[00:00:02]
[2. CALL TO ORDER]
I CALL TO ORDER. I'LL OPEN WITH A FEW COMMENTS, AND THEN WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU.[A. Resolution 25-66]
THAT'S A STATE FORM. IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE.I COMPLAINED TO THE STATE ABOUT THEM. THEY SAID THEY UNDERESTIMATED LAST YEAR.
SO WHAT THEY'VE REALLY DONE IS EVALUATE EVERYBODY'S HOME AT 110% OF WHAT ITS TRUE VALUE IS.
AND SO THEY'RE MISLEADING AT BEST. SO I'LL GIVE YOU A FEW HIGHLIGHTS OF THE OF THIS YEAR'S BUDGET.
THE OVERALL TAXABLE VALUATION IN COUNCIL BLUFFS INCREASED BY 5.3%.
THAT'S PRIMARILY DUE TO NEW CONSTRUCTION AND MARKET CHANGES, ADDING TO THE TOTAL TAXABLE VALUATION.
THE CITY IS REDUCING ITS PROPERTY TAX LEVY FROM 17.69 OR 217.69, WHICH IS A DECREASE OF 16.1.09. IOWA HAS WHAT THEY CALL A ROLLBACK. AND DEPENDING ON WHAT YOUR VALUATION DOES, IF YOUR VALUATION GOES UP, THE PERCENTAGE OF YOUR HOME THAT'S TAXABLE GOES DOWN.
THIS YEAR IT WENT UP, BUT IT WENT UP A LITTLE OVER 1%.
SO EVEN THOUGH THE LEVY WENT DOWN YOUR THE YOUR TAXABLE AMOUNT PROBABLY WENT UP A LITTLE BIT.
BUT IT LOOKS UNIVERSALLY UNLESS YOUR PROPERTY VALUE CHANGE, WHICH IT TYPICALLY DOESN'T.
THIS IS WHAT'S CALLED A NON ASSESSMENT YEAR. SO THE COUNTY SUPERVISOR DOESN'T ADD NEW ASSESSMENT UNLESS YOU GOT A NEW KITCHEN OR NEW BATHROOM OR YOU BUILT A NEW HOME. USUALLY THE VALUATION STAYS STABLE.
AND SO IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S GOING TO GO UP FOR ME AT LEAST.
AND FOR EVERYBODY UP HERE, IT LOOKS LIKE ABOUT 1.42% INCREASE IN IN YOUR TAXABLE VALUE THIS YEAR.
THE OPERATING EXPENDITURES FOR THE CITY INCREASES WERE AS FOLLOWS.
SALARY AND WAGES INCREASE 5.26%. THAT EQUATES TO ABOUT 2.44 MILLION.
PENSION COSTS INCREASED 5.59% 376,000. A GROUP INSURANCE INCREASED 7.36%, 966,000, AND PROPERTY AND LIABILITY INSURANCE INCREASED 10.38% 202,000. AND SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE INCREASES AT THE END OF THE DAY, LIKE I SAY, IT LOOKS LIKE MOST OF US WOULD SEE AN INCREASE IN OUR TAXABLE BILL OF ABOUT 1.42%, WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW WHAT THE AVERAGE RATE OF INFLATION WAS.
AND SO WITH THAT, I'LL QUIT TALKING AND LET YOU DO THE TALKING.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE. SO IF YOU'D LIKE TO ADDRESS THE COUNCIL, CAN YOU PLEASE STEP FORWARD TO THE MICROPHONE, GIVE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD SO THAT WE KNOW WHERE YOU ARE IN CASE WE HAVE TO CONTACT YOU.
WILL YOU, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE 1.42%, WILL YOU SAY THAT'S THE CITY'S PORTION? THERE ARE OTHER. YEAH. THIS. YEAH. WHAT ROGER IS SAYING IS DON'T BE MISLED.
THERE ARE MULTIPLE TAXING ENTITIES. YOU HAVE THE COUNTY.
YOU HAVE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. YOU HAVE IOWA WESTERN.
WHEN I SAY 1.42%, THAT'S STRICTLY THE CITY'S PORTION OF YOUR PROPERTY TAX.
AND SO EACH TAXING ENTITY IS DONE DIFFERENT THINGS.
AND SO WE CAN'T SPEAK TO WHAT THEY'RE DOING. WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU.
AND HE CAN TELL YOU WHAT THE CITY'S PORTION WILL BE, IF YOU'D LIKE.
