MONTROSE – Area legislators fielded questions Friday in the first Lee County legislative session of the year.
State Sen. Jeff Reichman (R-Montrose) and State Rep. Martin Graber (R-Fort Madison) took on topics of eminent domain, local government funding, property taxes, and mental health.
The forum is put on monthly by economic development officials in and around the county, including Fort Madison Partners, Lee County Economic Development Group, and the Keokuk Chamber of Commerce.
Graber said eminent domain is focused now on pipeline construction and he said if the pipelines are constructed, ethanol plants can get to a zero carbon footprint.
“Fifty-seven percent of Iowa’s corn goes to ethanol. That’s doing a lot to support the price of corn in Iowa,” Graber said. “They want you to get to a zero carbon footprint in 10 years. If this pipeline thing gets done, they can get to a zero footprint and that would make corn even more valuable.”
Reichman said the ethanol industry could stand to lose millions if the pipeline doesn’t go through, but said everything is still in the hands of the Iowa Utility Board.
“The pipelines are still with the IUB, so we haven’t got that and we don’t expect to see it,” he said of the issue coming to the legislature.
“There will be a decision there and we’ll see what happens after that.”
Keokuk City Administrator Cole O’Donnell asked the legislators to look harder at what can be done to create some consistency for local governments when it comes to funding streams.
He said since 2014, Keokuk has only seen a half percent increase in taxable valuations each year.
“That doesn’t even keep up with inflation,” O’Donnell said. “We’ve worked to try and remove as much as we can from the general fund to use the tax dollars better and not have to cut.”
He said there isn’t enough attention being paid to local governments in rural parts of the state. And state rollbacks on property tax valuations will reach 30% at some point on residential properties and that’s where the majority of funds are being spent.
“Do things to help rural governments. At some point, we’ll be taxing at 30% on residential property and those are the ones that are using the majority of the services. Industries aren’t using police and fire and parks. I don’t want to put further burden on our industries,” he said.
“Try to do something to give local governments some predictability.”
O’Donnell also said Senate Study File 1125 which reconfigures the state's sales tax will also burden local governments as the state will take part of those funds, as well.
“With 1125, you are taking the ‘local’ out of the local option sales tax. You’ll take that control away from us.”
One question asked why the two voted in favor of education savings accounts.
Reichman said public funds have been used on private schools for a long time and the state did bump the school funding formula by 3% this year.
“The important thing for us is to fund the student, not the institution,” Reichman said.
Graber kept with his regular take on school funding saying under Republican control, education has outpaced inflation and continues to be the largest expenditure in the state budget.
The MPowerU group that recently visited legislators in Des Moines posed a question about the continued lack of mental health services in rural Iowa.
Reichman said the state spent an additional $60 million on mental health care when it took over the services from counties in 2022.
“We recognize that was an issue, and it’s still an issue,” Reichman said. “But one of the biggest issues is providing providers. It’s finding psychiatrists, psychologists, and getting them to come to southeast Iowa.
He said when people don’t get diagnosed properly with proper medication, then self-medication takes place which then turns to drug use, and homelessness.
“This all goes back to not being properly treated,” he said.
Graber said anyone with an interest in mental health issues should talk to the county sheriffs.
“They have stories to tell. But the biggest issue is even if we built a facility right here and right now, we wouldn’t have the people to staff it,” Graber said.
“It’s a long-term problem and it will take a long-term solution. I think we do a good job in identification, we just don’t have the resources as a state. And this isn’t just an Iowa problem, it’s other places, too.”
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