Carroll Mayor, Dr. Eric Jensen, and City Manager, Gerald Clausen, participated in the Iowa League of Cities annual Legislation Day this past Tuesday, March 1. Clausen said the purpose of this is to become better informed about the issues among municipalities and government. At this year’s session, there is not really any major legislation dealing with municipalities, he said, but some talk on Tax Increment Financing could be of concern in the future. It is not, however, threatening at this time.
Lieutenant Governor, Kim Reynolds, presented more information to the group on water quality and Governor Terry Branstad’s plan to fund initiatives through the SAVE school infrastructure tax plan. Branstad is proposing extending the local tax for 20 years and using the increases as water quality funding while the payout remains flat for schools.
Many League of Cities members were interested in discussing the backfill that has been promised to counties and municipalities after the implementation of tax credits reduced tax revenues.
Clausen said one of the legislators explained that as a standing appropriation, there has to be an act of the legislature to not fund the backfill. This does not meant it will rise every time though. We just don’t know, Clausen said, what impact that will have. The Iowa League of Cities is a key resource for Iowa municipalities that serves as their unified voice. They provide advocacy, training and guidance to assist city leaders in strengthening their communities. The 2016 Legislative priorities for the league is increased funding for economic development, eliminating unfunded mandates and diversifying revenue for financial stability, sustainability and improvement of water and wastewater infrastructure, public safety and advocacy of the Home Rule which retains communities ability to make decisions on the local level.
