The Jefferson Iowa News®

 

  Jefferson Budget Agreement in Limbo

Last Thursday's meeting of the Jefferson city council once again failed to produce a budget for the upcoming year, despite warnings that a budget agreement must be reached by August 2, or the city will begin defaulting on its bills. At the heart of the impasse is Jefferson's multimillion dollar debt, mostly owed to the city of Yale, which necessitates annual payments on interest alone eating up nearly 50% of the annual budget. In the past, when budget time came around, the city council and mayor would simply raise the allowable debt ceiling, making money available to cover the city's many expenses. New money needed could then be borrowed from Yale.

One faction, headed up by city councilman Art Wutherby, insists that any new budget agreed upon cannot include new taxes as a way to raise revenue. "We pay too much now," he stated. "I would rather see the city bulldozed down than part with any of my money." In fact, Mr. Wutherby has put forward a proposal that would lower taxes on certain individuals. "We feel that the top 2% of residents, you know, the filthy rich guys, should have their taxes cut. They are the job-creators, you know."

The other faction, led by councilwoman Pam Doleman, says that they are willing to listen to cuts in popular programs, but that the year-round 18-foot tall ice sculpture of Truman Davis is off the table. She also questions the policy of refusing to raise revenue to pay for your bills. "We can't pay off this debt just by taking away people's wheelchairs and free cheese," she complained.

Mr. Wutherby pointed to an oath he signed with WWII veterans stating he would not raise property taxes no matter what. "So until Ernie dies, we're stuck. And believe me, we've done everything including sneaking into his hospital room and unplugging everything including his clock radio - and he still lives." He added, "And I'm here to tell you, he isn't looking exactly like the Energizer Bunny. He's more like a sack of mouldy potatoes."

Forgotten in the debate is the city of Yale, where city leaders have gone on record stating that they would like to see the city of Jefferson adopt more fiscally responsible policies (including paying Yale). Yale mayor Arthur Shank: "If Jefferson is irresponsible enough to actually refuse to raise their debt ceiling, then they should look somewhere else the next time they need money to pay their bills."  


Rick Bland, 07-13-2011