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In the face of rising housing assessments, the State Legislature has been working since the beginning of the current session on property tax reform. However, the current legislation has many local communities concerned.

There are bills relating to property tax changes in both chambers, but the general theme is putting a cap on how much property tax can increase on a yearly basis for cities and counties. Other common language in the bills would give residents the right to petition for a referendum vote on any proposed increase over 2%. State Senator Jake Chapman, (R) District 10, believes as assessments rise it’s important to place limits on how much local governments can collect in taxes, even if their levy rates remain relatively static.

Chapman also feels the opposition to the bill is attempting to wield “Home Rule” against the Legislature, pointing out that the State authorizes property tax to be collected in the first place. “I’ve heard the argument, this is somehow taking away local control. I don’t believe that’s the case at all. Local control and ‘Home Rule’ defined in Iowa’s Constitution applies only when the State Legislature doesn’t take action on an issue. And so I think there’s a very large misconception as to what Home Rule is, and so yes I’m very much in favor of the Legislature taking action.”

Many entities have come out against the proposed legislation, namely the Iowa League of Cities. Several individual cities and counties have also passed resolutions to officially state their opposition to the bills, including the Adel City Council at their most recent meeting. One vocal opponent from the beginning has been Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson, who claims the property tax reform is nothing more than corporate legislation copy-and-pasted from other states where it hasn’t worked as intended.

In particular, Peterson emphasizes the problems created by allowing residents to petition for a special election when they don’t agree with a tax increase. He says in many cases the cost of the election would be more than what would be gained by a tax increase, putting the smaller cities in danger. “Really, this is kind of pinning a lot rural Iowa, trying to get communities to unincorporate or stop existing. So (it’s) just really disappointing from the local government point of view. I don’t think it’s been well thought out, I think it’s just kind of a regurgitation of what they’ve been told is a great idea and not truly vetted in a proper manner.”

To hear more from both sides of the issue, click the links below to listen to the most recent Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County programs with Chapman and Peterson.

https://www.raccoonvalleyradio.com/2019/04/15/lets-talk-dallas-county-4-15-2019-jake-chapman/
https://www.raccoonvalleyradio.com/2019/04/16/lets-talk-dallas-county-4-16-2019-sven-peterson/