Will local governments — and ultimately, voters — be willing to support an additional penny in sales tax if that would lower property taxes and pay for more cultural and recreational facilities?

That’s the $71.5 million question that 45 city councils representing the muncipalities within Polk, Dallas and Warren counties must decide within the next seveal months.

Members of the Greater Des Moines Metropolitan Advisory Council last week received a proposed memorandum of understanding outlining the initiative, which would raise an estimated $71.5 million in additional revenue within the three-county area. The proposal was developed as part of Project Destiny, an economic development initiative of the Greater Des Moines Partnership.

“This is the point the (advisory council’s Project Destiny) committee is handing it over to the local governments to modify the (proposed agreement), and see if we have the momentum to move forward to put in on the ballot in each of the three counties,” said Kent Sovern, who engineered the plan as the outgoing governmental affairs director for the Partnership.

The committee estimates each household in participating cities would see an average reduction of $109 in their annual property tax bills.

“The first purpose of this proposal is property tax relief,” Sovern told the MAC members. “The property tax relief per household far exceeds the additional (sales) tax on each household.”

Under the proposal, participating cities could use up to 65 percent of the new revenues to reduce their debt levies, pay for new capital projects or directly reduce property taxes.

For participating municipalities within Polk County, the remaining 35 percent of revenues would flow through the Project Destiny Regional Authority, a nine-member panel that would be established to allocate the funds to regional facilities, trails and cultural programs.

For the Dallas and Warren county municipalities that participate, the remaining 35 percent of revenues would be considered undesignated and could be used for any purpose, though the committee is recommending similar funding support of local projects within those counties.

As a deal sweetener for Warren County, whose residents predominantly shop in Dallas and Polk counties and thus pay most of their sales taxes in those jurisdictions, the proposal calls for 30 percent of the incremental revenue raised after the first year to be distributed to the local governments inWarren County that opt to participate.

Though several municipal leaders voiced their support for the proposal, others were skeptical about selling the plan to their councils as a tax reduction.

“It’s a false premise that this is going to lower property taxes,” said Ted Ohmart, a West Des Moines City Council member. “It may hold the line on property tax increases, but if someone’s passing more sales tax, then you’re not reducing their taxes.”

Des Moines City Councilwoman Christine Hensley said the franchise tax approved by the city earlier this year will weigh heavily on her decision to move forward with the tax plan.

“Unless every other municipality is going to approve a franchise fee, I don’t think that I can bring it to my council,” she said.

“Voting for a tax increase is always a difficult thing to do,” said Indianola City Manager Tim Zisoff, “but I think given the circumstances, it may have support. Warren County has the worst annual retail leakage in the state. And about 60 percent of our workforce commutes to Polk or Dallas County.”

Additionally, “we’ve got a number of projects in the works that this could be applied to,” he said, “including a public library expansion, expansion of the fire department and a possible new YMCA.”

“Ideally, I’d like to see all three counties participate,” said Clive Mayor Les Aasheim, who chaired the advisory council’s working committee on the plan. “We wouldn’t accept just one county moving forward.” For a county to be included, city governments representing at least 50 percent of the voters within the county must sign on.

The advisory council’s goal is to have a memorandum of understanding approved by participating cities and counties by June, and the issue put forward on the municipalities’ local ballots in November 2005.

Who’s eligible for funding?

In order to be eligible for funding from the Project Destiny Regional Authority, a publicly owned regional facility must be an existing or proposed facility that is primarily used as a public venue for cultural programs, exhibits or events that are of a regional, statewide, national or international reputation. The facility must also draw participants from more than 30 miles away.

Applicants for the funds may be a municipality, a county or a public entity governed either by a municipality or a county. A tenant organization of a regional facility also may apply, if it’s a not-for-profit, tax-exempt entity under state and federal guidelines.

Organizations must be able to provide matching funds of at least 20 percent of the regional authority dollars received.