Council committee recommends payout from local-option sales tax for furniture, equipment lost in the flood

CEDAR RAPIDS - The City Council Budget Committee on Monday decided to ask the full council to use revenue from the local-option sales tax to provide homeowners money for furniture, fixtures and equipment lost in the June 2008 flood, Mayor Ron Corbett said Monday evening.

This would be a payment for owners only, not renters, he pointed out.

Corbett noted that most flood victims received money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the first days and weeks after the flood, some of which might have been used for furniture, fixtures or equipment. If used that way, the FEMA money would be subtracted from any grant from local-option sales tax revenue.

Corbett said the Budget Committee proposed allowing grants of up to $10,000 minus similar earlier payments. In total, the mayor thought it might require $10 million of the local-option sales tax pot to make the payouts.

He said more specifics about the proposed program would be discussed at the Tuesday evening council meeting.

In total, the city expects to take in an estimated $80 million in sales-tax money for flood recovery in the 63 months the 1-percent tax is in place. It will be collected through June 30, 2014. Another 10 percent of the tax is used for non-flood-recovery projects.