The Cities of Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty will present information regarding the projects that would be funded with proceeds of a local option sales tax on Wednesday, April 8, from 7 to 9 pm at Coralville City Hall.
City leaders, including Iowa City Manager Michael Lombardo and Public Works Director Rick Fosse; Coralville City Administrator Kelly Hayworth and City Engineer Dan Holderness of Coralville; and North Liberty City Manager Ryan Heiar and McClure Engineering's Adam Bohr, will present the projects their cities plan for construction if the local option sales tax passes on May 5.
Coralville City Hall is located at 1512 7th Street. The event will also be presented live on the Iowa City and Coralville cable television stations.
Voters of Iowa City and Johnson County will vote May 5 on a one-cent local option sales tax. If approved, this tax will be collected for four years, beginning July 1, 2009.
The Iowa City Council has determined proceeds from the tax would be used for elevation of Dubuque Street and reconstruction of the Park Road Bridge, and relocation of the North Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The Coralville City Council has determined proceeds from the tax would be spent on flood mitigation infrastructure projects. Engineering studies have identified $54 million in improvements for protection of low-lying areas for water levels of one foot above the 2008 crest.
North Liberty's City Council has determined that 100 percent of the sales tax proceeds would be designated for the construction and improvement of city streets, including Highway 965.
Additional information will be presented at the information night on April 8, with time for questions and answers.
About the election:
As a response to the natural disasters of 2008, the Iowa Legislature approved a measure allowing passage of the local option sales tax on a compressed schedule. The measure also allows for a single community in a county or metropolitan area to pass and collect the one-cent tax.
Each Johnson County community will vote individually to decide if the sales tax will be collected in their community, and each community's ballot specifies how its share of the revenue will be applied, if approved. A majority vote (over 50%) in a community will pass the sales tax for their community. Only communities that pass the tax will share in the proceeds.
The vote for this election is Tuesday, May 5, at regular polling places from 7 am to 9 pm.
Showing posts with label North liberty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North liberty. Show all posts
Monday, April 6
Friday, March 13
Questioning the Sales Tax Issue
There are some folks who oppose taxes (see Ax the Tax) because they don't believe the government has a place for anything other than public safety. There are people who believe that some taxes are needed to perform the tasks that the private sector does not do or is unwilling to do. There are people who oppose sales taxes because they are inherently unfair to the poor and those who oppose property taxes because they are unfair to landowners. The one thing that eveyone can agree on is that taxes are not well-loved.
This brings me to the Local option Sales Tax referendum that will require 50% + 1 of us to vote for it to allow a 4 year 1 cent sales tax to be imposed to allow Iowa City to upgrade Dubuque St. and replacing the bridge on Park Rd. (estimated cost $32 million)and relocating the north water treatment plant (estimated cost $63 million). We are told via the Iowa City website that the money will be earmarked specifically for:
The key questions to taxpayers should be, are these projects necessary and, if so, are there alternatives to the proposals to accomplish the desired outcomes?
Complicating the matter is that the amount of funding is up in the air due to the rules that the state legislature has made. If voters in Iowa City vote down the tax hike, Iowa City will not benefit at all from taxes collected elsewhere in the county, nor will other cities receive tax revenues for sales taxes collected in Iowa City. Given that Iowa City is the largest municipality in the county, the benefits to smaller communities lessen if Iowa City doesn't play ball. Similarly, if Iowa City votes "yes" and other communities vote "no", there is less of a pot of money for Iowa City.
There are two scheduled fora in the next two weeks. One will be this Wednesday April 8th at Coralville City Hall from 7 to 9 pm. Speakers will be the city managers and planners from Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty.
For a more independently run forum, the League of Women Voters also is sponsoring an informational night Thursday April 16th at the Iowa City Public Library at 7pm. Tom Slockett will spend 10 minutes describing the law and how it works. Each city and the county will describe their ballot and what the money would be used for. The Pro and Con representatives will have 5 minutes to state their cases and there will be 30 minutes of written questions. Committed Mayors are from Iowa City, Coralville, University Heights, Shueyville, Oxford, and a representative from the Board of Supervisors.
