Jones County’s Center Junction to consider disbanding

With scarcely more than 100 people, the Jones County town of Center Junction is considering disbanding as residents struggle to cover the costs of running a city.

The Center Junction City Council will meet Jan. 5 to vote on a resolution of discontinuance, Mayor Sandy Ricklefs said.

'We don't have the money to pay the bills,” Ricklefs said.

Center Junction, population 103, would follow other Eastern Iowa hamlets, including Millville (population 30), a Dubuque County town that became unincorporated in July, and Mount Sterling (population 36), a Van Buren County town that voted to dissolve in 2012.

Luther, a town of 122 south of Ames, is also considering folding, said Matt Rasmussen, administrator of Iowa's City Development Board, which oversees changes in incorporation.

'It's not a common occurrence,” Rasmussen said of towns dissolving. 'But I've noticed in the past few years, we've had about one a year.”

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 dwindling population.

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.

If the five-person City Council votes Jan. 5 to discontinue, residents have 30 days in which they can petition for a city vote, Rasmussen said. If there's no petition, the Des Moines-based City Development Board would vote on the resolution.