Helping Cedar Rapids helps all of Iowa, Corbett tells lawmakers

Mayor Ron Corbett appealed to lawmakers' sense of statesmanship, encouraging them to approve “landmark” legislation to help Cedar Rapids recover from a devastating flood in 2008 that caused $6 billion damage to the state's second-largest city.

In an early morning meeting with a task force considering Cedar Rapids $200 million request to divert future sales tax revenue growth to pay for flood protection, Corbett acknowledged the Legislature is often known for its “partisan wrangling.”

“There always is and there always will be,” Corbett, the former speaker of the Iowa House, said, “but I would suggest this to you, occasionally a Legislature is known for passing significant legislation and landmark legislation. This has the ability to be and do exactly that – be landmark legislation.

“You might say, ‘That's natural coming from you, Mr. Mayor, you're from Cedar Rapids and you're going to be benefitted from this,'” he said. “Certainly Cedar Rapids will benefit, but you can design it that any community that faced a disaster of our magnitude could also qualify.”

It was part of Corbett's “helping Cedar Rapids is helping Iowa” argument he laid out last month to legislative committees and again March 17 to 12-member task force, which has equal numbers of Republicans, Democrats, senators and representatives, that has been formed to make a recommendation to lawmakers on Cedar Rapids proposal.