This brings me to the Local option Sales Tax referendum that will require 50% + 1 of us to vote for it to allow a 4 year 1 cent sales tax to be imposed to allow Iowa City to upgrade Dubuque St. and replacing the bridge on Park Rd. (estimated cost $32 million)and relocating the north water treatment plant (estimated cost $63 million). We are told via the Iowa City website that the money will be earmarked specifically for:
"Improvements that will help the city maintain vital transportation, emergency, and public health services in both routine and emergency situations.The estimated income over the 4 years is $36 million which means there will be a deficit of $59 million created by these projects. This means that barring huge federal grants, water bills and other fees can be expected to increase or other services will be cut to accomplish these goals.
The ballot language for Iowa City states:
0% of the revenues generated by this tax will be used for property tax relief and the remaining for the following specific purposes: 100% for remediation, repair and protection of flood impacted public infrastructure and local matching funds for dollars received from any federal or state programs to assist with flood remediation, repair and protection of flood impacted public infrastructure."
The key questions to taxpayers should be, are these projects necessary and, if so, are there alternatives to the proposals to accomplish the desired outcomes?
Complicating the matter is that the amount of funding is up in the air due to the rules that the state legislature has made. If voters in Iowa City vote down the tax hike, Iowa City will not benefit at all from taxes collected elsewhere in the county, nor will other cities receive tax revenues for sales taxes collected in Iowa City. Given that Iowa City is the largest municipality in the county, the benefits to smaller communities lessen if Iowa City doesn't play ball. Similarly, if Iowa City votes "yes" and other communities vote "no", there is less of a pot of money for Iowa City.
There are two scheduled fora in the next two weeks. One will be this Wednesday April 8th at Coralville City Hall from 7 to 9 pm. Speakers will be the city managers and planners from Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty.
For a more independently run forum, the League of Women Voters also is sponsoring an informational night Thursday April 16th at the Iowa City Public Library at 7pm. Tom Slockett will spend 10 minutes describing the law and how it works. Each city and the county will describe their ballot and what the money would be used for. The Pro and Con representatives will have 5 minutes to state their cases and there will be 30 minutes of written questions. Committed Mayors are from Iowa City, Coralville, University Heights, Shueyville, Oxford, and a representative from the Board of Supervisors.
Wednesday, September 19
North Liberty Names Heiar as City Administrator
The Press-Ctizen reports that the North Liberty City Council on Tuesday picked Ryan Heiar of Eagle Grove to be the city's new city administrator. Heiar was one of 21 candidates for the job.
Some background about him:
According to a web source, Ryan Heiar didn't always want the job of being a city manager. Growing up the son of Manchester, Iowa's city manager, Dave Heiar (now the Economic Development Director in Dubuque), he knew about the long hours away from home and the sometimes angry phone calls his father received. "I always said there was no way I was ever going to be a city manager," said Heiar.
A public administration class Heiar took in college at the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, changed his mind.
In 2006, he won an award from the Iowa League of Cities. Heiar was honored with the Rhonda Wood Smith Award was created to recognize exemplary work of young city officials and those new to city government. The criteria included innovation, bold leadership, commitment and sacrifice.
He served the Eagle Grove community by delivering meals of wheels and serves on the Country Club Board as a Director. He demonstrates sacrifice to the community by contributing countless hours to make events such as the 125th Eagle Grove Birthday Bash and the 2004 RAGBRAI stop a success. He has also been a big supporter of the Iowa City/County Management Association, serving as the Chairperson of their Diversity Committee last year. He also has served as a member of the Iowa League of Cities Annual Conference Site Selection Committee.
Some background about him:
According to a web source, Ryan Heiar didn't always want the job of being a city manager. Growing up the son of Manchester, Iowa's city manager, Dave Heiar (now the Economic Development Director in Dubuque), he knew about the long hours away from home and the sometimes angry phone calls his father received. "I always said there was no way I was ever going to be a city manager," said Heiar.
