ALTOONA, Iowa — With local governments navigating the new property tax law, a program meant to help first-time homeowners in Altoona is on the chopping block.
Mayor Dean O’Connor said the city now has to make tough decisions ahead of financial pressure from the new property tax law.
The law caps city revenue growth at 2%, except for new construction. Legislators predicted the law would help save taxpayers over $4 billion through the next six years. However, O’Connor said Altoona grows at a consistent rate between 6% and 8% annually, and the 2% cap will limit the city.
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He said, “When you’re growing at 6% or 8%, and you’re only able to keep 2% of that money, any business, private business would tell you, at that model you’ll eventually go out of business. You just will. You can’t keep up with it. And so, basically, the state has put us in a model of going out of business. And so, that’s what we’re dealing with now. And as we see that coming, you can even wait until you’re falling off the cliff to make decisions, or you can try to make them early.”…