Sullivan's Salvos

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4-27-10

2010-04-25T10:14:00.001-05:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 4/27/10

In this edition:

*May Day
*Cinco de Mayo
*Garlic mustard and morels
*Take Back the Night
*ACLU Dinner
*NAMI Walk
*Crisis Center Pancake Breakfast
*Did You Know?

*May Day
In much of the world, May Day is a worker’s holiday. It used to be a holiday here, too, until an unreasonable fear of communism clouded our collective national judgment.

May Day used to commemorate the Haymarket Incident. For those of you unfamiliar, the following is lifted largely from Wikipedia:

The Haymarket affair occurred during the course of a three-day strike that involved common laborers, artisans, merchants, and immigrants. Following an incident in which police opened fire and killed four strikers at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. plant, a rally was called for the following day at Haymarket Square. The event remained peaceful, yet towards the end of the rally, as police moved in to disperse the event, an unknown assailant threw a bomb into the crowd of police. The bomb and resulting police riot left at least a dozen people dead, including seven policemen.

A sensational show trial ensued in which eight defendants were openly tried for their political beliefs, and not necessarily for any involvement in the bombing. The trial led to the eventual public hanging of four anarchists. In the following years, memory of the "Haymarket martyrs" was remembered with various May Day job actions and demonstrations.

So, on this May Day, I plan on tipping back a cold beverage in honor of the people who gave us the weekend!

*Cinco de Mayo
Another day worth celebrating arrives on May 5. Johnson County has seen an increase in new residents from Mexico, and along with them, a wonderful dose of Mexican culture.

I urge everyone to observe Cinco de Mayo. Have fun, but also think about the way we treat others, both individually and collectively. Are we living up to the Golden Rule?

*Garlic Mustard and Morels
I had my worst trip to the woods EVER recently! As I have written previously, I love to hunt morel mushrooms. I rarely have as much free time as I’d like to dedicate to such pursuits, but I did get out this past week. I was crushed by what I found.

The whole forest floor was choked by garlic mustard. The garlic mustard had been creeping into these spots over the past couple of years, so it did not surprise me to see it. I was surprised, however, by the ubiquity. I could hardly see the forest floor!

The environmental damage we are suffering and about to suffer at the hands of garlic mustard and other invasive species is unimaginable. It is bad, and getting exponentially worse.

There are steps we can take, but they will not be popular. First, pull it on your own property. (Cutting and mowing do not work, and may even serve to spread it further.) Secondly, volunteer with one of the many organized local “pulls”. Thirdly, we need more funding for conservation/park & rec departments targeted toward this problem. Finally, we need to fund science at the federal level so that experts can help us to avoid these types of problems in the future.

I suppose I can blame the garlic mustard for my lack of success at morel hunting, but I have fared poorly before. This is a brand new ballgame.

*Take Back the Night!
The annual Take Back the Night rally will be held Thursday, April 29th, at 7:00pm in Downtown Iowa City. Sponsored by the Rape Victim Advocacy Program (RVAP), Take Back the Night offers residents of Johnson County an opportunity to stand up against rape, and to say “not on my watch”. It is a powerful event, and I hope you can attend.

*ACLU Dinner
The ACLU of Iowa is holding its annual dinner Saturday, May 1 at the UI Athletic Club. This is the organization’s 75th anniversary, and the featured speaker is National ACLU President Anthony Romero. Tickets are still available, but you must RSVP right away! Check out the website at aclu-iowa.org for more information.

*NAMI Walk
The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) of Johnson County is holding its annual Walk for the Mind of America Saturday, May 8 at Lower City Park in Iowa City.

As a County Supervisor, I know how much money goes into mental health services. But money is not the key here. Money does not tell the stories. We all need to do more (yes, including paying higher taxes!) to support the families who are dealing with these issues.

I would encourage each person who reads this to speak with my friend June Judge. You will never think of mental health in the same way. Some day, I would like to help make June’s vision of a better and more caring mental health system a reality.

I have participated in every NAMI Walk so far, and I am looking for sponsors! Please let me know if you would be willing to sponsor me for this great cause!

*Crisis Center Pancake Breakfast
This annual must-do event is Saturday, May 1st from 8 AM-1 PM at Parkview Church. As usual, all funds go toward supporting the important work of the Crisis Center in Johnson County.

*DID YOU KNOW? There were 1801 sales of residential property in 2009; 838 in Iowa City and 963 in the rest of the county. (Source: Johnson County Assessor.)

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

4-20-10

2010-04-18T13:58:00.000-05:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 4/20/10

In this edition:

*Thoughts on Justice Stevens
*Local Heroes Retiring
*Buy Here Business Fair
*Crime Victim Week
*Dealing With Sexting and Other Technology Issues
*Day of the Book
*Did You Know?

*Thoughts on Justice Stevens
I have always had tremendous respect for retiring US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. As the longest-serving Justice, we can track the political “mood” in the US throughout his term.

In his first decade, he was seen as a center-right justice, but as the composition of the court grew more and more conservative, he found himself referred to as the court's most liberal member, a moniker he never liked.

Stevens claims he never changed; the politics changed around him. I think there is some truth to this. I once saw the stances of US Presidents on twelve key issues placed side by side. Eisenhower and Nixon were to the left of Bill Clinton on nine and seven issues, respectively.

Meanwhile, all the best to Justice Stevens on his retirement, and thanks for 35 years of stellar service!

*Local Heroes Retiring
Speaking of retirements, two of my heroes are retiring later this month.

Peter Fisher and Jim Throgmorton are both retiring from the UI Department of Urban and Regional Planning.

I know, I know… the word “hero” can be thrown around far too easily. I thought about that as I wrote this, and it fits. I seriously cannot imagine how different my six+ years as a Supervisor would be if not for these two men. I have relied heavily on both for information and ideas.

Even more importantly, Jim & Peter have dedicated their careers to making public policy work for everyone, not just the wealthy and well connected. We are all better off because of their work.

Congratulations, Jim & Peter!

*Buy Here Business Fair
Join the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce at the annual Buy Here Business Fair from 4-7 PM on Thursday, April 22 at the Coralville Holiday Inn.

Buying locally makes all the difference! I am very proud to be a part of a Chamber that “gets it”.

*Johnson County observes National Crime Victims’ Rights Week
We are not far removed from the tragic events of March 23, 2008, when Sheryl Sueppel and her children Ethan, Seth, Mira, and Eleanor were tragically killed.

On Monday, April 19, Sheryl’s brother, David Kesterson will be the keynote speaker for the opening ceremony for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, sponsored by the Johnson County Crime Victims’ Advocacy Board.

The discussion will begin at 5:00 p.m. in the Iowa City Council Chambers. The public is encouraged to attend the event, which will address the issues of faith, hope, and redemption. It will also discuss the impact of violent crimes on the family and friends of people directly affected by them.

According to the FBI, more than 15,000 Americans are murdered each year. In up to a quarter of these cases, the crime was committed by a spouse or intimate partner. In the state of Iowa alone, over 450 murders have been committed since 2000.

*Dealing With Sexting and Other Technology Issues
Sexting, Technology, OH MY Talking With Teens in Tough Times. Monday, April 26 @ 7pm @ United Action for Youth, Youth Center.

