• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / News / Trio of Iowa mayors discuss property tax transparency

Trio of Iowa mayors discuss property tax transparency

May 3, 2019 By O. Kay Henderson

The mayor of Council Bluffs says Iowa’s property tax system has been “broken” for decades and needs a complete overhaul. Mayor Matt Walsh comments come after the 2019 Iowa legislature passed a bill requiring new public notices and a super majority vote when city councils raise property taxes more than two percent.

“They tinker with it and try to make it workable,” Walsh said this morning. “At this point, it’s like a piece of machinery. You can only repair it so many times. It no longer works.”

Walsh said property taxes put Council Bluffs at a “distinct disadvantage” with Omaha.

“No doubt there’s need for property tax reform. I don’t think the legislature accomplished what they wanted to accomplish,” Walsh said. “I don’t think it added any transparency.”

Walsh and mayors from eastern and central Iowa discussed property taxes during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs tonight on Iowa Public Television. North Liberty Mayor Terry Donahue said posting public notices about property taxes online and in newspapers won’t be a problem.

“When we go through our public process, we have three or four public meetings where people can come in, see what maybe the preliminary budget may be,” Donahue said. “If they wish to make a comment, they’re certainly welcome to do so. We have a public hearing that’s mandated when we do the final adoption. I don’t see that as a problem at all. It’s just adding, maybe, an extra step.”

Nevada Mayor Brett Barker was at the statehouse, lobbying against a previous proposal that included a statewide cap on property tax increases.

“Legislators listened. They made changes,” Barker said. “A lot of the unintended consequences we were concerned about were mitigated in the final version of the bill.”

Barker said the legislation’s public notice requirements may help the public better understand the existing property tax system.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Legislature, Taxes

Featured Stories

DOT plow crews struggling against blizzard conditions

Iowa delegation breaks along party lines on Trump impeachment vote

Two northeast Iowa men admit to illegally harvesting ginseng

Do you have to pay tax on your stimulus check?

All six in Iowa’s congressional delegation confirm Electoral College results

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

Iowa State-Kansas postponed

Iowa-Michigan State postponed

Fire damage to Riverfront Stadium electrical system will cost Waterloo thousands

Iowa State at Kansas State postponed

Iowa State’s Foster to miss remainder of the season

More Sports

eNews and Updates

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives

Copyright © 2021 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC