After more than two decades of collecting a 1 percent local option sales tax, Polk City could lose about two-thirds of that annual revenue to a regional plan that would redistribute a portion of the proceeds throughout Greater Des Moines’ communities.

That may not necessarily be a bad thing, City Administrator Gary Mahannah said

“The metro area should be looking at alternate ways of supporting the amenities required by the public,” he said. “Now we need to determine the correct fit and Polk City’s role.”

Under a regional sales tax proposal now under discussion by the Metro Advisory Council, each of the 45 cities within Dallas, Polk and Warren counties, along with the counties themselves, are being asked to consider placing a 1 percent sales tax referendum on their November ballots. The additional revenue would be divided among the communities under a plan devised by the Greater Des Moines Partnership to be used to lower property taxes and to provide additional funding for regional amenities such as bicycle trails and capital improvements.

Polk City, along with Sheldahl, which also already has its own 1 percent local option tax, must decide whether to participate in the initiative.

“I’m not even sure we’ll have to vote on it, if we already have it,” Mahannah said. “If it is voted in and is effective in all the contiguous areas, the question is, will Polk City sign on to be part of it?”

The initiative is an opportunity for the metro area to diversify its tax base by using additional sales tax receipts to reduce taxes for both residential and commercial property owners, said Martha Willits, the Partnership’s president and CEO.

“Secondly, it creates a regional opportunity that we haven’t yet promoted to the world – ‘We’re here as a region; come join us,’” she said. “There’s some intentionality here about quality of life; it’s an opportunity to build up things we know are attracting economic development these days.”

West Des Moines Mayor Gene Meyer, Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie and De Soto Mayor Marty Glanz each expressed their support for the proposal during a May 9 meeting of the Metro Advisory Council, which includes representatives from 17 Greater Des Moines cities and the three counties.

“I’m a very strong supporter of this,” Meyer said. “To be able to show residents exactly what the reduction is on their [property] tax bill is important. The ‘act regionally’ piece is key. No one city can afford to offer these regional amenities.”

In a later interview, Dallas County Supervisor Mark Hanson questioned the wisdom of imposing approximately $80 million in new taxes on residents that would at most guarantee that 33 percent of that amount would go toward property tax reduction.

“I want good public policy for Central Iowa,” Hanson said. “If I’m going to advocate a ‘yes’ vote in Dallas County, I have an interest in making sure that there is reasonable acknowledgment or understanding of why I believe there ought to be some modifications of the plan.”

Hanson said he wants a broader discussion of using the revenue for protecting the Raccoon Valley watershed and for the creation or preservation of parks and green space in the county.

Another concern, he acknowledged, is the proposal that 20 percent of the approximately $27 million designated to go to the regional authority or $5.4 million, would be distributed to local governments in Polk County as a tax equalization measure for having a larger share of non-profit or government buildings that are exempt from property tax.

“I personally am supportive of regional cooperation,” he said. “I don’t want to be a wet blanket here. I just want to be sure there’s an understanding of the broader possibilities.”

Indianola Mayor Jerry Kelley, who chaired the task force putting together the tax plan, noted that after one-third of the revenue goes to property tax reduction and another third to the regional authority, the remaining third can be used by each municipality at its own discretion, whether that’s for further property tax relief, debt reduction or to pay for additional facilities.

“If (the Dallas County supervisors) want to take that center third and invest all of it in green activities for Dallas County and the voters agree, do it,” Kelley said. “We (through the regional authority) are putting almost $7 million into trail activities, which you could argue is green activities.”

Kelley said the tax proposal was well-received by the Indianola City Council at its meeting last week, and that he will join a meeting of Warren County’s 13 mayors at which the specific property tax relief amounts for each community will be outlined.

“Talking with people over the past year about the plan, they have been extremely supportive,” he said. “It’s an extremely complex thing. Whenever you have to explain something in more than two minutes, you’re in trouble.”

The Project Destiny plan can really be viewed as a “declaration of interdependence,” Kelley said. “Our historic boundaries have been erased by our citizens. They shop where they wish to shop within the metropolitan area, and that’s what this recognizes. We need to get away from the concept of parochialism.”