United Action for Youth health educators present to parents on the resources for parent/child communication, also touching on the issues related to technology and how a parent can be an advocate for their child's safety... and Peer Educators from UAY do role plays!

Great free resources available for families, and come enjoy the teen perspective on using technology safely! Call/Email : Kim Lamon-Loperfido 338-7518 for more info. This event is FREE and open to the public!

*Day of the Book
St George's Day is celebrated April 23 in England and other regions. It is traditional to give a rose and a book to a loved one on this day. This tradition inspired UNESCO to declare this the International Day of the Book, since April 23, 1616 was also the date of death of English playwright William Shakespeare.

As you know, Iowa City is one of three UNESCO Cities of Literature. So celebrate St. George’s Day this year by buying a book for your loved one! You will find sales throughout Johnson County!

DID YOU KNOW? In 2008, 70% of US businesses saw an increase in sales. The number was 88% in Johnson County. In 2009, the numbers were 42% nationally and 58% in Johnson County. (Source: Iowa City Area Development Group.)

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

4-13-10

2010-04-10T22:19:00.001-05:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 4/13/10

In this edition:

*Opening Day
*Taxes Are Not Bad!
*County Health Rankings
*The Future of Farming
*Hospice Walk
*Did You Know?

*Opening Day
Opening Day has arrived! I love baseball, and I am not above having the stereotypically silly conversations about it. So I will not subject Salvos readers to much baseball writing. But if you ever want to discuss the topic, give me a shout!

*Taxes Are Not Bad!
April 15 is Tax Day, and there will undoubtedly be a couple protests by people who feel government and taxes are bad.

I do not agree. I believe that government and taxes are GOOD! Here is a quick list of just a few of the many things you get in exchange for your tax dollars:

Police; fire; ambulance; clean air; clean water; sewage disposal and treatment; safe food; safe drugs; safe consumer products; Centers for Disease Control; food labeling; safe buildings, roads and bridges; air traffic control; national defense; services for veterans; college loans; parks; Meals on Wheels; Head Start; Social Security; unemployment insurance; Medicare; Medicaid; public education; school lunches; FDIC; FEMA; OSHA; overtime; access to courts… I could go on for hours.

Needless to say, governments are not always efficient and effective. The same can be said of private enterprises. I remain convinced that we get a bargain when we pay our taxes.

*County Health Rankings
Johnson County is the 7th healthiest county in Iowa according to a study conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin.

Every county in the US was ranked on several health-related aspects: Health Behaviors; Clinical Care; Social and Economic Factors; and Physical Environment.

The results for Johnson County were very interesting. We ranked #1 in several areas: Mortality; Health Behaviors; and Clinical Care. We ranked #2 (behind Story County) in Social and Economic Factors. Obviously, these results are outstanding!

There was one area that kept us from the top spot: Physical Environment. We ranked #82 in this category! We ranked OK in terms of recreational opportunities, but we got very poor marks in two specific areas: access to alcohol and air quality.

Obviously, all these different rankings select different criteria, and weight them all differently. But we should not ignore this study. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation does top-notch work in this area. What’s more, binge drinking and air quality are two items that the Johnson County Board of Health has chosen as areas of focus. So experts seem to agree.

We know we have some work to do in a couple of areas. I am confident that the Johnson County Department of Public Health will make strides in these areas. I urge you to find out how you can help them! Meanwhile, check out the results for yourself at countyhealthrankings.org

*The Future of Farming
I had the opportunity to attend the Chamber of Commerce Ag Breakfast series a couple of weeks ago, and it was a thought-provoking session!

Three local folks involved in ag-related industries predicted the future of agriculture in Johnson County and elsewhere. The panelists were Jeff Quint with Cedar Ridge Winery near Swisher; Mark Stutsman with Stutsman, Inc. in Hills; and Mike Klauke with Syngenta near Lone Tree.

All of the men expected farming to move two directions simultaneously: an expansion of very small farmers (5-10 acres) producing local food, and a consolidation of farms into huge 20,000-30,000 acre operations. In both scenarios, the “average” Iowa farmer, who owns about 350 acres, will be a thing of the past.

As the scale of production increases, more work will become mechanized. The experts expect “drones” to be programmed to plant and harvest fields, eliminating the need for tractors and combines to have drivers. Stutsman said the day is coming when Iowa may only have 4-5 implement dealers in the whole state; when I was a kid, every other small town had an implement dealer!

Similarly, they expect an increase in contracts for crops. Now farmers grow a crop such as corn, then decide when and where to sell it. The experts predict that in 25-30 years, farmers will be planting and raising a specific end product, such as “starch” or “protein”. The farmers will not own the land, nor the seed, nor the crop. They will just be employees of large corporations, who own the product at each level of production. This type of “verticality” has already infiltrated the swine industry, with some devastating results.

Panelists noted that there are trade offs; Iowa’s farms will need to become more productive to feed a growing world population. Unfortunately, the impending loss of on-farm jobs may devastate rural America.

While the predictions may seem very grim, all the panelists expressed faith in the ability of the people of Johnson County to protect our land, our small towns, and our people.

*RVAP Events
Each April, the Rape Victim Advocacy Program (RVAP) recognizes Sexual Assault Awareness Month with a host of activities. Below is a link to the calendar of events. Additional information can be found at http://www.rvap.org/pages/sexual_assault_awareness_month/#saam_2010.

*Hospice Walk
You are invited to the 11th Annual Iowa City Hospice Walk for Dignity Sunday, April 18 at 1 PM at Willow Creek Park in Iowa City.

Join the McDonald’s, this year’s Honorary Family, to celebrate the lives and honor the memories of loved ones, and to show support for Iowa City Hospice.

Visit http://www.iowacityhospice.org/calendar/walk.html or contact Margaret Reese at 688-4219 for more information.

DID YOU KNOW? Iowa's ag income in 2008 was over $20 billion. (Source: Iowa Secretary of Ag Bill Northey.)

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

4-6-10

2010-04-02T14:34:00.000-05:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 4/6/10

In this edition:

*A different look
*Happy Birthday Jordan!
*Pancake Day
*Sutliff Bridge
*Did You Know?

*A Different Look
You will notice a new look to Salvos beginning this week. A friend who is well versed in this type of communication suggested that I needed a table of contents and headings for new topics.

So, I am trying it out. I have some concerns about Mediacom’s ability to support what I am trying to do, but we’ll see. Please let me know what you think!

*Happy Birthday Jordan!
Happy Birthday to my daughter Jordan, who turns Sweet Sixteen on April 8! Jordan is a strong, smart, beautiful young lady who knows right from wrong. I am awfully proud of the young woman she has become. I love you honey!

*Pancake Day
The ICCSD is holding its annual Pancake Day fundraiser April 10 from 6AM-6PM at West High. Tickets are $5 and available at the door.

This is the biggest annual fundraiser for City and West High athletics; please support their efforts!

*Sutliff Bridge
The debate over whether or not to rebuild the Sutliff Bridge raises several deep questions for both society and government. Let’s explore some of them.

