Local Taxes

2010 census: Step up and be counted, officials urge (03/11/10)
Participating in the 2010 U.S. Census could save thousands of dollars, services and programs -- when numbers of people matter. Local and state officials are asking residents to be diligent in filling out census forms and mailing them back by the April 1 deadline so an accurate population count can be obtained...

Plymouth County schools find ways to make cuts (03/10/10)
Editor's note: This is the second of two stories looking at budget cuts for Plymouth County schools. Plymouth County school districts are trying to figure out ways to reduce already lean budgets. Because Legislators haven't decided whether or not to cut the 2 percent allowable growth, each school district does not know yet if it will receive state funding...

Supervisors limit weight on road (03/10/10)
The Plymouth County Supervisors put a weight restriction on part of Marble Avenue Tuesday. The weight of trucks and other vehicles cannot exceed 6 tons per axle on Marble Avenue from 160th Street south to the concrete paving. The restriction will be effective Tuesday through May 28. It will be enforceable as soon as signs are erected, said Tom Rohe, county engineer...

LCS board will budget on anticipated allowable growth money (03/09/10)
Le Mars Community School Board of Education members gave their approval to a budget timeline that will culminate in a certified 2010-11 budget to be filed with the state by April 15, 2010. The board directed Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt to develop the 2010-11 budget working under the assumption of a 2 percent allowable growth in state funding and a Cash Reserve Levy of $750,000...

Two supervisors seek re-election (03/09/10)
Two Plymouth County Supervisors have filed for re-election. Republicans Craig A. Anderson, of Merrill, and Don Kass, of Remsen, turned in their papers Tuesday morning to run again for supervisor. Anderson, who first took office in early 2006, is seeking to hold the District 4 seat for another term. Anderson was first elected in a special election, filling the unfinished term of Jack Spies. He was re-elected for a full term later that year...

Plymouth County's lean school budgets may receive another chop (03/08/10)
Editor's note: This is the first of two stories looking at budget cuts for area schools. Lean school budgets throughout Plymouth County may receive yet another cut from the State of Iowa. And the possible cut -- taking away the 2 percent allowable growth -- would be deep...

Candidates can file paperwork Monday (03/04/10)
Candidates wishing to file papers for the county's primary election can start Monday. Candidates must file paperwork with Cherie Nitzschke, Plymouth County deputy auditor, at the courthouse. The deadline is 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 31.

Council approves city budget with no levy increase (03/04/10)
Le Mars will begin fiscal year 2010-2011 with a balanced budget of $16.1 million. The good news for local residents? The budget will retain the current $13.75 tax levy for another year. Le Mars City Council members put their official stamp of approval on the budget after a public hearing Tuesday. The budget must be submitted to the state by March 15...

County budget passes without a hitch, despite 'no' vote (03/03/10)
Taxpayers had nothing to say Tuesday before Plymouth County's 2010-11 budget was finalized. The Plymouth County Supervisors approved the $21,891,804 budget with a 4-1 vote, after no one attended a public hearing.

City approves Historic Preservation grant match request (03/03/10)
Le Mars City Council members Tuesday agreed to give the local Historic Preservation Commission $10,000 throughout two years to help place portions of downtown Le Mars on the National Register of Historic Places. The money, which will be paid $5,000 per year in 2011 and 2012, will be the local match of a grant...

City, county to seek energy efficiency grants (03/03/10)
Energy efficiency was on the front burner Tuesday for members of the Le Mars City Council and the Plymouth County Supervisors. Members of both entities applying for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) for projects that will save energy and enhance economic development by creating local jobs...

Budget cuts limit low income housing for Plymouth County (03/01/10)
Assistance for low income housing in Plymouth County and surrounding areas will be cut back in 2010. It's a result of lower budgets for the Siouxland Regional Housing Authority (SRHA) which provides low income housing support for Plymouth, rural Woodbury, Cherokee and Manona counties, and the area north of Highway 20 in Ida county...

Fire chief to hang up helmet after more than 40 years (02/26/10)
Le Mars Fire-Rescue Chief Wayne Schipper is about to start a new chapter in his life. Retirement. "I've had a pretty rewarding time," Schipper said. He will retire in June after 27 years as fire chief. He's been with the department 41 years. He started with the Le Mars fire auxiliary in the 1960s while still in high school, and since then rules for becoming a firefighter have evolved, Schipper said...

