Center Junction will not disband

CENTER JUNCTION - The Jones County town of Center Junction will not disband after a 3-2 vote Monday night.

Mayor Sandy Ricklefs, who championed disincorporation as a way to reduce taxes for residents, resigned following the vote.

Center Junction leaders discovered earlier this year taxes weren't keeping up with expenses, which include payments for law enforcement, library service, and emergency management, Ricklefs said. She and the city clerk went to the bank to talk about taking out a loan, but determined the situation would be the same next year unless they raised taxes on the 103 residents.

There were also unexpected costs, including replacing part of the fire station floor.

Twenty-two residents came to a Dec. 8 meeting, where leaders took an informal poll about whether residents wanted to disband, Ricklefs said. Nearly everyone favored the move, she said.

County officials explained Monday how services would change if the city disbanded. Fewer traffic lights and slower snow removal were among the effects. Law enforcement would not change significantly and the city's fire department would continue as part of a township, Ricklefs said.

Audrey Smith, one of three council members who voted against dissolving the city, did not want to talk about her vote Tuesday. Two other opponents did not immediately return phone calls.

If five percent of Center Junction residents - which would be six people - disagree with the council's decision, they may petition Iowa's City Development Board. The board would ask the council to choose one resident to serve on the review panel, said the board's administrator, Matt Rasmussen.

If the panel decides the petition has merit, it would go to a vote of citizens.

The Des Moines-based City Development Board has received such a petition from residents of Luther, a town of 122 south of Ames, Rasmussen said.

Millville, which had 30 people in Clayton County, became unincorporated last July and Mount Sterling, a 36-person town in Van Buren County, voted to dissolve in 2012.