A public administration class Heiar took in college at the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, changed his mind.
In 2006, he won an award from the Iowa League of Cities. Heiar was honored with the Rhonda Wood Smith Award was created to recognize exemplary work of young city officials and those new to city government. The criteria included innovation, bold leadership, commitment and sacrifice.
He served the Eagle Grove community by delivering meals of wheels and serves on the Country Club Board as a Director. He demonstrates sacrifice to the community by contributing countless hours to make events such as the 125th Eagle Grove Birthday Bash and the 2004 RAGBRAI stop a success. He has also been a big supporter of the Iowa City/County Management Association, serving as the Chairperson of their Diversity Committee last year. He also has served as a member of the Iowa League of Cities Annual Conference Site Selection Committee.
Monday, August 27
North Liberty Sewage Everyone's Concern
From the Daily Iowan
An undisclosed amount of sewage bypassed the North Liberty treatment plant on the morning of Aug. 25 and entered the Iowa River, said Josh Sobaski, an environmental specialist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The news came from North Liberty wastewater-superintendent Dave Ramsey, who reported the discharge occurred at 9:17 a.m. Aug. 25, Sobaski said, adding that he had not received any indication that the spill had been stopped as of 5 p.m. Sunday.
North Liberty Mayor Tom Salm said he was also unaware of whether the discharge had been stopped as of 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
Alan Foster, a Natural Resources information specialist, attributed the spill to the heavy rain in the area, though Sobaski said that North Liberty is known "to have had challenges with bypass issues in the past."
"[Bypasses] are a necessary evil," Foster said.
Though bypassing sewage into the water supply is not a desirable option, it beats the alternative of having sewage backups in the basements of North Liberty homes, he said.
Foster said even the best sewage-treatment plants must allow bypasses when rainfall gets especially heavy, although they are expected to have a plan in place to minimize the ill effects of the release.
Sobaski said the sewage was somewhat diluted, though he did not say to what extent the discharge had been sanitized.
Salm said that the sewage was probably diluted more than halfway before it spilled into the river, although he couldn't give an exact percentage. The treatment facility has been operating at 120 percent capacity over the last several weeks, he said.
Ralph Wilmoth, the director of the Johnson County Public Health Department, said the presence of sewage in drinking water supply increases potential for "fecal oral route transmission diseases," including salmonella and E. coli.
An undisclosed amount of sewage bypassed the North Liberty treatment plant on the morning of Aug. 25 and entered the Iowa River, said Josh Sobaski, an environmental specialist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The news came from North Liberty wastewater-superintendent Dave Ramsey, who reported the discharge occurred at 9:17 a.m. Aug. 25, Sobaski said, adding that he had not received any indication that the spill had been stopped as of 5 p.m. Sunday.
North Liberty Mayor Tom Salm said he was also unaware of whether the discharge had been stopped as of 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
Alan Foster, a Natural Resources information specialist, attributed the spill to the heavy rain in the area, though Sobaski said that North Liberty is known "to have had challenges with bypass issues in the past."
"[Bypasses] are a necessary evil," Foster said.
Though bypassing sewage into the water supply is not a desirable option, it beats the alternative of having sewage backups in the basements of North Liberty homes, he said.
Foster said even the best sewage-treatment plants must allow bypasses when rainfall gets especially heavy, although they are expected to have a plan in place to minimize the ill effects of the release.
Sobaski said the sewage was somewhat diluted, though he did not say to what extent the discharge had been sanitized.
Salm said that the sewage was probably diluted more than halfway before it spilled into the river, although he couldn't give an exact percentage. The treatment facility has been operating at 120 percent capacity over the last several weeks, he said.
Ralph Wilmoth, the director of the Johnson County Public Health Department, said the presence of sewage in drinking water supply increases potential for "fecal oral route transmission diseases," including salmonella and E. coli.
Tuesday, June 12
North Liberty Stays the Course
With slightly less than 14% of the registered voters turning out, North Libertarians voted down a change in government structure by an overwhelming majority of 77.4% to 22% (with 5 votes not counted). It seems cooler heads did prevail in this case. Perhaps this will rub off in City Hall?
