At Iowa Central Community College, a $35 million investment in buildings and equipment to train more students in high demand jobs is being proposed.

But for the taxpayers in the nine counties that make up the college’s service area, it will be a very nominal investment, according to Dr. Jesse Ulrich, the college’s president. In fact, the taxpayers are already paying the roughly $25 a year that would make that $35 million investment possible, he said.

That means the proposal will not create a property tax increase, he added.

On Nov. 4, the voters in the nine counties Iowa Central serves will be asked to extend that existing tax in order to finance a new round of projects.

The proposal must be approved by 60 percent of those voting in order to be approved.

The college currently has a property tax levy of 33 cents per $1,000 of taxable value that is dedicated to paying off bond debt. That is the levy the voters are being asked to extend.

The levy costs the owner of a typical Fort Dodge home about $2 a month, or $25 a year.

That levy was implemented in 2008, Ulrich said, when the college prepared to build the Bioscience and Health Sciences Building.

“We’ve been good stewards of those dollars,” he said.

He said that taxes paid to Iowa Central make up just 3.5 percent of the total property tax bill that Fort Dodge homeowners receive.

Ulrich likes to stress these three things when he speaks about the proposal:

• There is no property tax increase. Homeowners will continue to pay the roughly $25 a year they are already paying to retire the college’s bond debt.

• All the money will go toward workforce training in high demand areas.

• The college has been a good steward of previous bond issue money, he said.

“This is a good investment when trying to recruit people to our region,” he said.

He said 77 percent of Iowa Central graduates stay in the nine-county area that includes Buena Vista, Calhoun, Greene, Hamilton, Humboldt, Pocahontas, Sac, Webster and Wright counties.

He said that the proposal would train people in needed skills who are likely to stay in the area. And since it relies on the extension of an existing levy, its financial impact on taxpayers is limited.

If the levy extension is approved, the college will build a new Center for Ag Science on the Fort Dodge campus and renovate the Applied Science and Technology Building.

There will also be updates to the college’s Webster City center, and some new equipment will be purchased for all the centers and career academies.