As most of you probably know, I have biases here. I grew up at Sutliff. My younger sister lives within 200 yards of the bridge. My family has lived in the area since before Iowa was a state. My friends and family fought to keep the bridge in the early 80s. My senior class picture was taken on the bridge. The bridge is tied up in family, friends, childhood memories, current relationships, and more. I want to state that in the interest of full disclosure.

The Sutliff Bridge was built a couple decades prior to the advent of motorized vehicles. It is the longest Parker Truss Bridge in the US. It is listed on the National Historic Registry. To people in the area, it defines the place they call home.

As for those deep questions - What is history worth? What is ANYTHING worth? If we get rid of an old bridge because it does not function the way it used to, should we apply that logic across the board? Should we quit spending tax dollars on senior citizens, many of whom no longer function the way they used to? Should we have torn down the Old Capital Dome after it burnt, and instead built a new office building? Should we preserve the ruins in Athens and Rome? Do Iowa’s Century and Heritage Farm programs make any sense? Why do we mark graves? Should history be taught in our schools? What is history worth?

Frankly, it is impossible to place a value on history. I have been in the Old Capital probably ten times in the past year – almost certainly five times more often than most Johnson County residents. Do more people visit the Old Capital, or do more folks visit Sutliff? (My guess is Sutliff by a 20:1 margin.) Should attendance matter? Must history focus only on government, or is there value in preserving the people’s history? What makes one thing historic and worth saving, and another less so?

The Sutliff Bridge is a destination for cyclists, motorcyclists, snowmobilers, farmers, anglers, hunters, boaters, birdwatchers, people exploring their Czech backgrounds, history buffs, and more. What is that worth? Can we accurately measure the economic impact of such a place? Is it worth more than a 2 mile road resurfacing? Is it worth more than a new Secondary Roads shed?

As of this writing, it appears there will be ZERO local match required to restore the bridge. So no County dollars will go toward the project. The cost of future maintenance would be a County expense, but given the fact that FEMA would be bringing it up to code, there should be very little in the way of maintenance expenses for 10-20 years.

Even the future maintenance looks good from a taxpayer’s perspective. The Sutliff Bridge Authority (SBA) has raised tens of thousands of dollars over 25+ years to maintain and insure this bridge. They are willing to put roughly $10,000 toward the future maintenance right now, with more to come very shortly. $10,000 should cover the maintenance costs for a long, long time. Plus, they have pledged to continue to raise funds into the future. I trust them and believe in them. History is on their side.

So the people of Johnson County are getting this replaced courtesy of the federal government. I can already hear the familiar refrain – “they are still our tax dollars!” Of course. No one wants to see the federal government waste money.

But this is an issue with any and every tax expenditure. If it benefits me, you think it is wasteful. If it benefits you, I think it is wasteful. People complain about waste in federal health programs, but ignore billions of waste in defense. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. There is little agreement as to how federal tax dollars are spent. That will not change any time soon.

Interestingly, the State of Iowa, Polk County, Des Moines, and Principal have combined forces to build a $12 million pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Des Moines River. Local tourism and economic development folks are calling this a huge draw. The DM project is 1/3 the length of the Sutliff Bridge, and spans a much smaller river. Why don’t we market our own treasure?

Johnson County has 59 structures on National Historic Registry, 41 of which are in Iowa City. These recognized structures include the Old Capitol, Plum Grove, Old Brick, the old Coralville Schoolhouse, the Johnson County Courthouse, the Englert Theater, Bethel AME Church, St. Mary's Catholic Church, and yes, the Sutliff Bridge. Federal, State, and local experts determined years ago that the bridge was one of 59 historic things in Johnson County worthy of saving. Can you imagine tearing any of these other structures down over a fear of future maintenance expenses?

My general inclination is to lean toward preserving things. I think we benefit from having a connection to and understanding of history. Too much of our past is gone, never to return. Do I think everything is worth saving? No. But I happen to believe that the investment in the Sutliff Bridge is worth it.

DID YOU KNOW? 31 million of Iowa's 36 million acres are dedicated to agriculture. (Source: Iowa Secretary of Ag Bill Northey.)

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

3-30-10

2010-03-27T12:07:00.000-05:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 3-30-10

I had the opportunity to watch President Obama’s speech at the UI Field House last Thursday. What a great opportunity! I am glad the President chose Johnson County as the location for this event.

Speaking of historic events, one year ago, the Iowa Supreme Court decision in the Varnum v. Brien case legalized same sex marriage in Iowa.

To commemorate the one-year anniversary of this event, a rally will be held on the Pentacrest from 10-11 AM on Tuesday, March 30.

Please note – it has been a year. Hundreds of same sex couples have married. The world has not come to an end. No one has been hurt by the change. There are just a few more people out there with a few more rights. It is all good.

Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it! Please take care if you are travelling, and have a safe holiday.

If you are staying in town Easter weekend, please join the volunteers at the Agape Café for a breakfast fundraiser on Saturday, April 3 from 8-11 AM at Old Brick.

For the past 17 years, the Agape Café has served a hot breakfast to low income and homeless folks every Wednesday. Now you can experience the same fine food for a free will donation.

$40 will buy enough groceries to run the café for one week. If you cannot attend, checks can be sent to the Episcopal Campus Ministry at 320 East College Street, Iowa City.

I wrote several months ago about a group of local people who are attempting to create a website that will link folks who can barter their goods and services.

This seems like a great idea, and I am now told that the website has been improved. Check it out at:

An interesting discussion has been taking place at the federal level when it comes to the deficit. GOP lawmakers are quick to voice their concerns that the Stimulus program, jobs programs, and other Obama initiatives include deficit spending.

Big deficits concern many Americans. (If it did not poll well, the GOP would not be repeating it!) Deficits SHOULD concern Americans. We obviously would prefer to have a balanced budget.

But the issue is not so simple. Just as individual families borrow to do big things (such as buying homes), so does the federal government. The whole key is deciding – when is it worth going into debt?

Going into debt to fund an ill-advised war in Iraq made no sense to me then, and makes less sense to me 8 years later.

Personally, I do not have a problem increasing the deficit if it puts people back to work, stabilizes the economy, and creates valuable public infrastructure. This is exactly what FDR accomplished through the large public works programs of the 1930s.

Also similar to the 30s – we need to couple any deficit spending with reregulation of the financial sector, so that future Presidents are not faced with the mess President Obama inherited. Unfortunately, we forgot the 1930s by the time Graham-Leach-Bliley deregulation was signed by President Bush.

The current economic situation in the US calls for a huge jobs program, one that leaves us with a much improved and more efficient infrastructure when it is over.

Deficit spending can work politically, too. In 1982, President Reagan was facing the S&L scandal, 10% unemployment, 14% inflation, and interest rates as high as 21%. Reagan sat at a low 35% approval rating as he approached the 1983 State of the Union.

How did Reagan get out of this mess? In large part, it was deficit spending. He increased government spending to levels never before seen in our Country’s history. The economy gradually improved, Reagan won reelection, and that moment in history is largely forgotten. (The debt took a while to pay off, but no one recalls that today.)

Deficit spending is not my preferred way to go, but sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. These are desperate times.