Good Morning North Liberty!
Hey, all you readers north of I-80 and 965 (all two of you). You get to do something today that no one else in the state is doing--getting a chance to exercise your vote. As I said yesterday, I'd stick with what you got--that's a NO vote, but its your city--you make the call.
Some say that government doesn't matter no matter what shape it takes. I say, if you've got one, you might as well use it.
Check back tomorrow for analysis of the results.
Good night and Good Luck.
Some say that government doesn't matter no matter what shape it takes. I say, if you've got one, you might as well use it.
Check back tomorrow for analysis of the results.
Good night and Good Luck.
Monday, June 11
North Liberty City Government It's Own Re"Ward"
Tuesday, North Liberty voters will have an opportunity to change their city government structure by enacting a ward system (wherein voters in four parts of the city elect council members to represent them) and the whole of the city directly elects a mayor and two at-large council members.
I have been thinking, as an outsider, what I'd do, if I were in a North Libertarian's shoes. I would think it would be tempting to change the form of government because of how dysfunctional it appears to have been in the recent past. A good question to ask is what would be gained by a ward system?
The single benefit I can see is it would allow true district representation--that is one person to represent the viewpoint of a ward. The downside is that the whole of the city's interests might not be served if pork barrel politics take place. For instance, if Ward A council member wants a park and Ward C council member wants unfettered development, there is likely to be horse-trading to accomplish these dissimilar goals--neither of which may be in the city's overall interest. It could reasonably argued also, that a ward system could lead to gridlock if council members dig in their heels over pet projects. Finally, regardless of where a person lives, the whole of the council does make decisions that effects everyone. Does it make sense for only people in one area of town to choose a representative for them when who they pick also is a vote for the whole of the city?
In cities like Chicago where there are aldermen, this form of government has been known to be very inefficient, not to mention corrupt.
Obviously the current form of government has its problems, but it is the result of personality and philosophy differences, no the form of government that is to blame.
If I were in North Liberty, I'd stick with the form of government and work on electing officials that will work together in a way that benefits the community.
At the very least, get out there and vote!
I have been thinking, as an outsider, what I'd do, if I were in a North Libertarian's shoes. I would think it would be tempting to change the form of government because of how dysfunctional it appears to have been in the recent past. A good question to ask is what would be gained by a ward system?
The single benefit I can see is it would allow true district representation--that is one person to represent the viewpoint of a ward. The downside is that the whole of the city's interests might not be served if pork barrel politics take place. For instance, if Ward A council member wants a park and Ward C council member wants unfettered development, there is likely to be horse-trading to accomplish these dissimilar goals--neither of which may be in the city's overall interest. It could reasonably argued also, that a ward system could lead to gridlock if council members dig in their heels over pet projects. Finally, regardless of where a person lives, the whole of the council does make decisions that effects everyone. Does it make sense for only people in one area of town to choose a representative for them when who they pick also is a vote for the whole of the city?
In cities like Chicago where there are aldermen, this form of government has been known to be very inefficient, not to mention corrupt.
Obviously the current form of government has its problems, but it is the result of personality and philosophy differences, no the form of government that is to blame.
If I were in North Liberty, I'd stick with the form of government and work on electing officials that will work together in a way that benefits the community.
At the very least, get out there and vote!
Monday, April 30
North Liberty - Curious and Curiouser
The Press-Citizen opines
The issue
• The North Liberty City Council appointed Tom Salm to fill the absence left after Mayor Dave Franker recently resigned; city voters go to the polls on June 12 to decide whether to change the form of city government to a ward system.
We suggest
• With no pressing, practical need to change their form of government, residents of this small but growing city should vote against the proposed changes.
I have a fundamental question: Who benefits from the change in NL's government? Not taxpayers of North Liberty because they will be paying the extra salary.
The issue
• The North Liberty City Council appointed Tom Salm to fill the absence left after Mayor Dave Franker recently resigned; city voters go to the polls on June 12 to decide whether to change the form of city government to a ward system.
