Drue Mielke | https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1569892359800935&set=pb.100003405586255.-2207520000.1539802342.&type=3&theater
Drue Mielke | https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1569892359800935&set=pb.100003405586255.-2207520000.1539802342.&type=3&theater
Rock Island Board Chairman Drue Mielke denounced a proposed tax levy that could reach as high as 13 percent next year, according to a recent newsletter from the county’s Republican Central Committee.
“I am not supporting a tax increase as an elected county board member,” Mielke said in the newsletter. “We only will drive businesses to Iowa and actually collect less (in) taxes!"
Mielke’s remarks came after County Administrator Jim Snider said the levy would help the county avoid a shortfall of nearly $1 million and maintain essential services, as reported by The Dispatch-Argus on Oct. 11.
| https://morguefile.com/photos/morguefile/1/taxes/pop
The paper reported Snider said at a Rock Island Board committee of the whole meeting the $936,694 deficit was lower than the original $3.2 million forecasted before trimming the budget. Higher taxes would pay for a new digital radio system for police, among other projects.
The Dispatch-Argus said Snider told the board the tax increase was “not a done deal,” but could add between $30 and $50 onto a $3,000 property tax bill.
The Dispatch-Argus also reported that a truth in taxation public hearing is planned for the week of Monday, Oct. 22, with an exact date yet to be set.
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