DID YOU KNOW? 18% of Johnson County 11th graders report binge drinking in the past 30 days. (Source: ICCSD Iowa Youth Survey data.)

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

3-30-10

2010-03-27T11:46:00.001-05:00

3-23-10

2010-03-21T16:58:00.000-05:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 3/23/10

If it has not arrived already, you should be getting your Census form very soon. Please fill it out accurately and send it back!

An accurate Census makes a big difference financially for local governments. It is estimated that approximately $3500 comes back to a community for each individual that is counted. Fail to count 1000 folks, and you have essentially missed out on $3.5 million!

So please do your part, and submit your census data. It is important for all of us!

I am frustrated by the recent suggestion that the ICCSD use SILO money to keep property taxes lower.

The SILO is a sales tax, and is more regressive than property taxes. (Despite the opinions of some in the community, this fact is NOT in dispute. The vast majority of all economists agree.)

So by using the SILO, the ICCSD would, in effect, be shifting the expense of running our schools from wealthier people to poorer people. I opposed the SILO tax in the first place, and I oppose this shift of funds.

The ICCSD talks constantly about the difficulties they face in dealing with students who live in poverty. Why exacerbate the situation?

The Board of Supervisors had some interesting discussions regarding the creation of Level C roads.

A bit of background: most county roads are Level A. Some little-used roadways are signed “Level B – Minimum Maintenance”. These are usually dirt roads, and Johnson County attempts to minimize the amount of time and money that go into maintaining these roadways. There are currently about 45 miles of Level B roadways in Johnson County.

Level C roads are not commonly used in Iowa, but appear more frequently in the western US. Level C roads are maintained at the same low level as Level B roads. Level C roads remain public roadways, but private landowners are given permission to gate and lock the roads.

Locally, some farmers would like the option of Level C roads. They use these roads to access their farm fields. Unfortunately, some folks choose to tear these roads up with ATVs and/or mud-running trucks. They create ruts and damage that cause a hardship for the farmers. I am sympathetic to these farmers, who are simply trying to do their jobs.

That said, I am opposed to the use of Level Cs for several reasons:

1. A better option exists. We can just vacate county interest in the road, and give it to the adjacent landowners. This way, the landowners can block the road, but the county collects taxes on the land, and is absolved of all liability. Some Level B roads are very close to cities, and should be preserved for future use. Most are in very rural areas, and would serve everyone better if they were just converted to private driveways. I firmly believe Johnson County needs to consider vacating several miles worth of Level B roads.

2. Level C roads transfer the control of a public asset (the road) to a private citizen. Level Cs remain public property; how can we justify awarding private control? This would just amount to privatizing the profits but socializing the costs.

3. If we give keys only to adjacent landowners, we are picking and choosing a select group of citizens that have permission to use a public asset. What about a farmer who does not own adjacent land, but uses the road as a cut through between two parcels? Shouldn’t he have a right to a key? What about hunters who want to use it as a cut through? What about snowmobilers who use the road? I do not think it is wise to begin choosing who gets access and who doesn’t.

4. If we give landowners the option of Level C roads, everyone would choose it. Who wouldn’t want to limit the traffic that goes by their property? I would imagine that we would soon be asked to switch all 45 miles of Level B to Level C. Sure, we would not be required to do so… but what justification would we use for saying no?

The Board decided to pass on Level C roads for now. I hope the topic never returns. Meanwhile, I hope we consider vacating more Level B roads. I firmly believe that this would allow the county to put valuable resources toward the roads that really need it, and to relieve the taxpayers from subsidizing what is essentially private property.

In case you missed this news: Historians criticized proposed revisions to the new Texas social studies curriculum, saying that many of the changes are historically inaccurate and that they would affect textbooks and classrooms far beyond the state's borders.

The changes, which were preliminarily approved last week by the Texas Board of Education, will reach define what textbooks must include and what teachers must cover.

The curriculum plays down the role of Thomas Jefferson among the founding fathers, questions the separation of church and state, and claims that the U.S. government was infiltrated by Communists during the Cold War.

I’m not sure I even need to comment on this. I find it amazing on one hand, but sadly unsurprising on the other.

DID YOU KNOW? Johnson County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 157 people for OWI in 2009.

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

3-16-10

2010-03-12T16:39:00.001-06:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 3/16/10

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! I have shared this before, but Saint Patrick’s Day is a very important day to my family and I. We are very proud of our Irish heritage.

Here is a little Irish Blessing to start your Saint Patrick’s celebration:

May your troubles be less,
And your blessings be more.
And nothing but happiness,
Come through your door.

On a much more somber note, March 19, 2010 marks the beginning of the 8th year of war in Iraq. President Obama has promised that all combat troops will be out of Iraq by August 31 of this year, with all troops out by December 31. It is up to us to hold him to this promise.

To mark this occasion, there will be a pair of vigils: from 7-8 AM and from 7-8 PM. Interested folks should meet at the Pentacrest; call 354-1925 for more information.

The Board recently passed nine amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance, the document that sets our Planning and Zoning rules. (See our website for full details.)

I am most proud of a change we made to disallow new homes from being constructed on dirt roads. It passed 3-1, with Supervisor Neuzil absent.

Residences on dirt roads are nightmares for the farmers who have to work around them. Nothing exacerbates the urban-rural conflict like allowing more of these. I am glad this change was made.

In a recent edition (2/23) of Salvos, I wrote about populism and how it relates to the Tea Party movement.

In the 3/9 edition of the Register, UI Professor, Historian, and all-around great guy Shel Stromquist writes a much better piece on the same topic! I urge you to check it out.

I had a great visit to the City of Tiffin recently. As you may or may not know, Tiffin is among the fastest-growing cities in Iowa, and given the great location, is poised to grow even more.

This leads to several challenges. Lots of new residents demand lots of new services. Long time residents want to maintain the small town they love. Increases in traffic, police calls, sewer and water usage, etc. present challenges. A new high school is a great addition, but brings several expenses and little money to city coffers. Everything costs more, but everyone wants to pay less.

Through it all, a dedicated City Council tries to steer the ship with few staff on minimal pay. I certainly appreciate everything that all of our small-town councilors do, especially the fine folks in Tiffin!

Speaking of cities, I have been watching the debate over the franchise fees in Iowa City and Coralville. While I understand the desire of these cities to diversify their revenues, I do not favor these taxes. The franchise fees will disproportionately affect our poorest residents.

I remember former State Representative (former Mayor and Supervisor, too, for that matter!) Dick Myers eloquently defending the vote to cut the sales tax on utilities. Even though the State coffers needed the money, Myers could not justify an additional tax on a necessary utility that significantly impacted the poor. He led the fight to get this regressive tax repealed.

Local governments love to hire consultants. I have an idea: let’s all band together and hire Dick Myers! I think we would get a better product in the end.

The Iowa Legislature is wrapping up the shortest session in memory, and I have several thoughts:

*Neither party has anything to fear from organized labor. Democrats, in particular, should be embarrassed for not doing more for working people.

*I appreciate the fact that the majority of the Democrats in the Iowa Legislature agree with the Iowa Supreme Court, and recognize that civil rights should never be put to a vote of the majority.

