Local Taxes

Tax Increment Financing: A double edged sword for Le Mars? (10/02/08)
Editor's note: This is the first story in a series looking into how Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is working in Le Mars. Taxes on more than 60 percent of Le Mars commercial properties aren't going into the city's general fund. That money is being set aside to be used for economic development...

Public can speak on Girls Inc. bonds (10/02/08)
Girls Inc. received permission from Plymouth County supervisors in June to route $5.1 million in revenue bounds through the county to build a new center in Sioux City. The supervisors Tuesday scheduled a 10 a.m. Nov. 4 public hearing, which will be during their regular board meeting, inviting public comments on the agreement with Girls Inc...

Council gives go-ahead for downtown intersection patch-up (09/17/08)
Le Mars City Council members took a walk during their Tuesday meeting to go inspect the Plymouth Street and Central Avenue crossing, then agreed to temporary repairs for that intersection. The repair, as approved at Tuesday's council session, calls for removal of the decorative bricks on the four Plymouth Street walkways, at the east and west edges of the intersection. They will be replaced with asphalt...

Convention and Visitors Bureau moves closer to reality (09/03/08)
Le Mars City Council members Tuesday gave their support to the concept of a local Convention and Visitors Bureau. Final approval of the new bureau is pending City Attorney Joe Flannery's legal review of the proposal. Angie Watson, chair of the Hotel/Motel Sales Tax Advisory Board, presented the board's goals for the bureau and said it would mean "more efficient" marketing and planning efforts on behalf of many different groups in Le Mars, a "one-stop shop" for visitors...

Council delays action on bumpy downtown intersection (09/03/08)
"We've cut $700,000 from the budget, reduced services, cut back on books for the library, and eliminated some mowing of city properties, and cut people's jobs. If we don't have the money, we don't do the project," Le Mars City Councilman Rex Knapp said Tuesday referring to repair of the Plymouth Street/Central Avenue intersection...

Questions answered on school levy issue (08/29/08)
Two public information meetings brought approximately 75 Le Mars Community School District residents out to learn about the Instructional Support Levy (ISL) Wednesday and Thursday evenings. A vote on whether to implement the levy will be held on Sept. 9, the same day as school board elections...

Music festival uses hotel/motel tax grant to bring people to Le Mars (08/28/08)
A Hotel/Motel Sales Tax grant is paying off for Le Mars. More than $6,000 of the 5 percent sales tax revenue from hotel and motel rooms rented in town was given to a group advertising the 33rd annual National Old Time Country and Bluegrass Music Festival, held this year in Le Mars for the first time...

Council moves ahead four street project plans (08/20/08)
Le Mars City Council members Tuesday gave their approval to a professional engineering services agreement for four Le Mars highway and street projects. On the agenda are widening Highway 3 near Floyd Valley Hospital, improving Business 75 from Highway 3 to Airport Drive, curb and gutter work on Seventh Avenue Southeast (K-49), and curb and gutter work on Sixth Avenue West...

Remsen urban renewal district in the works (08/11/08)
Creation of an urban renewal area in Remsen could generate money to extend public utilities to a new business and tear down old buildings in its downtown. An urban renewal area is a district which designates where Tax Increment Financing (TIF) revenue can be spent. TIF is created based on taxes from designated structures built within the district. Those taxes can be collected for 20 years...

Convention bureau to be topic of Hotel/Motel Sales Tax meeting (08/06/08)
A proposed convention and visitor's bureau is the main item of a Hotel/Motel Sales Tax advisory board meeting Thursday. The meeting, open to the public, will run from 5:30 to 7 p.m. During the meeting, the board will review public comment from its meeting last week, review its plan to present the concept to the city council at its Sept. 2 meeting and review applications for upcoming openings on the Hotel/Motel Sales Tax advisory board...

Advisory board seeks new members with vision for visitor bureau (07/15/08)
The Hotel/Motel Sales Tax Advisory Board is on the verge of shifting directions, and the members are looking for people to fill two open seats. The board, which guides the distribution of about $100,000 a year in hotel/motel sales tax revenue, is considering the creation of a Convention and Visitor Bureau...

'One-stop' visitor bureau a possibility for Le Mars (07/07/08)
Some local brainstormers are suggesting the idea of a new convention and visitor bureau for Le Mars. Being billed as a "one-stop-shop" for tourism, lodging, recreation and convention information, the proposed bureau could be paid for with part of the Hotel/Motel Sales Tax revenue...

City okays iCash Program participation (06/19/08)
Le Mars city council members Tuesday agreed, subject to determination of several legal questions, have approved city membership in a new Iowa League of Cities system for the electronic direct payment of utility bills, permit charges and other city fees...

Entities will pay administration costs for county's help (06/19/08)
The Plymouth County Supervisors on Tuesday approved charging $1,500 in administrative costs for helping issue bonds or grants under its tax-free canopy. The topic came to light when Girls Inc., a nonprofit organization from Sioux City, requested the county's help to route revenue bonds through the county...

SRTS considering 'fuel -saving' designated bus routes for Le Mars (06/18/08)
Le Mars residents could, if interest warrants, find themselves with a new fuel-saving transportation option in the future. Bill Cole, assistant city administrator, Tuesday shared with city council members that among "new ideas" under discussion by the Siouxland Regional Transportation System (SRTS) is the consideration of possible designated routes throughout the city. Such routes, Cole said, is being looked at as a means of continuing to increase SRTS usage...

Corn oil plant seeks property tax relief from county (06/18/08)
A proposed $30 million corn oil plant near Merrill inched closer to reality this week. The Plymouth County Supervisors on Tuesday approved five years of property tax relief for Plymouth Oil L.L.C. The first year will be a 75 percent break declining to 15 percent in the fifth year...

LCS board tries again for instructional support levy (06/10/08)
The Le Mars Community School Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution to participate in the Instructional Support Program for a five-year period beginning with the 2009-2010 school year. This is the board's second attempt to implement the instructional support levy (ISL). A petition by district patrons put the same issue to a vote in March, when it was defeated...

Hotel/Motel Tax special meeting next week (06/09/08)
A meeting next Tuesday will offer information for groups seeking Hotel/Motel Tax dollars. The Le Mars Hotel/Motel Tax Advisory Board is hosting a special meeting to learn about proposed improvement options for tourism and community development in the City of Le Mars...

Brunsville's new TIF money will improve town's overall looks (04/24/08)
Brunsville's roads, utilities and other infrastructure need a facelift. That's why the Brunsville City Council earlier this month created an urban renewal area that will encompass the entire town and designate a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district...