The Cedar Rapids Gazette article on October 9, 2011, discusses the upcoming Iowa City City Council election. In the article they cite the tough financial conditions in Iowa City and the probability of difficult budget decisions to be made because of flat property valuations which affects the property tax revenue the city collects to fund operations. Matt Hayek, the current Iowa City Mayor, is quoted “ I think what’s different this time around is we have these local, state and national trends that are impacting our budget in ways we haven’t seen in decades.” He also says the city needs to increase its tax base.This provides some insight into why Iowa City is looking to charge neighboring communities for services, such as Animal Shelter and Senior Center. More importantly it confirms that property tax valuations in our area are not increasing and we should not expect them to increase in University Heights. It is important for the City Council to look forward and figure out the true financial conditions of our city in the next five years. The Maxwell Development would help increase our tax base by over 40%. However, if St. Andrew decides not to move we have minimal ways to increase our tax base and must begin looking at where budget cuts can be made.
