Tax officially targeted to C.R. flood protection

CEDAR RAPIDS - The City Council last night approved the specific ballot language that Cedar Rapids voters will see on March 6 when they decide whether to extend the city's 1 percent local-option sales tax for 10 years for flood protection.

The language states that 100 percent of the revenue coming to Cedar Rapids from the sales-tax extension will go “to establish and maintain a flood protection system on both the east and west sides of the Cedar River.”

The upcoming vote was prompted by a petition drive from residents after a proposed 20-year extension was defeated in an election this spring. Under the language on that ballot issue, 50 percent of Cedar Rapids' additional revenue would have been used for flood protection, 40 percent for street repair and 10 percent for property-tax relief.

The tax has already been approved through June 30, 2014. If voters sign off on the extension, it would be in place for another decade starting July 1, 2014.