*I find it amazing that we cannot get enough votes to protect bicyclists. Do the people in the bigger, faster, stronger, safer vehicles really need more advantages?

*This is very “inside baseball”, but the Local Option Sales Tax TIF might be the worst legislation in the history of this state. Senator Gronstal should be ashamed!

*There is some very good common sense stuff in the reorganization bill. Kudos to the Legislature for accomplishing this.

*The most offensive moment in this session? When Representative Matt Windschitl (R-Missouri Valley) suggested that rather than punishing offenders, victims of domestic violence should be forced to take self-defense classes. Victim blaming to the extreme!

*My own State Senator, Joe Bolkcom (D-Iowa City) had a great session, focusing on the lack of accountability in Iowa’s many tax credit programs. Thanks, Joe!

DID YOU KNOW? 18% of Johnson County 11th graders report being physically bullied in the past 30 days. (Source: ICCSD Iowa Youth Survey data.)

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

3-9-10

2010-03-06T16:58:00.000-06:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 3/9/10

There is a change coming to rural parts of the US, including the rural portions of Johnson County. This is a quiet, slow-moving, and devastating change. No, it is not disease, insects, or some other plague. It is wealth transfer.

Most folks do not realize it, but the US is undergoing the most massive transfer of wealth in the history of the planet. There are lots of people in their 80s and older, and many of them are nearing the end of life. As they age, their assets are being passed down to the next generation. On the farm, this becomes a huge problem.

For the most part, the folks inheriting the wealth are not farmers, and they do not live in the small communities where the farm sits. Why does that matter?

Let’s use a hypothetical Lone Tree couple as an example. While this is all made up, the example should ring true. You have an 85-year-old couple who farmed 300 acres outside of Lone Tree their whole lives. They have two adult children – a son in Des Moines and a daughter in Chicago. Five adult grandkids are spread around the US.

The Dad coached little league, spent ten years on the Board of the local F&M bank, served twenty years as a Fremont Township Trustee, and is a member of the Lone Tree American Legion. The Mom was a Cub Scout Den Mother, a 4H leader, a Deacon in the Presbyterian Church, and a regular volunteer with Lone Tree Schools and Pioneer Village.

The couple was active in church activities, and even in older age could be counted on to support every school fundraiser. They had a blast selling tomatoes and sweet corn at the Lone Tree Farmer’s Market. Every time the Lone Tree Volunteer Fire Department held a pancake breakfast or chili supper, they slipped an extra $20 into the donation box.

After long, full, wonderful lives, they pass away. The children in Des Moines and Chicago are in the final ten years of their own careers; they cannot drop everything to return to Fremont Township to farm. The 5 grandkids do not know anything about farming, and the idea of living in rural Iowa scares them.

So, the son in Des Moines decides to sell his half. The daughter in Chicago just cannot bear to sell the family farm, so she decides to hire a farm manager and rent out her half.

But who gets what? Mom & Dad never really spelled it out. About half of the ground is prime farmland, a quarter was hay and pasture, and a quarter included the house, barns, and some woods. The daughter wants to keep the house, but also wants the good land, because the rest is much tougher to rent. The son wants to sell the good farmland, because it will bring a better price. They end up chunking the family farm into three sections, two of which are sold and one that is rented.

The son gets $600,000 cash after the sale. He pays off his house in Des Moines, buys a new car in Urbandale, and gives $20,000 to each of his three kids. Even after all that, he has plenty to put in his Des Moines-based bank.

The daughter gets $100,000 cash, and begins renting the land. A local farmer pays cash rent to her. All the money is deposited in her Chicago-based bank.

Can you see what happened? The land is still in Fremont Township, but the money is all gone. Money now flows from Fremont Township to Chicago. The monetary capital has been transferred.

Perhaps even more importantly, the Legion lost a member; the bank and restaurant lost customers; the fire department lost donors; and the school, nursing home, and church lost volunteers. The human capital is gone.

I used a fictional couple and Lone Tree as examples, but this scenario is playing out all over the Midwest. Unfortunately, the story is often sad, and there are no good solutions.

What can we take away from this? I hope that younger locals will recognize how much this couple has contributed to the community, and do their best to pick up the slack. Meanwhile, if you have ideas, please share them. I think we need good suggestions in order to avert a real crisis.

The Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County is currently accepting donations of new or used baseball and softball equipment for boys and girls age 5 to 13. Items can be dropped off at 2105 Broadway St. in Iowa City, or contact James (354-7989; james-mims@ncjc.org ) to arrange for a pick-up.

Needed equipment includes: Mitts (gloves), right and left-handed. Batting gloves. Stirrups or stirrup socks. Regulation Bats. Baseball shoes (rubber cleats). Equipment/bat bags. Regulation sliding shorts and kneepads (required for girls in softball). Baseball pants.

Please donate and help a child make the most of his/her little league experience.

DID YOU KNOW? The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office took 23,000 911 calls in 2009.

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

3-2-10

2010-03-06T16:57:00.001-06:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 3/2/10

I continue to be amazed by how little attention anyone pays to local government. My bet is that less than 2-3% of the voting age population in Johnson County could name all 5 Supervisors. My guess is that City Council members would be slightly better known in their home communities, but not much; School Board members would be known by virtually no one.

It is also frustrating the way the bodies are lumped together – you hear people say, “The School Board feels,” or “The Council thinks,” when in reality, there are widely divergent views among the members. I have only seen 5-6 articles in my 6 years on the Board that really attempted to flush out the differences between individual Supervisors, and those were all in the Solon Economist/North Liberty Leader.

The problems with this lack of information should be evident. One of the biggest issues is a distinct lack of accountability. There are some pretty poor votes being cast out there, and no one seems to know. Similarly, there are some real acts of courage that go completely unnoticed.

Virtually no one knows what we do or why we do it, and even fewer voice any type of well-reasoned opinion. The few people I hear from regularly fall into two distinct categories: 1) people who hate me with such a passion that they will not believe me even when I explain that I voted the way they wanted; 2) friends who tell me “good job” no matter what I have done. Both groups are very small. It is all really, really sad.

I have serious concerns about the state of our local governmental units. We are desperate for the media to take note, and for the public to get involved.

I am interested in your thoughts. Do you feel I’m being too pessimistic? Do you have any ideas for improving the situation?

A public hearing on the FY11 County budget will be held at 6 PM on Wednesday, March 3 at the County Administration Building.

Following the hearing the budget can be lowered, but not increased. A formal vote on the budget will be held at 5:30 PM on March 11; the budget is due to the State by March 15.

Some budget highlights…

*The budget is actually significantly lower this year ($75 million) than last ($84 million); most of that change is a result of the Joint Emergency Communication Center budget. They spent a lot of money on their building and equipment in FY10; their budget is lower (but not as low as I’d like) this year.

*The proposed budget contains a small tax increase in the General Fund, mostly to cover the 2.75 and 2.8% raises negotiated by the six county bargaining units. There are 4 FTEs being added to the payroll – two in the Ambulance Department and two Sheriff’s Deputies.