Merrill residents apprehensive on proposed Kissinger closure (02/18/10)
Final decision time is nearing on the question of whether to close Kissinger Elementary School in Merrill. The Le Mars Community Schools Board is holding a special meeting 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday) for public input and comments regarding proposed budget cuts, which include shuttering the Merrill elementary...

County reminds recyclers to keep it clean (02/18/10)
Plymouth County citizens are being reminded to use the large metal recycling bin at the Plymouth County Courthouse responsibly. The large metal recycling bin on the Plymouth County Courthouse block is provided for the rural citizen of Plymouth County to deposit their recyclable materials...

City's $16 million budget approved for public hearing (02/17/10)
The city's 2010-11 budget is officially accepted by the Le Mars City Council. Now only one more step, a March 2 public hearing, remains before the city's adoption of a $16,164,421 budget for the coming year. The balance spending package will allow for continuation of the city's current $13.75 tax levy, said Bill Cole, Le Mars' assistant city administrator...

County construction means less LOST money for grants (02/16/10)
The Plymouth County Supervisors set aside $100,000 in Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) money in their proposed budget to be used for grant requests. That's $80,000 less than last year -- but the county has two new major construction projects to pay for with LOST revenue in the next fiscal year...

Legislators and taxpayers talk budget, unions (02/15/10)
Iowa Legislators Rep. Chuck Soderberg and Sen. Randy Feenstra discussed the gaping hole in the state budget, union bills, ethanol requirements and state tax returns Saturday with about a dozen people at the Le Mars Public Library. Soderberg and Feenstra were in Le Mars for a legislative forum where they invite the public to come and ask questions and find out how the legislators feel about the current legislative session...

Huseman seeks re-election (02/15/10)
Rep. Dan Huseman (R-Aurelia) announced Friday he will be running for re-election to the Iowa House. Huseman represents Cherokee County, 10 townships in eastern and southern Plymouth County and nine townships in northern Woodbury County. "State government must manage Iowans' tax dollars wisely. ...

Public employee bargaining: The reasons behind the raises (02/12/10)
(Editor's note: This story is the second of two stories taking a closer look at public employees' bargaining.) Le Mars City Employees Bargaining Unit: Pay freeze for six months, 3 percent raise starting in January 2011. Plymouth County Secondary Roads Bargaining Unit: 3 percent raise for each year of a three-year contract...

Public employee bargaining: Designed to protect citizens (02/11/10)
(Editor's note: This story is the first of two stories taking a closer look at public employees' bargaining.) In the business world, salaries and benefits of a business' employees are somewhat dependent on how well the business is doing. However, in the public sector, employees like teachers and city workers are given the chance to organize and bargain collectively based on Iowa Code Chapter 20...

Vander Plaats ready to put government on chopping block (02/09/10)
Gubernatorial hopeful Vander Plaats thinks he has some answers for Iowa's troubled economy -- and the top one is shrinking the government. Vander Plaats spoke Monday to about a dozen people at the Le Mars Pizza Ranch during a tour hitting all 99 of Iowa's counties...

City council to discuss golf course liquor license (02/08/10)
The Le Mars City Council will hold a special meeting at noon Tuesday to consider a liquor license and outdoor service area for a golf course. Mike Fiddelke of Willow Creek Golf Course filed an application for a new 12-month Class C liquor license and outdoor service area for the golf course bar and grille...

TIF: a powerful tool being overused? (02/05/10)
Out of all 99 Iowa counties, Plymouth County is ranked second for using Tax Increment Financing (TIF). About 15.2 percent of the county's taxable valuation is in TIF, according to the Iowa State Association of Counties. TIF is a taxing tool different than regular taxes, according to Plymouth County Auditor Stacey Feldman...

City officials ask for resident support during upcoming census (02/04/10)
Le Mars Mayor Dick Kirchoff has called on local residents for their cooperation in compiling accurate figures for the community as they receive their 2010 census letters. "Accurate figures are important to the city in that they can impact on future grants and funding," Kirchoff said...