CAN YOU TELL THE CUMULATIVE TOTAL OF ALL THE TAXING DISTRICTS? NO, WE JUST HAVE THE CITIES WHICH THE OTHER TAXING ENTITIES ARE HAVING THESE SAME MEETINGS.
COUNTIES IS TOMORROW I THINK SO. YEAH. THE OTHER TAXING ENTITIES ARE HAVING THE SAME MEETINGS.
THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE THE CALCULATOR THAT BRANDON HAS. IT'S ON THAT SHEET. BUT THAT SHEETS 10 A.M.
VERY DIFFICULT TO READ. FOR COUNTIES IS 10 A.M.
APRIL FIRST. SO IT'S A WEEK FROM TOMORROW. LEWIS CENTRAL SCHOOL APRIL 7TH AT 6 P.M..
AND I DON'T HAVE THE COUNCIL BLUFFS. I'M IN THE CENTRAL DISTRICT.
[00:05:04]
SO IF YOU'RE IN THE COUNCIL BLUFFS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, IT'S PROBABLY ON ONE OF THOSE SHEETS. ON THE EIGHTH.APRIL 8TH. LEWIS CENTRAL. APRIL 8TH AT 6:15 IS THE COUNCIL BLUFFS SCHOOL DISTRICT.
WE TRY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE IN REGARDS TO COUNCIL BLUFFS.
YEAH. AND FOR US, WE'LL COME ON UP. YOU CAN GO TO IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION.
MY NAME IS ROBERT DONAHUE. I LIVE OVER ON STUTZMAN STREET.
I NOTICED FROM THIS PIECE OF PAPER THEY SENT OUT BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE THIS, THE DETAIL LIKE THAT.
THEY BROKE IT DOWN BY CITY, COUNTY AND SCHOOL DISTRICT.
THE CITY, EACH ONE IS ESSENTIALLY A THIRD, BUT THE CITY IS THE LARGEST OF THE THREE.
41.5%. OKAY. IT SAID THE TAX RATE WAS GOING DOWN THIS YEAR FROM 17.85 TO 17.69. SO IT'S GOING DOWN A LITTLE BIT.
NOW I'M OVER 65 AND I FILLED OUT THAT PAPERWORK.
RIGHT. WHETHER IT BE DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE COMPUTATION IS FOR THAT TAX RATE FOR SENIORS? I THINK IT'S IT IS AN EXEMPTION LAST YEAR AND I'M NOT 100% SURE.
SO DON'T QUOTE ME ON THIS. I THINK IT WAS $3,200 AND IT GOES TO $6,500.
THE FIRST $6,500 OF YOUR PROPERTY'S VALUATION IS NOT SUBJECT TO TAX.
SO JUST CUT TO 65,000 OFF THE VALUE 506,500 OFF THE VALUE.
YEAH. SO, IT AIN'T GOING TO BE MUCH DIFFERENT THAN A HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION.
SO I KNOW I PAID ABOUT A THOUSAND EACH QUARTER MARCH AND SEPTEMBER LAST YEAR.
MY HOUSE IS VALUED AT ABOUT 116,000. AND IT SAYS HERE I'D ONLY PAID 1900.
I DID SOME CALCULATION TODAY, 1900 FOR ALL THE TAXING DISTRICTS, COUNTIES, CITY AND SCHOOL DISTRICT WHICH WOULD RAISE MINE UP. WHAT THIS PROPOSED WOULD RAISE FOR ALL OF THEM WOULD RAISE IT UP ABOUT $219 MORE. I DON'T THINK THAT'S ACCURATE. NOT THAT THAT ISN'T WHAT IT SAYS.
I THINK IT DOES SAY THAT, BUT. IT SAYS THAT ON THE BACK SIDE.
IF YOU LOOK ON THE BACK, IT SAYS THAT THEY TOOK 100% OF YOUR VALUE AND INCREASED IT 100 BY 10% TO 110%, WHICH MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO EXPLANATION TO ME. I ACTUALLY TALKED TO THE PERSON THAT PREPARED IT, AND SHE GOT VERY DEFENSIVE AND SAID, LAST YEAR YOU SAID IT WAS TOO LOW, SO I INCREASED IT.
THAT FORM COMES FROM THE STATE OF IOWA. THEN THE NUMBERS ARE FILLED IN BY THE COUNTY AUDITOR.
