Tax extension opponents plead their case

CEDAR RAPIDS - Fifteen people turned out at a forum Wednesday night to hear reasons why Cedar Rapids should not vote on Tuesday to extend the city's 1 percent local-option sales tax for flood protection.

Three people in the group served as panelists. Lisa Kuzela, Tim Pugh and Greg Vail were vocal opponents of the tax extension when it first came to a vote last May. Kuzela and Vail are northwest Cedar Rapids flood survivors who noted that they had received funds from the city's current sales tax.

Voters put that tax in place in March of 2009 for a period of 63 months to provide local funds to help with flood recovery. Next week's ballot language would extend it for 10 years beyond its current end date, with the proceeds going toward a flood protection system to cover both sides of the Cedar River.

But the panelists said they expected Cedar Rapids leaders to instead divert that revenue to favored City Hall and Chamber of Commerce projects like the downtown hotel and Convention Complex.

Pugh, a local Tea Party supporter in recent years and a one-time City Council candidate, said none of the revenue from the existing local-option sales tax has gone to help with flood-recovery housing programs, but instead has gone to “pet projects” in the downtown.

He said the city's preferred flood protection system is long on fancy streets, parks and walking trails and leaves large sections of the city unprotected. City leaders say it's a basic system of levees, flood walls and removable flood walls; Pugh, though, said there wouldn't be time to erect the removable walls in the event of flooding.

Kuzela, a member of the city's LOST Oversight Committee, corrected Pugh, noting that the tax revenue has gone to help in housing programs, including one that has helped bring back flood-damaged rental properties. She also argued, however, that some of the housing money had been handed out in a “very biased” way to neighborhood rebuilding program, Block by Block, which city leaders favored, she suggested.

In fact, Block by Block has received no LOST funds, Clint Twedt-Ball, co-director of Block by Block, reported on Thursday.

Vail, who lives in one of only a couple of remaining homes near the Cedar River on First Street NW, accused the city of having no real flood protection plan for the west side. As a result, he said, officials have only “imaginary” cost figures on which to base their $375 million preferred plan.

He and others have a plan to protect the west side for much less money, he said.

Robert Crozier, who introduced himself last night as editor of the Cedar Rapids Free Press, asked questions of Pugh, Kuzela and Vail at the event at the El Kahir Shrine Center, 1400 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE. Crozier said he invited representatives of Cedar Rapids Extended Sales Tax, which favors the longer tax term, along with Mayor Ron Corbett and council member Monica Vernon. However, they did not attend.