Council gives first reading approval to code changes (02/04/10)
Le Mars City Council members Tuesday, following a public hearing, gave first reading approval to an ordinance amending the city's Fire Prevention Code from the International Fire Code 2006 edition to the 2009 edition. Members also gave first reading approval after a public hearing to the city's sign code ordinance to update terminology and incorporate the ICC Zoning Code, 2009 edition, into the present ordinance...

Hotel/motel tax dollars may boost fairgrounds, chalk festival (02/03/10)
Twelve local agencies and organizations and the city are likely to be the beneficiaries of $36,033 in local option Hotel/Motel Sales Tax dollars this year. The Le Mars City Council received the requests for annual allocations of the sales tax revenue from the Hotel/Motel Sales Tax Advisory Board at its Tuesday session...

Budget changes add dollars for cemetery roads (02/03/10)
Finalization of the city's budget for the fiscal year 2011 moved a step closer to reality Tuesday. Assistant City Administrator Bill Cole shared with Le Mars City Council members current changes in the $16.1 million spending package. Changes resulting from last week's Jan. ...

Sheriff seeks more inmates to help county budget (01/28/10)
The Plymouth County Jail has felt a drop of about $160,000 in revenue due to housing only half the number of federal inmates as in previous years. Currently, seven or eight federal inmates reside in the jail at $75 a day. But the jail was built to house six to eight more...

Job training program revision, could limit local businesses (01/28/10)
One-half million dollars for Plymouth County business could be at stake as the State of Iowa discusses adjustments in funding to the Iowa Industrial New Jobs Training Program. Plymouth County businesses that received job training funding in 2009 were Plymouth Energy - $250,612, Plymouth Oil - $153,000, Wells Dairy - $25,000 and Bodeans Baking Company - $63,403...

City squeezing its way to a balanced budget (01/27/10)
"Bare bones" and "lean" were the words used to describe the 2011 city budget during a Le Mars City Council workshop Tuesday. "We asked all the departments to make a 10 percent cut after we've had cuts the last two years," Assistant City Administrator Bill Cole said. "There is not a lot of cushion."...

Potholes to get some attention...soon (01/27/10)
The Le Mars City Council addressed the growing potholes on Business Highway 75 during their Tuesday meeting. "Barring any other strange weather situations, your plan is to go after those potholes," Councilman Ken Nelson said to Steve Hansen, superintendent of public works...

A second stimulus could help local roads (01/25/10)
If there is a second federal stimulus, Plymouth County and Le Mars are lined up for a piece of the pie. Local planners found out last Thursday that, should the U.S. government approve a second stimulus bill, the Plymouth County roads department may receive $900,000 and the City of Le Mars $450,000 for road projects...

City calls on state to retain road use tax funding (01/22/10)
The City of Le Mars has voiced its opposition to Iowa Governor Chet Culver and area legislators on the proposed use of state road use taxes to "bail out" other state programs. City Administrator Scott Langel asked that the road use tax system "be kept intact and available for its historical and intended purposes" and that the city's share of the tax monies be maintained...

County budget cutting begins with conservation, sheriff, fair (01/22/10)
The chopping has begun with the Plymouth County Supervisors starting cuts to make the 2011 budget work. Tuesday, the board agreed to trim back dollars from requests made by county conservation, the sheriff, the county fair, the county libraries and the county museums...

Snow blower damage triggers possible curb landscaping changes (01/21/10)
The Le Mars City Council's discussion on whether to purchase a new snow blower laid the ground work for future decrees on what can and cannot be placed on the curbside property. The city's 20-year old snow blower was damaged during recent snow clean-up thanks to a large decorative curbside boulder hidden beneath the snow, according to City Administrator Scott Langel...

Bohnenkamp appointed to LOST board (01/21/10)
The final seat on the Local Option Sales Tax Advisory Board was filled Tuesday. The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors appointed Lynn Bohnenkamp, of Le Mars, to the District 1 seat of the board, which had previously been left open with no applicants to fill it...

Proposed city budget holds the line on tax levy (01/20/10)
The City of Le Mars is working to keep the tax levy at its current level in the proposed 2011 budget. The $16.1 million budget with $5.5 million in the general fund is similar to the current fiscal year 2010 budget of $15.9 million, Assistant City Administrator Bill Cole said...