We suggest
• With no pressing, practical need to change their form of government, residents of this small but growing city should vote against the proposed changes.
I have a fundamental question: Who benefits from the change in NL's government? Not taxpayers of North Liberty because they will be paying the extra salary.
Thursday, April 26
Focusing on North Liberty: Strange Days Indeed
From Wednesday's Press-Citizen
"With a mayor now in place, North Liberty's government still faces an unpredictable future. A special election June 12, propelled by a petition signed by 327 residents, will decide if the city keeps its current form of government or adopts a council-manager-ward system.
The council currently has five at-large members and one non-voting mayor. If favored by a majority of voters, the city will be divided into four wards with a council made of one voting mayor and six council members. One council member would be elected from each ward, two would be voted at-large and one at-large mayor brings the total number of seats to seven."
But there is more to this story
If passed with a "yes" vote in June, it would mean that the 4 year terms of James Wozniak and Gerry Kuhl, set to end December 2009, would end this November, 2 years earlier than what the voters intended when they elected them in the 2005 election. Given current events, the only question is this punishment or reward?
It would also mean that James Moody and Matt Bahl, whose terms will end this December, may run for re-election and hope to be elected in their own wards rather than face the entire electorate, a prospect they may not relish given their support of the mayoral lawsuit and their no votes on transit and the Clear Creek-Amana school.
In the mean time, Tom Salm will have a couple months to try out being mayor and be in the unenviable role of trying to keep the canvass on this circus.
Who says there is no partisanship to non-partisan politics.
"With a mayor now in place, North Liberty's government still faces an unpredictable future. A special election June 12, propelled by a petition signed by 327 residents, will decide if the city keeps its current form of government or adopts a council-manager-ward system.
The council currently has five at-large members and one non-voting mayor. If favored by a majority of voters, the city will be divided into four wards with a council made of one voting mayor and six council members. One council member would be elected from each ward, two would be voted at-large and one at-large mayor brings the total number of seats to seven."
But there is more to this story
If passed with a "yes" vote in June, it would mean that the 4 year terms of James Wozniak and Gerry Kuhl, set to end December 2009, would end this November, 2 years earlier than what the voters intended when they elected them in the 2005 election. Given current events, the only question is this punishment or reward?
It would also mean that James Moody and Matt Bahl, whose terms will end this December, may run for re-election and hope to be elected in their own wards rather than face the entire electorate, a prospect they may not relish given their support of the mayoral lawsuit and their no votes on transit and the Clear Creek-Amana school.
In the mean time, Tom Salm will have a couple months to try out being mayor and be in the unenviable role of trying to keep the canvass on this circus.
Who says there is no partisanship to non-partisan politics.
Wednesday, April 4
A Tale of Two Cities - North Liberty?
Remember this is a blog, so I'm free to ask questions particularly when there could be ore going on than meets the eye.
The Press-Citizen reports (and I am truncating the story) "City politics in North Liberty would change if a petition filed Tuesday calling for city councilors to be elected by wards is adopted.
Who could be behind this? I'm speculating, not accusing...just asking, who has the most to gain?
1) DeWayne Olney, a contractor, named in today's story lives in a potential (Deerfield) ward that current incumbent James Wozniak (also NL JCCOG Rep.) lives. Does he have backing from James Moody and Matthew Bahl?
2) Matthew Bahl, lost to former mayor Franker, genuine sore loser (re: city council door slamming incident)--not a fan of now former City Administrator Brian James.
3) Paul Osterholt, a former candidate for city council and a mover and shaker behind the scenes in NL politics. According to a letter sent into the Press-Citizen in January
"the person who brought the petition to keep a future election from ending up in the courts was former City Council candidate Paul Osterholt, whose 2005 campaign was financed in part by The Committee to Elect Matt Bahl, Robert Gardiner and Paul Osterholt. Bahl and Gardiner, of course, being the ones who kept the election in the courts on a technicality."
