The Auditor is also critical of the Governor
for using one-time bond proceeds of $67 million to balance the
FY 09 operating budget, and taxpayers will pay for those
services for decades to come. Auditor Vaudt stressed, “This is
contrary to good budgeting principles because this practice
leaves future generations to pay for current year operating
expenditures.”
Auditor Vaudt was unreceptive to the level of
growth in the Governor’s budget. He noted that despite record
revenue growth, “true-total expenditures” will still far
out-strip ongoing revenue. Planned expenditure growth of 16
percent over a two-year period (FY 08 and FY 09) still outpaces
anticipated ongoing revenue growth of 12 percent over the same
time period. And a lot of the revenue growth is due to tax
increases approved last year and recommended by the Governor
this year.
The Auditor also cautioned everyone to not
get a false sense of security due to having over $600 million in
the cash reserves. “With $600 million sitting in the “Rainy Day”
funds, it’s easy to get a false sense of security,” Auditor
Vaudt cautioned.
The Auditor did note a couple of areas where
the Governor had improved over last year’s budget. He said the
Governor’s FY 09 financial plan enhanced budget clarity by
shifting funds and expenditures back into the general fund.
LINCOLN
BICENTENIALCELEBRATION KICKS OFF IN IOWA
Monday kicked off a celebration
of the Iowa Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration (IALBC)
here in Iowa to celebrate the 200th anniversary of
the President’s birth. The statewide event is celebrating the
links between the great President and Iowa and started with the
display of two priceless letters penned by Lincoln.
The State Historical Society
was originally going to display the letters only on February 11th
as they are usually kept in a secured, climate controlled
facility. However, overwhelming interest in the contents of the
letters has led them to extend that showing. The two documents
will be on display in the Historical Society’s reading room
through February 29th. The reading room is open
Tuesday through Saturday from 9am through 4:30pm. Below is a
description of the two letters:
Letter to Hawkins Taylor
(Keokuk, Iowa), September 6, 1859:
In this letter to a prominent
Iowa Republican, Lincoln comments on the demands of campaigning:
“It is bad to be poor. I shall go to the wall for bread and
meat, if I neglect my business this year as well as last.”
Hawkins Taylor (Keokuk) was a fellow-Kentuckian and prominent
Iowa Republican. He served as a representative to the 1st Iowa
Territorial Assembly, 1838.
Abraham Lincoln message to
Election Notification Committee, March 1, 1865:
When a special committee from
the U.S. Congress informed Lincoln of his re-election as
President, he delivered this message to accept the second term.
Representative James Falconer Wilson of Iowa, a member of the
notification committee, asked to keep the original handwritten
document.
Iowans can contact IALBC at
www.IowaLincoln200.org for more information about planning
programs and activities at the local level that commemorate the
bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth.
Original Article from the State Historical
Society of Iowa and the Department of Cultural Affairs.
ONE PERCENT SALES AND USE TAX INCREASE
MOVES OUT OF HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE – NEXT STOP WAYS and
MEANS
Wednesday the House Education Committee
approved
HF 2066. The bill replaces the current local option School
Infrastructure Local Option (SILO) with statewide sales & use
tax increase of 1%.
The bill now gets a new House File number and
moves to the House Ways and Means Committee.
Proponents of the bill say it keeps important
school infrastructure funding in place, provides property tax
relief and raises much needed revenue to fix Iowa’s bridges and
roads.
Opponents cite the tax increases, abandoning
local voter approval and breaking the promise that the tax would
sunset.
Click on the following to access a short SILO
PowerPoint and a summary analysis of
HF 2066.
http://www.iowahouserepublicans.com/?page_id=373
Key points of
HF 2066
Converts the current local option SILO tax to
a one percent increase in the state sales tax, consumer use tax
and motor vehicle use tax ($372 million).
Deposits new Consumer Use Tax proceeds into
the SILO SAVE Fund ($40 million). The funds would be used to
bring all districts to a statewide average and then used for
property tax relief.
Deposits new Motor Vehicle Use Tax proceeds
into the statutorily created TIME-21 Fund ($53 million).
Week
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