U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley doesn’t expect much progress on cutting the federal deficit this election year. “It’s very hard to see a way forward in this environment,” Braley told The Gazette’s editorial board this afternoon. It’s not impossible: Braley cited his experience last spring with four townhall meetings organized with help from the nonpartisan...
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Linn County supervisors voted today to end a longevity bonus to Sheriff Brian Gardner’s second in command. Prompted by County Auditor Joel Miller, the supervisors voted unanimously to re-affirm a 1998 policy that ended longevity pay for elected officials and their appointed deputies. Sheriff’s Col. John Stuelke, appointed chief deputy by Gardner, had continued...
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State lawmakers have approved restoring $7.2 million in state aid to counties for mental health services, a move that will reduce Linn County’s planned property tax levy by a nickel. An amendment approved by both the House and Senate would direct the money from the Economic Emergency Fund to restore the property tax relief...
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Linn County commercial and industrial property has been re-appraised for the first time in nearly 30 years, boosting some property tax assessments. Overall, the value of commercial and industrial property in the county increased 17.23 percent, from $718,534,433 to $842,358,000, Chief Deputy Assessor Dave Ellis said. Ellis said 64 percent of the increase was...
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The recent increase in gas prices is likely to continue through spring, but the demand isn’t there to keep prices in record territory for long. “We’ll peak out about $4 sometime prior to Memorial Day, most likely, unless there’s some anomaly as far as a political or economic or environmental issue,” said Gail Weinholzer,...
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Imagine the metro’s northern edge in 30 years, when some 40,000 people live between Interstate 380 and Highway 13 between Boyson and County Home roads. There may be more at-home e-workers, but most will probably still commute – most by car, some by bicycle when they can – to and from work, school, and...
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Linn County will likely see some financial relief from the reworking of the state’s mental health system, but whether it’s enough to completely cover its budget gap remains an open question, according to one lawmaker in the middle of the reform effort. There’s general agreement the state should take over services required but not...
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Updated 12:00 Thursday to correct metro-block voting. Cedar Rapids residents will cast their votes March 6 on extending Linn County’s one-percent local-option sales tax (LOST) to fund flood protection, but what’s in it for other county residents? The current one-percent LOST brought in $31.9 million in the fiscal year that ended last June 30....
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Linn County supervisors are scrambling to cover a deficit in the county’s current mental health budget even as they approve a new budget that could be as much as $3.4 million in the red for much the same reasons. Minutes after giving initial approval to a budget for fiscal 2013, supervisors approved a request...
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Updated 9:15 a.m. Wednesday to correct sheriff’s rescue funding, in bold. Linn County supervisors will “finalize” a budget plan for the next fiscal year Wednesday, complete with a $2.2 million hole they hope will patched before the budget takes effect. The public hearing for the new budget will be March 14, the day before...
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