*A larger increase is proposed in the Rural Fund. The Board is concerned about falling behind in terms of rural road maintenance – hence the increase. At the same time, I think the Board will reduce rural taxes if enough residents speak up for lower taxes versus better roads. We’ll see what happens.

A sure sign that spring is upon us… the 27th annual Prairie Preview will be Tuesday, March 9 at Parkview Church.

If you enjoy the outdoors, care about the environment, or just have cabin fever, this event is a must-do!

The event begins at 6:30, with a 7:30 presentation by writer and photographer Bill Witt. For further info, see www.jcht.org.

The Compeer Program, with the mission of matching community volunteers with people being treated for a mental illness, is holding the 7th annual “Sound of Friendship” concert at 7 PM on March 6th at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church. Enjoy desserts plus the music of Dan Moore, Kol Shira, and the Pan American Steel Drum Band.

Tickets are $20 and available at the door. Compeer is funded entirely by the fundraising efforts of the Compeer Board of Directors. If you are unable to attend, but would like to support the event by purchasing tickets to be donated to people with mental illness, please feel free to purchase a ticket anyway and Compeer will make sure a Community Mental Health Center client receives it.

For more info, call 338-7884 extension #245 or E-mail compeer@meimhc.org.

DID YOU KNOW? Johnson County SEATS made over 103,500 trips in 2009.

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

3-2-10

2010-03-06T15:55:00.001-06:00

2-23-10

2010-02-21T14:48:00.001-06:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 2/23/10

I have observed the recent Tea Party movement with great interest. The protesters obviously lean more right than left, but I see a great deal of populist rage among the protesters.

Populism can come from left, center, or right on the political spectrum. I have always viewed myself as a populist, and I have always felt that the Democratic Party is most successful when it stays close to its populist underpinnings. I wish Democrats in all elected offices spent more time thinking about the little gal/guy.

Still, it has always seemed to me that Democratic Party represents a more populist platform than the Republicans. With a few notable exceptions, it seems that the Democratic Party platform should have greater appeal to the average gal/guy. The fact that Dems are not faring well on the national stage is due in large part the fact that they have veered away from the populist issues that matter to Americans.

Some very interesting analysis from Nate Silver at 538.com backs this up.

I urge you to follow the link and read the whole article at: http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/02/republicans-not-obama-more-often-on.html.

In summary: of 25 issues, Obama's position appears to be on the side of public opinion on 14: the bank tax, repealing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, campaign finance, the credit card bill, D.C. voting rights, fair pay, financial regulation, gays in the military, hate crimes, the jobs bill, mortgage relief, PAYGO, SCHIP, and Sotomayor.

Obama would appear to be on the wrong side of public opinion on five issues: the GM/Chrysler bailout, Guantanamo Bay, health care, the extension of the TARP program, and terrorist trials. On the other six issues, the polling is probably too ambiguous to render a clear verdict.

While I find this interesting, polls are only worth so much. There is an inherent flaw in attempting to govern by polls. For one thing, polls are merely a picture in time, whereas public opinion is in constant flux. Another issue is that it is tough to ask the right questions. Follow ups are often not permitted.

Even when the polling data is good, using it can be problematic. For example, polls will pretty much always say that people want more government services, yet want to pay less in taxes. How does one use that data? Similarly, polls always show that while folks dislike Congress, they tend to like and respect their own Representative.

Obviously, there is more to governing than simply following public opinion. For example, in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s it took courage from Presidents of both parties to end the most egregious racist policies in the US. The end of Jim Crow may not have been popular with most Americans of that era, but it was the right thing to do.

On the other hand, routinely failing to listen to public opinion is a surefire recipe for disaster. Time will tell if our leaders grasp this notion.

A quick follow-up on a couple issues highlighted in recent editions of Salvos:

While much of the damage is done, you still have an opportunity to ask the Joint Emergency Communication Center (JECC) Board to back off on hiring for several unnecessary positions. See http://www.rodsullivan.org/2010/01/1-27-10.html and http://www.rodsullivan.org/2010/02/2-2-10_19.html for more info.

On another topic, Iowa City acted on annexing 132 acres of land just north of I-80. Now is the time to begin charging an impact fee to developers in this area! I do not want to say “I told you so” in 20 years; I want us to do this correctly now! For more info, see http://www.rodsullivan.org/2010/01/1-19-10.html

Save the date! Night of 1,000 Dinners—Haiti Benefit is going to be held Thursday, March 4 from 5-7pm at the Old Brick. Tickets are $10 and proceeds will go to the United Nations Development Fund for Women’s (UNIFEM) efforts in Haiti.

This year’s event (like in previous years) will feature international foods, speakers, and music. This year’s speakers are Drs. Ginny and Chris Buresh two Iowa City locals who recently organized a medical aid trip to Haiti.

The Iowa UNA is currently looking for cosponsors ($50 or more and/or food) and for food donors. If you’re interested, please let me know and I’ll pass it on.

The Iowa City Chamber of Commerce Agribusiness/Bioscience Committee is providing two scholarship opportunities for youth involved in agriculture. The first scholarship is the “2010 Outstanding Farm Youth Scholarship.” The applicant for this scholarship must demonstrate exceptional achievement in farming, academics and community involvement. 2010 high school graduates who live in Johnson County are eligible for the $750 scholarship.

The second scholarship is the “Community Foundation of Johnson County and Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce Flood 2008 Agriculture Scholarship” This scholarship is intended for individuals involved in agriculture who were directly affected by the flood of 2008. Finalists will go through an interview. Scholarships would range from $500-$2500, at the discretion of the selection committee.

To learn more about either scholarship contact Heather Johnson at 337-9637 or heather@iowacityarea.com. Applications are due April 1 to the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce.

DID YOU KNOW? Iowa City had 270 homes damaged to the tune of $52 million in the floods of 2008. (Source: Iowa City.)

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

2-16-10

2010-02-19T13:01:00.002-06:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 2/16/10

Happy Mardis Gras! The Saints get their first Super Bowl victory, and now Mardis Gras! Congrats to the fine folks of New Orleans! Laissez les bon temps rouler!

The City and County Conference Boards met recently to discuss the performances and budgets of the Iowa City and Johnson County Assessors.

Assessors are the folks who determine the value of all our taxable real estate. Every county has an Assessor; so do several of the larger cities. In some areas, notably Des Moines/Polk County and Waterloo/Black Hawk County, the City Assessor’s Office has been absorbed by the County Assessor’s Office.

The Iowa City Assessor handles all the property inside Iowa City proper; the Johnson County Assessor does everything else. The IC Assessor is responsible for about $4.3 billion in appraised value; the JC Assessor is responsible for about $5.5 billion. Both serve a little over 65,000 residents.

Houses, businesses, farms and the like all go up and down in value. Because Johnson County has historically been viewed as a very good place to live, property values here have gone up steadily. While property values across the country crashed as the housing bubble broke, property values in Johnson County have remained fairly flat.

Property tax-levying governmental units (county, cities, schools) are represented on the Conference Boards. So the IC Assessor’s Office is overseen by Johnson County, Iowa City, and the ICCSD. The JC Assessor’s Office is overseen by Johnson County, ten cities (all but IC), and ten school districts (including the ICCSD).

