Posted by
Paul McKinley
on
July
2nd
Happy New Year?
July 1 marked the beginning of the new year in state government. If you were expecting a giant ball to drop in Times Square, a midnight smooch with that special someone or a reason to pop open a bottle of champagne, you probably are feeling a bit disappointed right now.
Instead, get prepared for a whole host of new laws, the beginning of a new state budget and unfortunately – a giant property tax increase courtesy of Governor Chet Culver.
When Governor Culver overspent and then made his 10 percent across-the-board cut last fall, his actions opened up a Pandora’s box of problems for our local schools. Though most school districts have made drastic cuts to adjust to the decrease in funding from the state, many school districts have had to dip into their cash reserves and in most cases, substantially increase property taxes.
For months, Senate Republicans have been warning Iowans that Governor Culver and legislative Democrats will be increasing their property taxes. We even offered a detailed plan to the Democrats to avoid the increases – but they rejected it.
This week the warnings became reality. The non-partisan Legislative Services Agency (LSA) issued a preliminary detailed analysis highlighting the extent of the tax increases. According to LSA, school district general fund levies increased $133.3 million or 8.8 percent. School district cash reserve levies increased 54 percent or $104.2 million.
Iowa already has some of the highest property taxes in the nation. At a time when we should be encouraging entrepreneurs, employers and small businesses to invest and expand in Iowa to help grow our economy and create jobs, this massive property tax increase will sting badly. The simple truth is that property tax increases badly hurt job creation and business development.
This new year is also bringing a new budget with a level of spending that is the second highest in state history. This past session, legislative Democrats authorized $5.3 billion dollars in spending using ongoing funds - but that is only part of the picture.
Beyond the $5.3 billion, there is also $732 million in one-time dollars that will be used for ongoing expenses. These one-time dollars are found from raiding many of Iowa’s important savings accounts. In addition, they also exhausted any existing federal dollars that were sent to Iowa as part of President Obama’s bailout in early 2009.
Added together, it surpasses over $6 billion dollars in spending which includes millions of dollars in wasteful pork-barrel projects. While government is spending at near record levels, your local school districts get short-changed and your property taxes go higher. Not a single Republican in the House or Senate supported this budget because we knew it does not accurately reflect the true priorities of Iowans.
In the coming weeks and months, Senate Republicans pledge to continue to be an advocate for taxpayers. It would not be a new year without new year’s resolutions and Senate Republicans pledge to renew our commitment to property tax relief, private sector job creation and responsible and sustainable budgets. We believe that path will lead to a more promising and abundant future for Iowa.
In the meantime, we encourage all Iowans to have a safe and enjoyable Independence Day weekend. We must celebrate the freedoms and liberties that we have and always work to preserve those principles that make this the freest and most prosperous country the world has ever known. Please recognize the sacrifices made by those who have served and who continue to serve so we can gather peacefully and enjoy the company of friends, family and neighbors.
Posted by
Paul McKinley
on
July
1st
“I think that’s just good common sense. The others, the common theme is it’s intrusive into people’s lives, but this, it makes sense to let people know.”
McKinley added, though, that Democrats dropped the ball when it came to focussing on priorities.
“Wearing seat belts? We should have been talking about jobs. About spending. About ... rising property taxes. We have the highest unemployment in decades. It’s very clear why people are leaving.”
Read the entire article from the Ottumwa Courier website
Posted by
Paul McKinley
on
June
24th
DES MOINES – Senator Paul McKinley issued the following statement regarding the selection of Senator Kim Reynolds to join him on the ticket as Lieutenant Governor: “It’s been an honor to serve with Kim for the last two years in the Iowa Senate. She has truly emerged as a leader not just in our caucus but also for the entire state. We will miss her presence in caucus and her leadership in the Senate, however, I feel I can speak for all Senate Republicans when I say we will do everything in our power to ensure she will be the next Lieutenant Governor of the state of Iowa.”
Posted by
Paul McKinley
on
June
18th
State government is in need of a clean up!
From the film tax credit and Iowa Association of School Boards scandals, allegations of improper campaign donations received by the governor’s campaign and the misspending of $576,000 by then Secretary of State Culver to billion dollar deficits, job-killing property tax increases, high unemployment and the quintupling of debt under Governor Culver and legislative Democrats - scandals, overspending and rampant fiscal mismanagement have rocked state government.
You deserve better.
The simple truth is that it is never acceptable for public officials to violate the trust of the taxpayers by misspending, wasting or misusing their hard earned dollars. Iowans need and want competent fiscal leadership. We should always expect our tax dollars to be spent wisely and efficiently.
Senate Republicans believe government has a responsibility to make certain that information is accurate, easy to understand and delivered regularly. More transparency and accountability should be the norm – not less. This is why we have offered a broad set of proposals to give taxpayers the tools they need to ensure their dollars are being spent wisely and efficiently.
- First, Senate Republicans propose and supported an amendment to the Iowa Constitution to limit state spending to no more than 99 percent of state revenue. Only an amendment to the Iowa Constitution can stop lawmakers from creating record setting budget deficits and searching out loopholes to spend more of your hard earned money. Limiting spending to 99 percent of revenue ensures a balanced budget and the annual deposit of money into a rainy day fund.
- Secondly, Senate Republicans propose and supported requiring a two-thirds supermajority vote of both houses of the Legislature to authorize new state borrowing. Never again should one party have the sole authority to create these long-term debt burdens, as Governor Culver and legislative Democrats have done with their failed I-JOBS program. At the local level, a 60 percent vote of the people is required to adopt new public debt (such as a new school) to ensure there is widespread community support. At the state level, a two-thirds supermajority vote of the Legislature will help guarantee the same kind of broad support for similar taxpayer funded efforts.
- Next, Senate Republicans propose and supported a systematic process wherein every program funded by state government will be sunset (de-authorized) unless the governor and Legislature reauthorize that program or policy. This important process will force a thorough top-to-bottom review of every existing program funded by your tax dollars to determine whether the program is an effective and efficient use of tax dollars.
- Additionally, our goal is to create a publicly available database that would be accessible to taxpayers to review annual revenues and expenditures of state and local governments. It would also create a searchable tax rate database that will include the tax rates from every taxing entity, with maps as well as an individual tax rate calculator. This feature will provide Iowans with a much-needed tool in learning exactly how they are taxed by state and local governments.
We cannot wait for another film office fiasco or another year of vast overspending to occur. Real reform must be done now. Government has become too big, too out of touch and increasingly out of control. It is time for a set of common sense open government initiatives to empower Iowa citizens.
Republicans are working hard to earn the trust of the taxpayers of Iowa and in return, the taxpayers of Iowa should expect fresh leadership and a new direction that focuses on keeping government within its means, giving citizens a greater voice and returning to policies that do not grow the government’s budget at the expense of your family’s.
