Koelker, Bradley address many topics at legislative forum

     Due to the wide variety of questions asked during the Jan. 31 legislative forum, the Monticello Express will be publishing the article in two parts in our Feb. 5 and Feb. 12 issues.

   Sen. Carrie Koelker and Rep. Steven Bradley fielded a wide array of questions from the public during the Jan. 31 Jones County Economic Development legislative forum in Monticello. The room was packed with people not just from Jones County, but surrounding counties as well.

   JCED Director Derek Lumsden read people's questions or shared their comments to keep the forum moving smoothly.

   There were two questions and some lengthy discussion on the state's forest reserve tax exemptions and the timber reserve program. Bradley, specifically, was asked why he voted to alter the forest reserve tax exemption.

   "Because that's what my constituents called and told me to vote for," he replied. "And I represent my district and I represent the majority. And if the majority tell me to represent them, that's how I vote."

   Koelker said the bill had not come up on the Senate side yet. She said for tax credits, those bills are always heavily reviewed.

   In terms of the timber reserve program, she said she's been hearing a lot about it from her constituents.

   Bradley said he is in support of the program.

   "But I also know that farmland is going for $20,000 an acre," he said. "Some constituents that I have would like some of that to be farmed for beans and corn."

   A gentleman in the room from Peosta shared with the legislators that his family has been in the timber business for four generations now. He said it typically takes trees a generation or two to become established, "let alone reach merchantable timber value or have some value.

   "Over the years, especially in the last five years since the land appreciation has gone up so fast, I've had calls from a number of people who wanted to clear-cut their timber and turn it into corn and soybean ground," he continued. "I know over the history of Northeast Iowa, the effect of the timber reserve program has been to allow family farmers to maintain it in their families, especially century farmers. Timber ground that would otherwise be turned into corn or bean fields. The argument I've heard from Farm Bureau is we have to help young farmers buy this ground. The problem is with the increase in the value of the ground. It has nothing to do with what corn or soybean prices are bringing in, or even what timber is bringing; it's just inflation. If you add taxes on top of the caring cost for timber, young people aren’t going to be able to buy that. You'll have people who want to come in and clear that."

   "The bill is taking it (the tax credit) off the backs of taxpayers," Koelker said.

   "There will be a strong detrimental effect over the years if that program is thrown out," the Peosta landowner said. "Most landowners don't even know about it, that it's on the table with the legislature."

   Koelker said like all other tax credit programs in Iowa, it's being re-evaluated.

   "All these other tax programs and credits come off the backs of taxpayers so that's less money for us to have to spend on those types of services," she said.

   A woman from Cascade asked the legislators where they stood on allowing 16- and 17-year-olds having taking care of young children within a childcare setting unsupervised.

   "That supervision is not for long periods of time," Bradley clarified. "It's for when somebody steps out. It's not like they're the only ones there. It's supervised."

   The woman said she has over 40 years of experience working in childcare, and allowing young teenagers to care for children "puts a lot of liability on the kids.

   "A lot of centers can't even hire kids that age because of insurance coverage," she continued. "I get that it's supposed to help, but it's proven that it doesn't help a whole lot."

   Koelker asked why the liability is being placed on the center for who they hire or don't hire.

   Lumsden, who has been working on affordable housing options in Jones County, asked what the state can do to assist in such initiatives.

   "What is affordable housing? Affordable housing, is it free housing?" proposed Koelker. "I worked two jobs had our children and wrote checks for daycare and preschool and groceries. I didn't expect the government to take care of anything.

   "At the end of the day, people are relying more on our government to be able to do that," Koelker continued. "An affordable house to me, raising four children, was not $400,000 to $500,000. Some people think that's an affordable house."

   Lumsden shared that in Jones County, at least from JCED's perspective, affordable housing is between $150,000 and $225,000.

   "We look at it as missing-middle housing, entry-level housing," he noted.

   "The state can't go into all of these rural Iowa communities and just start building houses," Koelker said. "Where does that money come from? We have to rely on our local partnerships. It's not just your state or county giving a handout."

   Both Koelker and Bradley said, "95 percent of what we do down there (in Des Moines) in bipartisan."

   "I like to remind people of that," Koelker said. "Everyone thinks it's this chaotic world of debates. We all go to dinner together; we sit and have coffee together. This polarization the people like to bring to our (email) inboxes and to our forums is not very welcomed. We're trying to do our jobs as well. We're trying to listen to everybody. If you could just go down and be in the shadows and not be so polarizing and so angry. I'd think you'd be pleasantly surprised that Iowa is really a great place to be. There are a lot of people down there working really hard to make Iowa a great place to be."