As the City of Carroll prepares for the upcoming Sept. 8 referendum vote on an estimated $13.38 million addition and renovation to the Rec Center, countywide organizations and municipalities are offering their support on one of the two questions that will be on that ballot. The Carroll Area Development Corporation (CADC) has endorsed the elimination of a 2024 sunset on the one-percent Local Option Sales Tax (L.O.S.T.), which will supply more than $7.6 million for the project. CADC President, Jim Auen, says retaining access to these funds is a priority for the organization. “More than $2 million in property tax relief made possible by the sales tax is important to all property owners in the community, particularly those with commercial property. CADC serves existing industry and Carroll County communities—this is an important issue,” Auen says. Manning City Administrator/Clerk, Dawn Meyer, agrees that this is a regional issue, not just a Carroll one. “The results of that result will have a profound impact on all of Carroll County—Carroll, the other communities and the rural areas,” she says. It is anticipated that Carroll will receive about $1.6 million annually from the tax, but other communities get money from it as well with Manning to get an estimated $240,000, Coon Rapids, $211,000 and Glidden $172,000. Since 2004, nearly 45 percent of the revenue collected has been shared with neighboring communities and the Carroll County Board of Supervisors, ensuring every resident benefits from the tax revenues. “This revenue generated by the Local Option Sales Tax is important to maintaining and improving our community,” says CADC Vice President, Mike Franey. A vote for the extension of this tax, Franey adds, is a vote for continued growth and improvement efforts in Carroll and Carroll County.