Now for some very good news: Assessors are measured for accuracy and ranked every year. The IC Assessor’s Office ranked #8 in the state out of about 115 offices. The JC Assessor’s Office ranked #1. That is correct – Johnson County was number one!

In addition to being number one as a simple matter of pride, we should be extremely pleased by these results. This means that property tax payers are likely paying their fair share. You are not likely paying too much, nor are you paying too little, relative to all property tax payers. That is a very good thing.

We are being well served by our Assessors. Congratulations to Iowa City Assessor Denny Baldridge, Johnson County Assessor Bill Greazel, and all their employees on these tremendous accomplishments!

I have not yet weighed in publicly on the ICCSD redistricting discussions, but I certainly do have some thoughts:

First, parents (and other adults) need to chill. If you make statements such as, “this will do irreparable damage to the psycho-social well-being of my child”, you may be correct. But it will not be the ICCSD doing the damage… it will be overreactive parents.

Secondly, the ICCSD is a great district. I am confident that it will remain outstanding regardless of how this turns out. There are hundreds of millions of children in this world less privileged than those in the ICCSD. Let’s count our blessings.

Thirdly, parents need to try to look at the overall good of the community. There is a substantial body of scholarly evidence showing that elementary schools achieve much better academically when the percentage of students getting free and reduced lunch is under 50%. So let’s try to reduce these concentrations of poverty. We know right now that Shimek will never have the same percentage as Twain. It makes no sense to try to make them exactly the same. But Shimek’s percentage can easily go up without adverse affects, while Twain would benefit from less poor kids. So why not see if this can be achieved through reasonable means? It is better for EVERYONE if we improve in this regard.

Fourthly, Board and Administration… you KNEW people were going to have a fit about this. So do whatever you can to eliminate extraneous issues. (Have plenty of parking at meetings, allow plenty of time for comments, have mikes that work, etc.) Then, make some decisions. Decide quickly, but take some time with implementation.

Fifthly, and most importantly… this process has uncovered some real ugliness. We cannot back down from these challenges; we must address them. My children are African American. It pains me to know that people hold so many preconceived negative notions about them. Johnson County is home to lots of good people of all different backgrounds; unfortunately, we have a few residents who cause a lot of problems. Hold those folks accountable, but do not blame a whole ethic group for the transgressions of a few people.

Finally, once the dust settles and a decision is made, let’s support our schools. Get involved. Volunteer. Read to kids. Lead a scout troop. Coach a youth team. Become a foster parent. You can make a significant difference in the lives of our children.

The Sullivan for Supervisor team will be Bowling For Kids Sake once again this year. We have room on our team for two bowlers… would you like to join the cause? If so, let me know! Otherwise, we would love to have you sponsor us. Just go to the BBBS website at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/johnson/bbbs/

And follow the links.

DID YOU KNOW? In 1930, Iowa had 230,000 farms. In 2008, Iowa had 90,000. (Source: ISU Extension.)

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

2-9-10

2010-02-19T12:59:00.000-06:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 2/9/10

I continue to have significant difficulty with my E-mail. Mediacom changed things, and they do not support Entourage, which is my E-mail system. So I had to try to migrate Salvos to Mediacom’s webmail; now several servers see my weekly E-mail as spam.

In short, if you know someone who used to get Salvos but seems to get it no longer, contact me. I’ll try to fix it. Another option - Salvos get posted each week on my website: http://rodsullivan.org. You can find them all there.

I apologize for all these technological difficulties. They hurt me more than they hurt you - I assure you!

Happy 90th birthday to the League of Women Voters! Not only is the national organization celebrating 90 years, but so is the Johnson County chapter!

Good government does not just happen. It occurs because people pay attention and get involved. The League has done this better than any other group over the past 90 years.

If you have ever seen a Legislative or candidate forum in Johnson County, odds are it was sponsored by the League. These are but a few of the valuable services this group provides.

This might also be an appropriate time to give a shout out to League member Jean Lakin, who is assigned to observe the Board of Supervisors. Jean is diligent about attending Board meetings, and clearly understands the issues we are facing. It is great to know that Jean is “keeping us honest”, so to speak.

The League is celebrating 90 years with a luncheon from 11:30 -1:30 on February 24 at the Linn Street Café. See http://www.lwvjc.org for more details.

There has been a bit of public discussion lately as to the proper roles of elected officials in relation to that of their professional staffs.

On one hand, you have members of the public demanding that elected officials “listen”, “represent the people”, and “do their jobs”. On the other hand, you have elected officials voicing concerns over “micromanaging” staff. Which side is correct? Like most situations, there are shades of gray here.

Elected bodies adopt rules and regulations to control the behavior of their members. Every so often, a “rogue” elected official makes things uncomfortable for her/his peers. Then the body rushes to pass rules to rein her/him in. I understand this motivation.

I see electeds err on this side too frequently, however, and I think it stifles them. Many groups tie themselves into knots with procedural rules. A School Board member cannot speak directly to a parent because of protocols. A City Council member cannot speak directly to a city staff person due to chain of command. These internal structures and rules exist for a reason, but they often paralyze elected officials. They become more concerned with process than with doing what is right.

I like the model used by the Board of Supervisors. All 5 Supes are directly elected by the people. The ultimate responsibility for what happens in Johnson County lies with us. We often have differences of opinion regarding the “micromanaging” of staff. When that happens, it is up to a majority of the Board to rein in our “rogue”.

So what is the answer? It is actually quite easy! Most importantly, ELECT GOOD PEOPLE! Once good people are elected, they need to HIRE GOOD EMPLOYEES! Most of the debate over the proper role of elected officials occurs because SOMEBODY is not doing her/his job.

One of the neatest things I have had the privilege to do in my 5 years as a County Supervisor is to serve on the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) Scholarship Committee.

Each year, ISAC gives one scholarship of a couple thousand dollars in each of 6 geographical districts; one of these 6 gets a top overall award of roughly $7,500. So this scholarship money can make a real difference! To be eligible, students must have a parent who works for county government.

During the three years I have served, I have met some truly amazing young people – including some Johnson County kids. Iowans, our future looks bright! I travelled to Des Moines recently for yet another scholarship competition. It left me impressed once again!

I attended the Grand Opening of the new Swisher Library on Saturday. Congratulations to this wonderful town on this wonderful accomplishment!

The Sullivan for Supervisor team will be Bowling For Kids Sake once again this year. We have room on our team for two bowlers… would you like to join the cause? If so, let me know! Otherwise, we would love to have you sponsor us. Just go to the BBBS website at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/johnson/bbbs/

And follow the links.

DID YOU KNOW? 7% of Iowa’s farmers are under 35; 29% are over 65. (Source: ISU Extension.)

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

2-2-10

2010-02-19T12:57:00.000-06:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 2/2/10

I am still steamed about the Joint Emergency Communications Center. To be completely clear… this is no Johnny-come-lately thing for me. I have been fighting what I see as problems with the JECC since the very beginning. If you need proof, check our minutes and check their minutes. (There isn’t much to their minutes, but they do show me in attendance twice.)

Some JECC members think they should have had the same levy forever. I always thought the first year amount of .77 was a max. Once you have paid for the building, towers, and radios… why would you need that same amount of money over and over again?

