School board members support tax abatement for Cedar Rapids flood victims

Despite the financial hit it will cause, Cedar Rapids school board members support the abatement of taxes for owners of flood-damaged properties.

“It's the right thing to do,” John Laverty said.

Members discussed the issue Monday night. Steve Graham, the district's executive director of business services, gave a report on the latest information, which isn't concise.

“Currently, the abatement initiative lacks sufficient data to provide for a reasonably accurate forecast for the financial loss of the district,” Graham said.

The monetary loss - anywhere from $740,000 to $2.5 million - changes depending on whom he talks to and the figures they reference, he said.

By state law, the Linn County Board of Supervisors makes decisions about tax abatements. The city of Cedar Rapids, the county and the school district, all of which would lose tax revenue in an abatement, have set up a committee to study the matter.

Unable to give concrete information, Graham asked members to share their thoughts on the proposal, ideas on how the district would recover from the loss of funds and additional information they need from the county.

Graham presented four options for recovering lost funds:

• Reduce services by the abatement amount.
• Fund abatement with reserves.
• Seek a legislative initiative.
• Increase the 2010-11 tax levy to recover losses.

Board members said they'd need more data before they voted on a plan to recover lost funds. They also expressed interest in knowing how other districts have recovered from similar decisions.