Property taxes are needed to sustain, grown small communities

To the Editor,

   Budget and tax levy hearings cannot provide sufficient background information to help taxpayers understand the challenges and actions needed to reduce property tax levy rates.

   Approximately 14,500 people live in 17 Jones County communities; another 6,000 residents live on unincorporated rural properties. Most recent Jones County 2020 Census was 20,646 – the peak population was 21,954 – more than 125 years ago, and never exciting 21,954. Jones County population numbers are like 60 Iowa counties which have lost population for at least three decades, some like Jones, losing for a century. A declining – even stable population means higher, per capita property taxes to pay for public services for health and safety for no-growth or declining populations; not an effective cost-control strategy. Shifting the costs to pay for tax supported public services away from local property taxes – while also reducing state income tax revenues – creates a distraction – a dog chasing its tail. Inflation will increase the yearly costs to provide public services.

   Despite every desire to reduce taxes, property owners (and renters) must pay property taxes, with interest, if payments are late. Local property taxes generate most of the money to operate and maintain public schools and pay the costs for safe roads, bridges, public health, and law enforcement. Despite loss of population in most Iowa counties, these costs, and taxes, are not declining, there are no quick and easy options. A loss of ten students results in a big loss of state school aid funding for small rural school districts – nearly all will continue to lose students and state aid funding. Local control is a two-edge sword – if you write the checks – you also have local responsibilities to provide equity for public services, at least cost. Another ironic image of a dog chasing its tail.

   Iowa has the second-to-lowest real growth; 48^th in personal income growth. Cutting or shifting any tax demands new long-term strategies, for growth of personal income. Not growth like 1800s, leading to overbuilding of public infrastructure.

   Jones County has a mix of slow growth and declining communities. These 17 communities are like hundreds of other rural Iowa communities founded during Iowa’s euphoric era of immigration and building railroad tracks touching every county and dirt roads spread across Iowa on grids – nearly every square mile. Visions of Iowa growth in mid-1800s never happened. Seven of those Jones County railroad communities were located beside a railroad track – they sprang to life in the short span of three years, 1871-73. Remnants of those aging Jones County railroad communities remain, along with aging residents. The last mile of railroad in Jones County was torn out in the 1980s.

   County roads are still spread across Iowa – one-mile grids. In 1870s, property owners paid property tax for minimum, essential services, almost no cost for public amenities. Iowans wanted better roads to get out of the mud. City kids had to swim in the rivers, no pools, later, property for county parks came off property tax rolls, while desire/needs for public services required more taxes for operation and maintenance. There are lots of reasons we need and must pay the cost for public services and public amenities. We easily forget “quality of life amenities” in 1800s – had a different meaning – with almost no effect on property taxes.

   Population numbers are shrinking in those former railroad communities, founded in 1800s. Present generations and extended family members and friends and volunteers assist aging and dwindling rural populations with transportation, meals, and health care. County agencies fill in the gaps for essential public service. The largest Jones County communities have potential for stable and sustained population growth. These communities have sufficient private and public resources to provide public services for safe water, sewage treatment, and volunteers for public safety, fire, and emergency health services. But aging residents in smaller rural communities live without benefit of easy access to public services.

   Residents in isolated communities wait too long for emergency services to respond to fires and accidents. Small, isolated communities are challenged to recruit enough local volunteers for fire and ambulance calls. The only choice: ignore emotional realities – young families and future community leaders are not and will not stay or move into isolated rural communities. Exceptions may be found if a community is located within a commuting distance of a larger (10,000) community. Iowa has 48 communities of more than 10,000 residents; only 38 of 99 counties have at least one community larger than 10,000. Adams County has the smallest population, 3,704 residents, with a big per capita tax burden to pay for public services. Only 10 Iowa counties have more than 50,000 total population. Lawmakers living in the Des Moines area easily overlook these data points. Within 40 miles of Des Moines, new homes and new businesses appear almost overnight – everywhere you look. The rest of Iowa needs new strategies to sustain quality of life. Visionary leaders of mid-1800 envisioned rapid population growth would continue for decades. Main streets sprung across the state, local merchants (before Walmart) overbuilt floorspace to operate retail and service businesses. Rapid and continued growth stalled during the 1930s, total populations across the state remained flat as rural became urban, small farms and big families became big farms small families, decimating main streets across Iowa.

   A few isolated rural Iowa communities are responding to the realities of “no-grow” and seeking the best options to renovate excess retail floor space and “right-size public services.” Iowa is in the geographic center of the entire county, a great spot for millions of feet of floor space for e-commerce warehouses and data centers, built with tax breaks. But not massive numbers of new employees. This generation must find words and ways to move more residents from the bottom, toward the center of list of states with growth of personal income.

Phil Owen

Cascade, Iowa