Gov. Kim Reynolds plans public town hall early Friday in Cedar Rapids

Gov. Kim Reynolds is bringing her 'Invest In Iowa” road show Friday morning to Cedar Rapids.

The governor is scheduled to be at the Early Bird Café, 333 First St., beginning at 7 a.m. to hold a town hall meeting open to the public.

Reynolds, an Osceola Republican, is taking her top legislative priority on the road in hopes of persuading Iowans to support her plan to fund water quality, mental health and other needs - while also providing income and property tax relief - by raising the state sales tax by a penny.

Reynolds is seeking the sales tax increase to finance water quality improvements and conservation and outdoor recreation programs, further reduce state income tax rates and brackets and establish a permanent state funding mechanism for mental health services now paid for by county property tax levies.

'The Invest in Iowa Act is a bold vision for Iowa that lowers the overall tax burden on Iowans, and invests significantly in mental health and water quality. This plan will have immediate results for our economic competitiveness and overall quality of life,” the governor said in announcing her town hall itinerary.

The proposal that Reynolds outlined last month in her Condition of the State address builds on a 2010 vote by Iowans to approve a constitutional amendment dedicating the first three-eighths of a cent of the next sales tax increase to a number of environmental and natural resources initiatives.

The state sales tax is now 6 percent. More than 100 Iowa cities collect another 1 percent local-option sales tax, bringing the sales tax to 7 percent.

Raising the sales tax another 1 percent is projected to raise about $540 million annually.