If Cedar Rapids voters turn down option tax, what next?

CEDAR RAPIDS - In three weeks, voters in Cedar Rapids will make what Mayor Ron Corbett calls a “pivotal” decision. Extending the current one cent local option sales and service tax (LOST) by 20 years would bring in an estimated $18-million dollars a year. In Cedar Rapids, a “yes” vote on May 3rd would direct half that amount to a massive flood protection system. Forty percent of the remainder would go for street projects and 10% for property tax relief.

But while city leaders in Cedar Rapids have spoken extensively about the need for voters to extend the tax, very little has been said about what happens if it fails.

Actually, getting city leaders to talk about a “Plan B” in case of failure isn't easy. Corbett at one neighborhood meeting called the option tax vote on May 3rd ”Plan B.” The mayor believes Plan A was actually the hope the federal government would fund a significant portion of the entire $375-million dollar flood protection system. That idea fell to the reality of the Army Corps of Engineers cost-benefit analysis.

Mayor Corbett said as a strategy, telling voters you have a backup funding plan before a vote probably isn't the way to win an election.

“We don't have a plan that we would come back with May 4th if for some reason the voters turn this down. Our plan is to work hard over the next several weeks to answer every question that people have,” Corbett said.

Plenty of questions have come up at some of the 20 planned neighborhood meetings to discuss the option tax vote. One constant question is why did the city pursue the option tax extension to fund flood protection.

At a recent “Vote Yes” rally, union leader and option tax supporter Al Hartl said “there's several different ways to approach that and the one cent option tax is the least harmful to those families.”

Mayor Corbett said the other possibilities were a franchise tax on utilities or an increase in the city's property taxes. A full five percent fee on utility bills would have brought in nine or 10 million dollars a year. Raising that amount with property taxes would have meant a significant increase for homeowners. But Corbett said the best argument against either of those methods is the full cost would have fallen on city residents. Using an option tax means visitors who buy goods and services in the city help pay the cost for flood protection as well.

“Certainly the stakes are very high and I think most people understand we're not going to get the federal government and the state government to go 100%,” Corbett said adding “we have to get some type of local match.”

State lawmakers expect the house and senate to adjourn at about the same time as the voters in Linn County go to the polls for the local option tax extension question. Voters in Cedar Rapids, the only community allocating money for flood protection, should know by then if state lawmakers plan to contribute funding as well.

The Gazette, KCRG-TV9 and Impact Cedar Rapids are hosting one of the upcoming neighborhood meetings on the option tax question. Decision Time: A Community Conservation will take place Thursday, April 21st. It will be at Harrison Elementary School 1310 11th St. N.W. in Cedar Rapids. The doors open at 6:30 p.m.