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Bluffs voters to decide property, hotel taxes
By Gary Newman A plan to boost property taxes to pay for extended hours at the public library and a proposed increase in the hotel/motel tax are on the ballot Tuesday in Council Bluffs. The hotel/motel tax measure, which targets tourists staying overnight in the city, would increase the current tax from 6 percent to 7 percent. City Councilman Matt Walsh has said local hotel/motel operators are not against the increase, which would move the Council Bluffs tax closer to hotel/motel charges in Omaha. Omaha has a 7 percent tax and an additional $2.50 fee per room. The City Council supported putting the issue on the ballot, with a provision that the resulting $230,000 raised annually would be earmarked for maintenance and beautification of parks, historical sites and recreational facilities. One use could be the landscaped median of the recently completed Harry Langdon Boulevard. The median has become filled with weeds, and there are no budgeted funds to take care of the area. The Dodge House and fields at the Harveys Recreation Center also could benefit from the new money. Closer to local taxpayers' pocket-books is the question of levying up to 7 cents per $1,000 of taxable value to fund Sunday hours for the Council Bluffs library. A survey by the Friends of the Library has shown a strong public desire for Sunday hours, and the question was put on the ballot by a petition drive. Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan and current council members are not happy about the move. The taxable value of a Bluffs home is currently 56.5 percent of its assessed value, meaning the owner of a $100,000 home pays taxes on $56,500. Thus, the library levy would be $3.95 to such a homeowner. How much that might increase the total city rate depends on the rest of the city budget, which hasn't yet been fashioned, and state valuation increases and rollbacks that have not been completed. The library tax request would bring in about $93,500, which the library would use to be open from noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays from the first Sunday after Labor Day through the last Sunday before Memorial Day, roughly equivalent to the school year. Since the library moved into its new building little more than a year ago, it "has had tremendous use, but we believe there are many people who can't make it there during the week. They should be able to enjoy the library on Sunday afternoons," said Barbara Burns, president of the Friends group. If voters approve the measure, Sunday hours would begin in September. |