AND SO IT'S THE COUNTY. WHO'S THE BLAME FOR THAT EXTRA TEN? WELL, I ACTUALLY THINK IT'S THE STATE ON THAT PARTICULAR CASE.
THE BECAUSE THE COUNTY IT SHOWS THAT THEIR PERCENTAGES WENT DOWN ON BOTH.
WELL, I THINK WE'RE GOING DOWN THE COUNTY IS GOING DOWN.
YEAH. WHICH IS JUST YOUR HOUSE ISN'T WORTH 110.
SO THAT'S NOT WE'RE GOING TO BE TAXED AT. YEAH.
HOW CAN THEY RAISE IT UP THAT 10%. THEY'RE NOT.
INSTEAD OF GIVING YOU AN ACTUAL VERBIAGE ON THIS.
YEAH, IT'S TERRIBLE VERBIAGE. IT'S. AT LEAST IT SAYS THE HYPOTHETICAL VALUE BELOW.
YOU KNOW MY NAME? YOU GAVE YOUR NAME. IT'S THE FIRST THING YOU SAID ON THE MIC.
WE'VE BEEN WATCHING, WE'VE BEEN WATCHING YOU.
MR. DONAHUE. YOU DROPPED A PIECE OF PAPER ON THE FLOOR.
423, BUT THEN ON THE BACK IT SAYS. THE HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE BELOW COMPARES THE AMOUNT OF PROPERTY TAX ON A RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY WITH A VALUE OF 100,000 IN THE CURRENT YEAR AND 110 IN THE PROPOSED YEAR.
AND AS I SAID AT THE BEGINNING, THIS IS A NON ASSESSMENT YEAR.
SO PEOPLE'S HOUSES DIDN'T GO UP 10%. SO IT'S JUST I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY DID IT THAT WAY.
OKAY. THAT MAKES SENSE. ANYONE ELSE. YOU DIDN'T DO IT THEN IT'S OKAY.
WELL I'M NOT TAKING CREDIT FOR IT. IT'S HOW WE DO IT.
ANYBODY ELSE CAN COME UP? YEAH. NAME AND ADDRESS.
I DID SOME MATH EARLIER AND FOR CITY TAXES AND CITY TAXES, ONLY PER $100,000 OF VALUE.
[00:10:03]
COUNCIL BLUFFS RESIDENTS PAY $69.93 PER MONTH.AND SO, MY HOUSE, I THINK IS VALUED AT 405. SO I PAY LIKE 275 PER MONTH.
AND THEN I TELL PEOPLE ON MY PROPERTY TAXES OR ON MY HOMEOWNER'S INSURANCE, I PAID $202 A MONTH IN HOMEOWNER'S INSURANCE, HOPING I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO USE THAT, BECAUSE IF I DO, I GOT TO COME OUT OF POCKET WITH 13 GRAND OF DEDUCTIBLE.
AND FOR $69.93 PER HUNDRED OF VALUE, YOU GET POLICE, YOU GET FIRE, YOU GET STREETS, YOU GET YOU GET SOME VALUE. I THINK OUT OF IT. I KNOW TAXES ARE HIGH.
I KNOW PEOPLE ARE SENSITIVE TO HIGH TAXES. BUT WHEN YOU COMPARE IT TO OTHER COSTS LIKE INTERNET AND CELL PHONE AND THOSE TYPE OF THINGS I, I WON'T GO AS FAR AS SAYING IT'S A BARGAIN, BUT I THINK IT'S REASONABLE FOR HOMEOWNERS.
HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE HAS GONE RIGHT THROUGH THE ROOF.
MINE'S 202 A MONTH FOR MY HOMEOWNER'S INSURANCE.
I THINK MY MINE AGAIN 405 IS MY VALUE. MINE WENT UP $40 AND I'M SORRY, WENT UP $47.72 ALSO. AND THAT'S BECAUSE THE ROLL BACKS ROLLING UP THIS YEAR IT WENT FROM 46% TO 47.
YEAH ALSO, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO COME UP, THE CALCULATOR IS ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE.
SO IF YOU GO TO THE CONSTABLE CITY PAGE AND GO TO GOVERNMENTS AND THEN UNDER THE FINANCE SECTION, OVER ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, THERE'S A LITTLE BUTTON THAT SAYS PROPERTY TAX LEVY.
AND SO YOU JUST NEED TO KNOW YOUR EVALUATION.
