Polk County voters reject 1-cent sales tax

Voters in most Polk County cities shot down a 1-cent increase to the local sales tax Tuesday.

This is the third time since 1996 that voters have rejected an increase to the sales tax.

It failed by 227 votes in the 10 Polk County cities that have contiguous borders: Altoona, Bondurant, Clive, Des Moines, Grimes, Johnston, Pleasant Hill, Urbandale, West Des Moines and Windsor Heights.

Those cities collectively voted 12,004 to 11,778 against the increase, according to unofficial results from the Polk County Auditor's Office.

“We’re now going to involve our citizens in making some really hard decisions,” Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie said. “We’re going to have to look at potential property tax increases and some very real thoughts about cuts.”

The tax was expected to generate $79 million annually. Cities planned to use the money to hold down property taxes and pay for quality-of-life projects, including parks, trail extensions and street improvements.

Des Moines was supposed to receive about $37 million in the first year.

Without that money, Des Moines leaders are expected to raise the city's property tax rate by 20 cents Thursday when they pass a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

City Manager Scott Sanders said the city will face similar property tax increases or cuts to city services in the coming years.

“Des Moines has proven in the past and we will prove it again that we can persevere,” Sanders said. “I’ll probably be using that word a lot in the coming weeks.”

Des Moines was prepared to lower its property tax rate 40 cents had voters approved the sales tax increase.

Besides lowering property tax, the city had planned the sales tax money to speed up street repairs, demolish abandoned homes and pay for 13 firefighter positions currently covered by a federal grant.

Seven other cities voted individually on the sales tax proposal.

Ankeny voters rejected the increase 1,627 to 1,440. It failed in unincorporated Polk County 1,450 to 512, and in Granger where voters deadlocked 6 to 6, according to the auditor's website.

Voters in Carlisle, Elkhart, Mitchellville and Runnells all approved the increase. The sales tax will be raised from 6 cents to 7 cents in those cities beginning July 1.

They join Polk City and Sheldahl which both have had local sales taxes in place since the 1980s.

Despite failing in a majority of cities, Tuesday's sales tax vote was much closer than earlier votes.

Project Destiny, a proposal to raise the sales tax by 1 cent in Dallas, Polk and Warren counties in 2007 failed to garner 14 percent support. Polk County voters also rejected a 1 cent increase in 1996.

Polk County and Johnson County in eastern Iowa are the only two counties in Iowa without a 1-cent local option sales tax.

Dallas County voters in November approved a 1-cent increase. It's expected to generate about $11.5 million a year.

That will complicate things for four cities that span both counties. Clive, Grimes, Urbandale and West Des Moines will have two sales tax rates starting July 1, when the Dallas County increase goes into effect.

Neighbors for Growth and Public Safety, a political action committee, raised $87,000 to spend on fliers and other advertising urging residents to vote yes.

Sales tax backers touted it as an opportunity for cities to raise revenue for items that residents desire without increasing property taxes.

Des Moines faces a unique budget challenge with about 40 percent of the land within Des Moines' borders, including the Capitol complex, churches and nonprofits, being exempt from property taxes.

Opponents said the county's poorest residents would feel the biggest impact from the sales tax increase. And since they are often renters, the poor are the least likely to benefit from lower property taxes.

According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, sales taxes take a larger share of income from low- and middle-income families than from rich families because they are levied at a flat rate.

Nineteen percent of Des Moines residents — about 41,000 people — live below the federal poverty level, according to a report published by ISU. A family of four making $24,600 a year is considered impoverished, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Results

Unofficial vote total courtesy of the Polk County Auditor's Office:

Contiguous cities (Altoona, Bondurant, Clive, Des Moines, Grimes, Johnston, Pleasant Hill, Urbandale, West Des Moines and Windsor Heights)

No: 12,004 (50.48%)

Yes: 11,778 (49.52%)

Alleman

No: 31 (62.00%)

Yes: 19 (38.00%)

Ankeny

No: 1,627 (53.05%)

Yes: 1,440 (46.95%)

Carlisle

Yes: 5 (62.50%)

No: 3 (37.50%)

Elkhart

Yes: 50 (71.43%)

No: 20 (28.57%)

Granger

Yes: 6 (50%)

No: 6 (50%)

Mitchellville

Yes: 114 (73.55%)

No: 41 (26.45%)

Runnells

Yes: 72 (81.82%)

No: 16 (18.18%)

Unincorporated Polk County

No: 1,450 (73.90%)

Yes: 512 (26.10%)