Fort Dodge sales tax would go to streets
Proposal heads to voters in NovemberBy BILL SHEA, Messenger staff writer
Fort Dodge City Council members officially declared Monday that all money from a proposed 1-cent local option sales tax should be spent on road repairs and utility work done at the same time.
''If it passes, we're going to spend all the local option sales tax on streets,'' City Manager David Fierke said.
The council's unanimous vote Monday came as no surprise, because the elected officials decided informally during a workshop last week that the money should all go to streets and related utility work.
Now the plan goes before the voters, who will pass judgment on it during the Nov. 4 general election.
The sales tax must be approved by a simple majority.
It would replace the current half-cent local option sales tax that will expire June 30, 2009. If approved, the new levy would be in place July 1, 2009.
All of the money from the current sales tax is dedicated to streets and utility works.
Fierke projected that the new levy would generate $37 million to $42 million over a decade.
With that money, he said, 218 blocks could be reconstructed and another 492 could be resurfaced.
The sales tax vote will be conducted countywide, so other governing bodies will have to decide how their communities' share would be spent.
The Webster County Board of Supervisors has decided that half of the county's sales tax money would be spent on roads and bridges and half would be spent on maintaining, constructing and equipping county-owned property.
If it's approved, the new levy would boost the total sales tax in Fort Dodge to 7 cents on the dollar. That includes 5 cents to the state, the 1 cent statewide levy for schools and the 1 cent local option sales tax.
Contact Bill Shea at (515) 573-2141 or bshea@messengernews.net
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BoogsDelbreaux
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08-26-08 12:59 PM
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I agree Mamba-in addition I humbly request a waffle to accompany my tasty chicken
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mambajahamba
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08-26-08 12:18 PM
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What does any of this have to do with tasty chicken? Let's get back to the task at hand.
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BoogsDelbreaux
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08-26-08 11:28 AM
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Lets boost the sales tax to 30% so we can turn the streets into canals that we may canoe to the new aquatic center. Now that would be truly wonderous-Taj Mahal, Pyramids @ Giza, the Great Wall, and the Canals of Ft Dodge!
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yougonow
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08-26-08 10:42 AM
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Amen Dodger! As it has been stated many times, the good ol' boys have lined their pockets and the city has suffered. It's up to us to step up and change things for the better around here. The thing that encourages me is so many of us are willing to speak out and improve Fort Dodge.
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Dodger
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08-26-08 10:21 AM
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Exactly. The "leaders" of FD basically let this town rot for years on end. The only "good thing" that came out of it was the citizens not having to take any responsibility for a crumbling infrastructure. Now that they're asked to, many of them are screaming bloody murder. I don't necessarily blame them -- the "leaders" are the ones who failed us in the past and now we're going to pay for it. However, anyone who feels like a property tax increase from $800 to $2,400 when your home value increases from $6,000 to $136,000 in a 30-plus year period of time should know that it's time to stop taking from this community and time to start giving. I don't blame you, the citizen -- the back-room chronies of years past have conditioned you to think that way.
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Paladin
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08-26-08 9:26 AM
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The good old days? You mean when the city government did nothing but patch problems and delay big projects until they cost triple what they would have? Now this city government has to find a way to pay for it. I understand what we need to do and will gladly help, but the good old days were not productive for the future.
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jaybares
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08-26-08 8:27 AM
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Delayed maintenance is "DEBT", the City Clerk just does not have a way to put it on the balance sheet. Gov't entites can not fix infrastructure on a schedule...passing that "DEBT" on to citizens that follow. Unfortunately, the taxes that should have been collected to pay for this maintenance are not in the equation. Those "more people" got a free ride. We have the "DEBT" with unkept infrasture.
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