THAT'S ON THE COUNTY ASSESSOR'S FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS.
AND YOU PLUG THOSE TWO NUMBERS IN AND IT WILL TELL YOU THE CHANGE.
WHEN WILL THE STATEMENTS BE MAILED OUT? WHEN ARE THEY DUE? THE TAXES ARE ALWAYS DUE IN MARCH AND SEPTEMBER.
AND SO YEAH, YEAH. AND WE'RE ON A FISCAL YEAR, WHICH IS JULY 1ST. SO SEPTEMBER 1ST, WE'RE ON A FISCAL YEAR WHICH STARTS IN JULY 1ST.
SO SEPTEMBER WOULD BE THE YOUR FIRST? YEAH. HOW DOES THAT WORK? ANY MORE QUESTIONS? ALL I, ALL I HEAR IS THAT THE CITY. THE CITY.
AND AGAIN, IT'S DON'T FORGET THAT THE CITY IS 41.5%.
I THINK I GOT IT HERE. I CAN TELL YOU EXACTLY.
IT'S ON THIS ONE. THE OTHER THING I THOUGHT WAS INTERESTING.
CITY IS GOING TO COLLECT ABOUT 60 BETWEEN 62 AND 63 MILLION IN PROPERTY TAXES.
46,955,000 GOES TO PUBLIC SAFETY. SO, OF THE 62 MILLION, ALMOST 47 MILLION OF THE 62 MILLION GOES TO PUBLIC SAFETY.
PUBLIC WORKS, WHICH DOES THE STREETS THAT THEY GET THEIRS FROM ROAD USE TAX. CULTURE AND RECREATION, WHICH IS PARKS AND LIBRARIES, 15,800,000.
A GENERAL GOVERNMENT, WHICH IS ALL THE OFFICES IN CITY HALL.
22,000,561. AND THEN THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT GET PROPERTY TAX.
THE OTHER ENTITIES COME FROM OTHER PLACES LIKE PERMITS AND GAMING TAX AND SO OF YOUR TAX DOLLARS. COUNCIL BLUFFS SCHOOL DISTRICT GETS 37.1%, LOUIS CENTRAL WILL BE A LITTLE LESS. COUNCIL BLUFFS SCHOOL DISTRICT'S PROPERTY VALUES ARE LOWER THAN WHAT THE LOUIS CENTRAL DISTRICT IS. LOUIS CENTRAL GETS GOOGLE, THEY GET THAT SHOPPING CENTER DOWN THERE.
[00:15:10]
TAXES GOES TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, 17% GOES TO POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY, 3.4% GOES TO IOWA WESTERN.OTHER TAXES. THERE'S LIKE BRUCELLOSIS, WHICH IS A DISEASE IN CATTLE THAT STILL GETS MONEY FROM TAXES. AND THE CITY OF COUNCIL BLUFFS IS 41.5%.
SO THAT'S KIND OF HOW IT BREAKS OUT, BUT.
WELL, WE'RE HAPPY IF THEY'RE HAPPY TO TRY TO ANSWER ANY OTHER QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
IF THERE ARE NO MORE, I'LL MAKE A MOTION THAT THE CITY OF COUNCIL BLUFFS TAX LEVY FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 2026 GOES DOWN FROM 1785 TO 1769. AND I THINK WE JUST CLOSED THE PUBLIC HEARING HERE.
OH, THAT GETS VOTED ON ANOTHER DAY. OKAY. SO WE HAVE A RESOLUTION APPROVING IT.
DO WE? YEAH. SECOND, IT'S UP ON THE SCREEN IF YOU NEED IT.
RIGHT BEHIND ME. YEAH. DID I GET A SECOND? YEAH.
SEE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
AYE. OPPOSED? SAME SIGN. AND WE CAN STICK AROUND AND DO A QUICK CALCULATION FOR YOU ON THAT.
OKAY. BUT OTHERWISE OUR REGULAR MEETING WILL START IN 45 MINUTES.
I DON'T KNOW HOW IT'S GOING TO WORK YET OR IF IT'S GOING TO WORK.
KIND OF THE BROAD BRUSH STROKES ARE THE FIRST 125,000.
IS IT 125 GRAND? YOU GET A EXEMPTION OR IT'S THE 25 FIRST 25 AND THEN IT CAPS THE ANNUAL GROWTH. AND IT DOES AWAY WITH THAT ROLLBACK I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT.