4) Rob Gardiner came in third to James Wozniak. See above.
5) Former mayor Clair Mekota, with development interests that were stymied during Franker era. Payback?
This begs the question, is it a question of open, representative government here or a power play?
Hey, Rob Daniels reporter for the Press-Citizen, keep digging.
The Press-Citizen reports (and I am truncating the story) "City politics in North Liberty would change if a petition filed Tuesday calling for city councilors to be elected by wards is adopted.
Dewayne Olney, a planning and zoning commission member who helped circulate the petition, said several residents in North Liberty were "fed up" with the current system.
"Not all parts of North Liberty have a voice on the North Liberty council," he said.
If they hold an election before Aug. 7 and the ward system is approved, the seven new seats would be up for election in the Nov. 6 general election. If there is no election before Aug. 7, the new government could not take effect until January 2010, [Tom] Slockett said.Who could be behind this? I'm speculating, not accusing...just asking, who has the most to gain?
1) DeWayne Olney, a contractor, named in today's story lives in a potential (Deerfield) ward that current incumbent James Wozniak (also NL JCCOG Rep.) lives. Does he have backing from James Moody and Matthew Bahl?
2) Matthew Bahl, lost to former mayor Franker, genuine sore loser (re: city council door slamming incident)--not a fan of now former City Administrator Brian James.
3) Paul Osterholt, a former candidate for city council and a mover and shaker behind the scenes in NL politics. According to a letter sent into the Press-Citizen in January
"the person who brought the petition to keep a future election from ending up in the courts was former City Council candidate Paul Osterholt, whose 2005 campaign was financed in part by The Committee to Elect Matt Bahl, Robert Gardiner and Paul Osterholt. Bahl and Gardiner, of course, being the ones who kept the election in the courts on a technicality."
4) Rob Gardiner came in third to James Wozniak. See above.
5) Former mayor Clair Mekota, with development interests that were stymied during Franker era. Payback?
This begs the question, is it a question of open, representative government here or a power play?
Hey, Rob Daniels reporter for the Press-Citizen, keep digging.
Tuesday, April 3
Another One Bites the Dust in North Liberty
The Gazette reports--
Brian James resigned Monday as North Liberty's city administrator, leaving the city without two top officials after its mayor quit last week."I'm looking toward the future and wanted to move on with some other employment possibilities,'' James, 49, told the Gazette in an interview at his home.The City Council is to hold a special meeting at 6:30 Tuesday night to accept City Administrator Brian James' resignation. James, who was making $71,235 this year, said he was not forced out and had not received any indication the City Council was dissatisfied with him. He does not have another job lined up but his resignation is effective immediately. He said there was no particular reason he gave no notice. There were indications last week that James' job might be in jeopardy.
Hey, North Libertarians--What's in the water?
Brian James resigned Monday as North Liberty's city administrator, leaving the city without two top officials after its mayor quit last week."I'm looking toward the future and wanted to move on with some other employment possibilities,'' James, 49, told the Gazette in an interview at his home.The City Council is to hold a special meeting at 6:30 Tuesday night to accept City Administrator Brian James' resignation. James, who was making $71,235 this year, said he was not forced out and had not received any indication the City Council was dissatisfied with him. He does not have another job lined up but his resignation is effective immediately. He said there was no particular reason he gave no notice. There were indications last week that James' job might be in jeopardy.
Hey, North Libertarians--What's in the water?
Thursday, March 29
Franker Sense: North Liberty Mayor Resigns For "Legal Reasons"
The Press-Citizen reports that North Liberty Mayor Dave Franker, who won as a write-in candidate resigned today. Franker, who is a former school board member and was the 2004 district 2 Democratic Congressional candidate, made his surprise announcement at a news conference today. Flanked by his wife, Karen, Franker told reporters he was taking an internship in the Linn County Attorney's Office. The resignation is effective immediately, Franker said.Council member Gerry Kuhl, who is mayor pro tem, will assume mayoral duties.
More in the C.R. Gazette
and the Daily Iowan
Is there more to this story?
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