GLENWOOD, Iowa (KMTV) — Governor Kim Reynolds' proposal to freeze property taxes for Iowans over 65, among other tax proposals, has sparked debate among residents who worry about shifting tax burdens and maintaining community services.
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During Bonnie Millsap's birthday celebration at the Bloom Senior Center in Glenwood, KMTV asked if Iowa should cut property taxes.
"If things keep going higher and higher and higher, you know, how you gonna afford to live in your house?" said Millsap, president of the senior center board.
Millsap has mixed feelings about the Governor's proposal to freeze property taxes for seniors.
"There's a lot of fixed incomes, but what I am afraid of — in my opinion is — it would hurt our community for services," Millsap said.
Jack Sayers, a 19-year-old county supervisor and new homeowner, opposes the age-based freeze.
"All that's going to do is shift the burden towards families that have kids and it's gonna shift the burden towards younger people," Sayers said.
Instead, Sayers wants to see tax cuts for everyone. That approach aligns with advocacy group, Iowans for Tax Relief.
"When you reduce Iowans tax burden, whether it be business or individual, there's more money in their pockets that they can deploy into the economy," said Chris Hagenow, president of Iowans for Tax Relief.
Moving across state lines also wouldn't offer relief for Iowans. While the Tax Foundation ranks Iowa as the 11th highest state for property taxes, neighboring Nebraska sits at number four.
"We moved here eight years ago. On the advice of my three brothers in Nebraska who said it's so much cheaper," said Dennis Kelly, an Air Force veteran who also worked in the insurance industry and education.
Some residents worry that reducing state funding will push more costs onto local communities.
"Because if they wanted to reduce property taxes, they wouldn't have pushed all the mandated services onto counties," Allan Christiansen, a former city council member, said.
Kelly appreciates the quality of services he receives in Glenwood: "We have never lived anywhere with better services than we have here."
Sayers views affordability as crucial for preventing "brain drain" — or out-migration — from the state.
"If we make it so it's less affordable ... you'll see rural Iowa decline even more than it is now," he said.
Both houses of the legislature and the governor have different proposals for addressing property taxes, meaning the debate is far from over.
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