SO WE REALLY I THINK THEY JUST CAME OUT WITH A MODEL TODAY.
AND SO WE REALLY HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT IT. BUT THEY'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A SYSTEM THAT KEEPS PROPERTY TAXES REASONABLE AND STILL IS ABLE TO FUND GOVERNMENT. SO, BUT SO NEXT YEAR IT'S GOING TO I GET THE FEELING IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFERENT.
BUT THAT'S ONLY IF THE LEGISLATURE VOTES FOR THAT.
AND THERE'S SOME CONCERN THAT IT'S SHIFTING THE PROPERTY TAX BURDEN FROM COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATIONS TO HOME OWNERS CLASSIFICATIONS, IF THAT TRULY THEY FIND OUT THAT'S THE CASE, IT WON'T PASS. I DON'T THINK SO. A COUPLE OF US HAVE IT, THE WORKSHEET PULLED UP TO.
YEAH. IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO SOMEBODY CAN COME UP HERE IF YOU WANT. DO WE WANT TO END THE MEETING OR KEEP THE MEETING OPEN? DO WE NEED TO VOTE? VOTED, AND THAT'S DONE. WE'RE ADJOURNED.
SO THIS. I'M GOING TO QUIT RECORDING. HERE. WE CAN EXPECT THE SAME THING THEN.
WELL, I HOPE NOT THAT ONE, BECAUSE THAT FORM IS SO BAD THAT IT'S VERY CONFUSING TO PEOPLE.
DAN DAWSON, WHO'S FROM COUNCIL BLUFFS, INTRODUCED IT.
HE INTRODUCED IT TWO WEEKS AGO FRIDAY. IT TOOK UNTIL YESTERDAY FOR THE IOWA LEAGUE OF CITIES, WHICH REPRESENTS ALL THE CITIES IN IOWA, AND PFM, WHO'S A PRIVATE MANAGEMENT EQUITY COMPANY THAT THAT DOES THE MATH BEHIND A LOT OF THIS STUFF TO COME UP WITH A FORMULA OF HOW IT WORKS.
AND I THINK THE INTENT IS TO GET RID OF THAT ROLLBACK.
LET VALUATIONS GO UP. BUT THEN THE THERE'S A 2% GROWTH LIMITATION THAT WILL FORCE CITIES TO LOWER THEIR TAX LEVY AND DRIVE THAT BACK DOWN.
BUT IT HONESTLY, I THOUGHT I UNDERSTOOD IT IN LAST FRIDAY.
I TOLD A GROUP OF PEOPLE HOW IT WORKED AND THEY LOOKED AT ME LIKE I WAS AN IDIOT.
SO I DON'T THINK I FULLY COMPREHEND AT THIS POINT HOW IT DOES WORK.
BUT AND WE'VE ASKED HIM IF WE COULD MEET WITH HIM FRIDAY TO TALK ABOUT IT.
[00:20:07]
SO I THINK THIS MAY BE THE LAST YEAR OF PROPERTY TAXES LOOKING LIKE THIS.THEY'RE TRYING TO REDUCE INCOME TAXES, WHICH THEY'VE DONE.
AND NOW THEY'RE TRYING TO REDUCE PROPERTY TAXES.
AND AS I TOLD DAWSON, I GET A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT SAY I PAY A LOT OF TAXES, I WANT SERVICES.
I DON'T GET A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT SAY, I DON'T WANT TO PAY ANY TAXES AND I DON'T WANT ANY SERVICES.
AND SO THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME WAY TO FUND POLICE AND FIRE AND PARKS AND, AND YOU KNOW, IN ACTUALITY, HE WENT FOR EXAMPLE, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WERE AN OS ONE RATED FIRE DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS HOW THEY CALCULATE THE INSURANCE ON YOUR PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE. AND BECAUSE WE'RE ONE AND THERE'S ONLY ONE OTHER, SIOUX CITY THAT'S ONE RATED YOU GET A DEDUCTION ON THE PREMIUMS OF YOUR AND SO THERE'S A TAX SAVINGS ASSOCIATED WITH HAVING GOOD POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT AND NOT SO MUCH CRIME, NOT SO MUCH PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE.
SO, ALL RIGHT. SO, WE'RE ADJOURNED? YES. OKAY, I'M GOING TO CUT THIS STREAM OFF,
THEN.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.