance of the Assessor for that jurisdiction, and set the budgets for the upcoming year. You have a very tiny line on your tax bill labelled “Assessor.” That is how the expenses for these offices are funded.

Now for some very good news: Assessors are measured for accuracy and ranked every year. The IC Assessor’s Office ranked #2 in the state out of about 110 offices. The JC Assessor’s Office ranked #3. That is correct – Iowa City was number two, and Johnson County was number three! In all my years as a Supervisor, neither Iowa City nor Johnson County has finished lower than 4th.

In addition to being highly ranked 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 finishing the FY27 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, apply any rollbacks or credits, and multiply times the total levy rate for that class of property for each jurisdiction. You now 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 dropped 9 of the past 10 years. That is primarily because property values continue to rise.

*Budget Expertise

The work of drafting the County budget for FY27 is coming to a close.

I am proud of what I bring to the Board of Supervisors. But do not take my word for it – see for yourself! Every Board meeting is available online at: https://johnson-county.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=1

For starters, check out the last part of the February 4^th budget meeting. The meeting is about 80 minutes long, but you need only watch from 1:10-1:20. In that window, I bring up several key budget discussion points that were not going to be discussed otherwise. In subsequent meetings, these points have had huge impacts in terms of how we plan our budget.

This is one reason I believe I deserve your support. If I am not a part of these discussions, this stuff does not happen.

*DID YOU KNOW? The US has not officially declared war on another nation since WWII. During that time, 150,000 US service members have lost their lives.

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-

www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov.

"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 rodsullivan29@gmail.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

March 8, 2026

When Jan Soboroff moved to Iowa City, we were both working out of the old Johnson County Health and Human Services Building at 911 North Governor Street in Iowa City.

Jan did a variety of things in her career as a social worker, including work with at risk youth, and foster care and adoption placements. I never got to know her very well, but she was like and respected by all of our peers.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day on March 17! St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite days of the year. While not an “official” holiday, this day has long been considered a holiday by my Irish family.

March 17 is a Tuesday this year, but we should still be able to celebrate correctly!  Meanwhile, I hope each and every one of you is touched by a little luck o’ the Irish!

*With 23 percent of the population of Celtic ancestry, Massachusetts has a higher proportion of residents of Irish descent than any other state, edging out New Hampshire (20 percent) and Rhode Island (18 percent). The remaining New England states -- Connecticut, Vermont and Maine -- also rank among the top 10 in this category, as do Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Montana.

*New York City has more residents of Irish descent than any city in the world, including Dublin! Boston, however, has the largest percentage of Irish residents of any large American city.

*28 - Gallons of beer consumed per capita by Americans annually. (The equivalent of 224 pints per year.) I used to bring that average way up. Now I bring it way down!

*13 million - In 2017, it was estimated that 13 million pints of Guinness would be consumed worldwide on St. Patrick's Day. And in 2020, it was estimated that in America, overall beer sales would be up 174 percent. In fact, it's the biggest day for bars in the country. And in general, in 2020, it was expected that Americans would spend over $6 billion celebrating the holiday.

*9 - Number of places in the US which share the name of Dublin, Ireland's capital. Dublin, CA was the most populous, at 70,500, followed by Dublin, OH at 45,000.

*There are many more Americans of Irish origin than there are Irish in Ireland. (36 million Americans claimed Irish ancestry in 2008; 32 million in 2025. the population of Ireland is 5.4 million.)

*You can't attend a St. Patrick’s Day event without hearing a cry of "Erin go Bragh." What's the phrase mean? It's a corruption of the Irish Éirinn go Brách, which means roughly "Ireland Forever."

March 17 holds a special place in my heart that goes beyond St. Patrick’s Day. That was also the birthday of my late father, Bob Sullivan.

Dad was a proud union man, Hawkeye fan, and Irishman. We were father and son, but also best friends. I can honestly say he was probably the most fun person I have ever known.

Unfortunately, he left this world much too soon, and never got the chance to meet any of his nine grandchildren. I miss him every single day, but especially on St. Paddy’s Day.

So, if you are looking for an extra toast on St. Patrick’s Day, allow me to suggest that you raise a glass to Bob Sullivan.

President Trump has started a war with Iran. This is illegal, unjustifiable, dangerous, and stupid.

Only Congress can declare war. But Trump did it anyway. His lap dogs like Ashley Hinson and Marianette Miller Meeks will be just fine with it, too.

We just did what Putin does. What Hitler did. What evil dictators do. We attacked another sovereign nation unprovoked. Trump just committed a war crime in our names.

Iran posed no particular threat to the US. But they do now. Prepare for another couple decades of motivated young terrorists.

I cannot WAIT until November when we can vote out awful Trump rubber stamps like Ashley Hinson and Marianette Miller Meeks.

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 $500k-$1,200,000, 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 $4.0 million for these bridges each year. That is the same cost as two brand new miles of paved road, or the rehabilitation of 6 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 20 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.

I have been sending Salvos out since I began as a Supervisor in January of 2005. (Actually, the first couple editions came out in December of 2004, just before I took office.)

The newsletter was not named “Sullivan’s Salvos” at that time; that name came from my friend Charlie Funk. Meanwhile, over the past 1108 weeks, subscribers have received around 1090 issues of Salvos. (I have missed a few weeks for family vacations, etc.)

I really wasn’t certain that I would be able to maintain this volume of writing. And I’d be lying if I said it was easy. But it is a bit of a labor of love. And I am very proud of the fact that I do this every week – not just when I am up for reelection!

Hopefully, folks have found it interesting. I have been intrigued by the responses. A few dozen folks have unsubscribed in protest over one issue or another; some have returned, but not all. There are a handful of folks who offer their thoughts frequently; I really appreciate this! Two or three people actually respond at length on occasion; I feel as though I have made a couple of friends this way! Most subscribers stay subscribed, but I don’t really know if they read it or not. And that is OK.

I have not done much to increase readership since those earliest weeks. The number of subscribers quickly grew to about 550, dropped off to around 500, and has remained within about ten of that number ever since.

Johnson County is a very transient community, and it is truly remarkable how many people come and go. Unfortunately, 75+ readers have died during this span. Many of my readers no longer subscribe because they moved away. And just as people go, new people arrive. I know there are people new to Johnson County who might be interested in subscribing. Given that, I decided to reach out a bit – hence this article.

I ask that you please do me a favor. Forward this edition of Salvos on to a few friends. Encourage them to sign up. I’d like to add a few new readers to the mix.

Thank you for sharing, and thank you for reading! I look forward to your feedback in the future! It has truly been a pleasure!