Council turns off lights (01/20/10)
Le Mars City Council members voted Tuesday to permanently shut off 42 of the 46 lights that have been off since this past summer at 10 locations throughout the city. Councilman Jon Rexwinkel abstained from the vote. The temporary turn-off was implemented to determine energy cost savings for the city as initially brought forth to the council by Councilman Rex Knapp...

Greene pushes to cut supervisors' meetings, salaries (01/19/10)
Plymouth County Supervisor C. Gordon Greene thinks halving the number of county board meetings and cutting back the supervisors' salaries is the best approach to trimming the county budget. Greene, who is finishing his second term on the county board, presented his ideas last week during the supervisor's regular Tuesday meeting...

Le Mars KCs celebrate 100 years of service (01/18/10)
A Le Mars organization with a history of service in the community will observe its 100th anniversary this month. The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic, family fraternal organization which support services programs in their churches and community. The Le Mars council, Trinity Council 1466, was instituted Jan. 23, 1910, with the first meeting held Feb. 4, 1910, in the office of Dr. Fitzgerald in Sioux City. Sponsoring council was Epiphany Council in Sioux City...

Supervisors consider fair, museum requests (01/15/10)
Plymouth County Historical Museum and county fair board officials presented their budget requests for 2010-11 to the board of supervisors Tuesday. Both officials kept their asking amounts the same as those requested for the current 2009-10 fiscal year...

Proposed raises increase county law enforcement budgets (01/14/10)
Projected costs in salaries, insurance and retirement are the majority of increases in the Plymouth County sheriff's, correction's and communication center's proposed 2010-11 budgets. Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo presented those estimated budgets to the Plymouth County Supervisors Tuesday...

City leases Willow Creek Bar and Grill to Fiddelke (01/13/10)
In a 3-2 vote Tuesday, the Le Mars City Council chose Mike Fiddelke, of Orange City, to lease the bar and grill at Willow Creek Golf Course for 2010. The lease, at a rate of $30,000 per year, is tentatively set to begin March 1. The other candidate seeking the lease was Kathy Schwader, of Le Mars, who had been recommended for the lease by the Le Mars Park Committee at last week's city council meeting...

Akron senior living apartments to close (01/12/10)
An eight-plex of senior living apartments in Akron is closing. The Senior Village North Apartments, under the umbrella of the Akron Care Center, will be closed by the end of February due to a lack of interest and the money it would take to upgrade it for assisted living...

County Republicans to hold caucus (01/11/10)
The Plymouth County Republican G.O.P. will be having a caucus at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. At the caucus, the group will elect county Central Committee members and delegates to the County Convention that will be in March. Anyone with questions can call Scott Ihrke at 548-4778...

Council approves 2010-11 committee assignments (01/08/10)
The year's list of committee assignments for Le Mars Mayor Dick Kirchoff, Le Mars City Council members and city staff was approved Tuesday by members of the city council. Councilman Rex Knapp has been reappointed mayor pro-tem with committee appointments including:...

City budget meetings set (01/07/10)
Le Mars City Council members are gearing up for the start of meetings to discuss the the 2010-2011 budget next week. Members of the finance committee, Councilmen Rex Knapp and John Rexwinkel, will be the first to meet with Assistant City Administrator Bill Cole at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. Rexwinkel and Councilman Ken Nelson will meet at 2: 30 p.m. Wednesday to look at the budgeting picture for the public works, water and wastewater departments...

Mayor calls on residents, city for cooperative snow removal (01/07/10)
Le Mars Mayor Dick Kirchoff joining Tuesday with members of the Le Mars City Council in commending city employees for their snow removal efforts in the wake of the previous snow storm is asking local residents to "work with" the city in the continuing snow removal efforts...

Council looks at fees, pet licenses (01/07/10)
The addition of a new $30 overdraft check charge is now a part of Le Mars' new fees for the coming year. The change came Tuesday after it was approved by the Le Mars City Council. The charge will be applicable to checks received by the city for all utility billings, Assistant City Administrator Bill Cole said...

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