2008 Woodie Awards
IC faces tax hike
Briana Byrd - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 2/4/08 Section: Metro
Iowa City taxpayers could pay around seven times more in tax increase on their property than those in neighboring rural areas, according to a discussion on Feb. 1 by the Johnson County Board of Supervisors.
Per $100,000 of property, Iowa City residents will pay $61.24 more this year than last year on their tax bills. Rural residents will pay $9 more, and those who live in other areas, such as Coralville and North Liberty, will pay $34.84 more, Supervisor Terrence Neuzil said.
"It really depends on where you live," he said. "One of the reasons the taxes are going up for Iowa City residents is because the Iowa City assessor has approved a 10 percent increase in the value of [Iowa City] homes and property."
Although there was not an official vote, supervisors supported the measure 3-1, Johnson County Supervisor Rod Sullivan said.
The tax dollars will be used to fund the construction of the new joint communication center.
"We have a system right now, that if Iowa City police want to communicate with Johnson County officials, they must have two pieces of equipment; the same is true for the UI police," Neuzil said. "This is one of the reasons we're creating the joint communication center … so that our public-safety officials can communicate on one frequency."
Sullivan said he expects the costs to decrease in the upcoming years because they will no longer be paying for two separate buildings.
"I don't think that anyone has been super clear about the costs, and we still aren't, but I think, in general, there was the recognition that Johnson County would have to replace its equipment and Iowa City would have to, as well," he said. "What we did was speed up the process and combine things in order to have an increased level of service throughout Johnson County."
Although taxes in Iowa City may have dramatically increased, Neuzil said this was expected.
"Iowa City residents know that the city government needs a communication center," he said. "I live in Iowa City, and we knew our taxes were going up - we just didn't know if it would be coming out of our county government or city government taxes."
While numerous individuals believe having a joint communication center is a good idea, a large portion of those advocating for the center were unclear on the costs associated with building the center, Johnson County Supervisor Larry Meyers said.
"If there's something the people don't want to spend money on, they need to let their elected officials know," he said.
E-mail DI reporter Briana Byrd at:
briana-byrd@uiowa.edu
Per $100,000 of property, Iowa City residents will pay $61.24 more this year than last year on their tax bills. Rural residents will pay $9 more, and those who live in other areas, such as Coralville and North Liberty, will pay $34.84 more, Supervisor Terrence Neuzil said.
"It really depends on where you live," he said. "One of the reasons the taxes are going up for Iowa City residents is because the Iowa City assessor has approved a 10 percent increase in the value of [Iowa City] homes and property."
Although there was not an official vote, supervisors supported the measure 3-1, Johnson County Supervisor Rod Sullivan said.
The tax dollars will be used to fund the construction of the new joint communication center.
"We have a system right now, that if Iowa City police want to communicate with Johnson County officials, they must have two pieces of equipment; the same is true for the UI police," Neuzil said. "This is one of the reasons we're creating the joint communication center … so that our public-safety officials can communicate on one frequency."
Sullivan said he expects the costs to decrease in the upcoming years because they will no longer be paying for two separate buildings.
"I don't think that anyone has been super clear about the costs, and we still aren't, but I think, in general, there was the recognition that Johnson County would have to replace its equipment and Iowa City would have to, as well," he said. "What we did was speed up the process and combine things in order to have an increased level of service throughout Johnson County."
Although taxes in Iowa City may have dramatically increased, Neuzil said this was expected.
"Iowa City residents know that the city government needs a communication center," he said. "I live in Iowa City, and we knew our taxes were going up - we just didn't know if it would be coming out of our county government or city government taxes."
While numerous individuals believe having a joint communication center is a good idea, a large portion of those advocating for the center were unclear on the costs associated with building the center, Johnson County Supervisor Larry Meyers said.
"If there's something the people don't want to spend money on, they need to let their elected officials know," he said.
E-mail DI reporter Briana Byrd at:
briana-byrd@uiowa.edu
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