Special election Tuesday, March 1, will decide fate of local option sales tax in Charles City, rural county

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Voters in Charles City and rural Floyd County who haven’t cast their ballots yet will have the final chance on Tuesday, March 1, the day of the special election to decide whether to continue the local option sales tax.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, and people can vote at any voting center in the county, because the state has not yet set the new official precincts required by the change to supervisor districts, said County Auditor Gloria Carr.

The voting centers available will be:

• Charles City Courthouse (in the new Emergency Operations Center – use the new atrium entrance to the courthouse).
• Messiah Lutheran Church, 705 3rd Ave., Charles City.
• Trinity United Methodist Church, 601 Milwaukee St., Charles City.
• Floyd Community Center, 706 Fairfield St., Floyd.
• Marble Rock Public Library, 122 Main St. N., Marble Rock.
• Nora Springs City Hall/Community Center, 45 N. Hawkeye Ave., Nora Springs.
• Rockford City Hall/Community Center, 206 Main Ave., Rockford.
• Floyd County Fairgrounds, Youth Enrichment Center building.

In addition to voting at the voting centers on Tuesday, voters can still vote in advance at the Floyd County Auditor’s Office, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today (Friday) and the same times on Monday.

There are two special elections being held, one for residents of Charles City, and one for residents of the unincorporated area of Floyd County.

Both elections ask voters a similar question – should the 1% local option sales tax be continued for 10 more years, to Dec. 31, 2023?

The current local option sales tax (LOST) expires Dec. 31 this year for Charles City and rural Floyd County.

The 1% tax on sales and services has been in effect since 1997 in Charles City and since 1998 in rural Floyd County and has been renewed twice in each jurisdiction.

The wording on the rural county ballot says the funds will be used “100% for funding Secondary Roads, including rock, bridges and culvert repair and/or replacement and construction projects in the unincorporated county.”

There is a change in the wording for the city proposed LOST renewal, allowing up to 10% of the funds to be used for “funding public safety projects.”

For the rest of the city LOST revenue, “not less than 90%” would go for street and road construction and repair.

The local option sales tax is that extra penny tax that is added to the state’s 6% to bring it up to the 7% total sales tax paid almost everywhere in the state.