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Letter From Our Chair Letter To Joni Ernst

PROPERTY TAX

Rollbacks: By Keith Wieland

In a perfect world, I like rollbacks.

Otherwise, long term application is absolutely Orwellien and follows with the artificial pricing and mass purchase of owning nothing and being happy.

It is good, that property values were capped for a short term. The 33% increases in one year were out of reality. If there was a need for a Governor's emergency power, this was the perfect application and should be limited to that emergency. My fear, though is the 3% cap on Iowa was anticipated and part of the Covid plan. But that emergency effort to stem inflation has passed and it needs to be repealed.

In other states I see less virtuous approaches to these rollbacks. They'll artificially raise your property value and eventually get their share. Thank God we instead live in Iowa.

The other aspect of this is that we are ahead of the curve on tax reform. If cuts to taxes were dramatic, property values would deflate (deflation). An argument for the legislation could have been a safeguard against future deflation. It was a good safeguard on this topic.

All in all, I like having my property value low. I built my rental property business by buying modest homes I could rent at an appropriate rate to low income families and have worked very hard to keep them low affordable and in good neighborhoods. Insurance and taxes are killing me. As a business owner, I love having my property value low.

Now that Trump plans to return us to production, manufacturing and mining our value will increase. We were starved of value and were on the verge of a market correction. As my wife told illegals she caught, the American dream is dead. Go home, work just as hard and you will be just as happy.
That was before Trump economics. Bidenomics (Carter economics on steroids) were to hinder growth by over inflating everything. Things are expensive, but look at how high your porfollio values went...well that "growth" was all inflation. Carter begat Reagan, Biden (Obama) begat Trump.

If the 3% cap was on a level playing field against all other states, it would be fair. It doesn't happen in most other states and one should take the time to look for similar language in states (national lobbyists). The longer we wait to remove the cap the larger the disparities will be for the most valuable of landowners. We're a state with the second highest cancer rates, most hogs, billions of bushels of corn and lots of room for growth. My wife and I returned to Iowa for the insulation from the coyotes growth potential amd of course the people.

Here are some additional thoughts:

3% appears to be a magic number in this attempt to normalize inflation.

Inflation at a static county level is supposed to take care of itself eg if all goods, services and property values increase at 5% then the costs to the county should meet the purchasing power of the 5% increase. This doesn't happen. Costs increase due to profit taking until someone puts in another bid at a lower profit margin...this is capitalism. Eventually competitive nature will kick in and prices will lower.

The difficulty on cities and counties is the moving goalpost of the 3-6% window. Likely all taxable property assets will be revised down; this is why you hear mayors and supervisors complaining loudest in high growth, and high costs jurisdictions.

A Letter To The Independence Bulletin Journal

TIME TO MOVE ON AND MAKE AMERICAN GREAT AGAIN

As long time readers, subscribers of the Bulletin Journal or Citizen of Buchanan County we are tired of seeing Steve Corbin’s Guest Opinion in the Paper. To start out, why was he invited as a guest when it is only a way to get around the Letter to the Editor criteria and present his bias opinions and promote his and the main stream news media’s negative rhetoric? Steve Corbin’s opinions are perceived as inflammatory, fear mongering, stirring the anger pot and causing hate, and discontentment. Would the Bulletin Journal allow a conservative/Republican to be a regular guest opinion writer causing turmoil? Majority of Buchanan County Citizens want to live in harmony and letter/opinions from Outsider as Steve Corbin hinder that peaceful endeavor. Are quotes from women of Steve Corbin real? As no last name given or where from (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago or New York?). Democrats keep asking how they can recover. Suggestions to recognize are inflation with having families struggling, energy independence to create a strong economy, fair trade, secure the border to halt crime, chaos, at immense tax cost and stop the infiltrating of people that want to cause harm to our nation, gain international respect through military strength, not making taxpayers pay for college costs, to respect parental rights, and what the fundamental requirements are of public schools, biological males not competing in girls sports or using their private areas, not calling MAGA supporters that was the majority vote (Buchanan County 6763 Trump and 3758 Harris) deplorables, garbage, Nazis, fascists, and etc. only creates more of a divide. Many categories of Voters where not satisfied with the country’s direction and voted for MAGA. Let us KEEP BUCHANAN COUNTY GREAT and thrive to end hate.

Clayton Ohrt, Independence Iowa
Renita Wieland, Independence

County Courthouse

2024 Results

Locations To
BUCHANAN COUNTY ELECTION PRECINCTS (pdf map)

Aurora (pdf map) (Buffalo, Byron (except Winthrop) & Madison Twps, Aurora, Lamont, Stanley) Aurora Legion Hall 302 Warren St, Aurora, IA 50607	Brandon (pdf map) (Jefferson Twp, Brandon) Brandon Area Community Club 802 Main St, Brandon, IA 52210	Fairbank (pdf map) (Fairbank Twp, Fairbank) Fairbank American Legion 109 Main St E, Fairbank, IA 50629
Fairbank (pdf map) (Fairbank Twp, Fairbank) Fairbank American Legion 109 Main St E, Fairbank, IA 50629	Hazleton (pdf map) (Hazleton Twp, Hazleton) Hazleton City Hall 111 N 3rd St, Hazleton, IA 50641	Independence 1st Ward (pdf map) (Independence 1st Ward) Falcon Civic Center 1305 5th Ave NE, Independence, IA 50644
Independence 2nd Ward (pdf map) (Independence 2nd Ward) VFW 128 3rd Ave NE, Independence, IA 50644	Independence 3rd Ward (pdf map) (Westburg & Sumner Twp, Independence 3rd Ward) Public Health Meeting Room 1210 1st St W, Independence, IA 50644	Independence 4th Ward (pdf map) (Independence 4th Ward) Senior Citizen Center 400 5th Ave NE, Independence, IA 50644
Independence 5th Ward (pdf map) (Independence 5th Ward) Presbyterian Church 115 6th Ave NW, Independence, IA 50644	Jesup (pdf map) (City of Jesup) City Hall 791 6th St Jesup, IA 50648	Perry-Washington (pdf map) (Perry & Washington Twps) First United Methodist Church 455 6th St, Jesup, IA 50648
Quasqueton (pdf map) (Liberty, Middlefield & Newton Twp, Quasqueton) Quasqueton Legion Hall 102 Water St S, Quasqueton, IA 52326	Rowley (pdf map) (Cono & Homer Twps, Rowley) Rowley Community Center 109 Ely St, Rowley, IA 52329	Winthrop (pdf map) ( Fremont Twp & Winthrop) St Patrick's Parish Center 544 1st St S, Winthrop, IA 50682