An analogy… I buy a $4000 car. I pay for the car, tax, title, license, insurance, etc. Then I have some gas and maintenance costs. So my first year of car ownership actually costs $6000.

So when I sit down to do my family budget, do I plug in $6000 for the next year? Of course not – I already own the car! I still have some expenses, and I should probably set aside a little extra just in case. But I will not need $6000 again.

The JECC has gotten somewhere in the neighborhood of $17 million in two budget years. (Maybe more, maybe less… they couldn’t answer the question until 5 days ago.) They cannot possibly require $8.5 million per year forever.

Sure, they need to put away some money for contingencies. But more than the total reserve of Johnson County? The public really needs to weigh in as to what is the appropriate amount of savings. The JECC Board needs to listen to some people who understand financial policy and not their consultants.

While I am pleased that the JECC Board reduced their levy, they did the exact opposite of what I requested. They STILL have a bloated budget; they simply dipped into reserves to pay for it. They needed to cut spending instead!

This is even worse, in some ways, because they are still going to hire several unnecessary staff people. When we have this same fight in a year, those people will be entrenched. These unneeded positions will NEVER go away – NEVER. So next year, we will see the same bloated budget, just more difficult to fix. The problem was simply kicked down the road.

It was also disappointing to find that they overspent an $11 million equipment budget by $1 million dollars! (They made up the difference through unspent operational funds.) I am told this is because the consultant could only give them an estimate in terms of the number of radios needed. I would argue that this simply points out that the consultant is likely not worth the money he was paid, and should not be trusted to offer advice on things - such as staffing.

At least now they seem to know how much they have in each account. If I have accomplished nothing else, at least we have that. The Board of Supervisors has requested a quarterly financial report; I hope the cities and other groups do so as well.

Meanwhile, thanks to all of you who have inquired into this venture. We need the public to get involved in these issues; government produces a better product that way. Please continue to pay attention!

The Domestic Violence Intervention Program (DVIP) Souper Bowl event is Thursday, February 4 from 5:30-7:30 at the Quality Inn, Highlander. Tickets are $20.00 at the door.

This annual event is DVIP’s biggest fundraiser, and goes a long ways toward providing shelter to victims of domestic violence in Johnson County.

The Sullivan for Supervisor team will be Bowling For Kids Sake once again this year. We have room on our team for two bowlers… would you like to join the cause? If so, let me know! Otherwise, we would love to have you sponsor us. Just go to the BBBS website at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/johnson/bbbs/

And follow the links.

The Compensation Board met recently to recommend the salaries of our County elected officials. For the record, here is where we stand now:

Johnson County is either the 4th or 5th most populous county. (Blackhawk and Johnson counties have extremely similar populations, both at just over 130,000.) Given that, it seems to make sense that the salaries of elected officials would rank in the #3 to #6 range. If we maintain that type of comparability, we would be doing well.

Office Salary Rank Comparisons

Supervisors 51,107 4 $10,000 behind #3; $5,000 ahead of #5

Attorney 121,246 4 $7,000 behind #3; $12,000 ahead of #5

Sheriff 94,393 6 $2,000 behind #5; $3,000 ahead of #7

Auditor 73,287 5 $1,000 behind #4; $5,000 ahead of #6

Recorder 73,040 4 $1,000 behind #3; $7,500 ahead of #5

Treasurer 73,040 5 $1,000 behind #4; $7,000 ahead of #6

As the chart demonstrates, every elected official in Johnson County ranks between #4 and #6 in salary. In addition, each job pays about 10% more than the next highest paid in the state, the exceptions being the Auditor, who is 7% ahead of #6, and the Sheriff, who is 3.2% ahead of #7.

Then you have the issue of benefits. Elected Officials do not have to punch a clock. They do not have to request sick time, vacation time, or personal days. They come and go as they please. Most county employees – those who break a sweat, punch a clock, and work on the front lines – will be getting a 2.75% raise.

Given all this, I find it hard to argue that elected officials deserve a raise. The Comp Board had 4 members vote for a 2% raise, and 2 people vote for zero. So the official recommendation was 2%.

When it came time for the Board of Supervisors to vote, the motion was made for 1.4%. I asked for less, but three members approved a 1.4% raise for each elected official. So 1.4% it is. More than I would like, but the Board works by democracy.

But let’s also address the fact that some folks see the answer to every budget as no raises for elected officials.

The ten elected officials combined earn about $689,000. A 1.4% raise = $9,646 total for ten people. (Sups will earn an additional $700 each next year.) A $75 million dollar budget cannot be fixed (nor broken) by $9,000.

So go ahead and make the argument that elected officials do not deserve raises. I agree. We both wish the issue had gone differently. Just don’t pretend that $9,000 is a magic bullet.

DID YOU KNOW? Half of Iowa’s 3 million people live in the ten most populous counties. (Polk, Linn, Scott, Johnson, Black Hawk, Woodbury, Dubuque, Story, Pottawattamie, and Dallas.)

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

2-2-10

2010-02-17T17:26:00.001-06:00

2-2-10

2010-02-16T22:01:00.000-06:00

2-2-10

2010-02-16T21:29:00.001-06:00

2-2-10

2010-02-16T21:28:00.001-06:00

2-2-10

2010-02-16T21:26:00.000-06:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 2/2/10

2-2-10

I am still steamed about the Joint Emergency Communications Center. To be completely clear… this is no Johnny-come-lately thing for me. I have been fighting what I see as problems with the JECC since the very beginning. If you need proof, check our minutes and check their minutes. (There isn’t much to their minutes, but they do show me in attendance twice.)

Some JECC members think they should have had the same levy forever. I always thought the first year amount of .77 was a max. Once you have paid for the building, towers, and radios… why would you need that same amount of money over and over again?

An analogy… I buy a $4000 car. I pay for the car, tax, title, license, insurance, etc. Then I have some gas and maintenance costs. So my first year of car ownership actually costs $6000.

So when I sit down to do my family budget, do I plug in $6000 for the next year? Of course not – I already own the car! I still have some expenses, and I should probably set aside a little extra just in case. But I will not need $6000 again.

The JECC has gotten somewhere in the neighborhood of $17 million in two budget years. (Maybe more, maybe less… they couldn’t answer the question until 5 days ago.) They cannot possibly require $8.5 million per year forever.

Sure, they need to put away some money for contingencies. But more than the total reserve of Johnson County? The public really needs to weigh in as to what is the appropriate amount of savings. The JECC Board needs to listen to some people who understand financial policy and not their consultants.

While I am pleased that the JECC Board reduced their levy, they did the exact opposite of what I requested. They STILL have a bloated budget; they simply dipped into reserves to pay for it. They needed to cut spending instead!

This is even worse, in some ways, because they are still going to hire several unnecessary staff people. When we have this same fight in a year, those people will be entrenched. These unneeded positions will NEVER go away – NEVER. So next year, we will see the same bloated budget, just more difficult to fix. The problem was simply kicked down the road.

It was also disappointing to find that they overspent an $11 million equipment budget by $1 million dollars! (They made up the difference through unspent operational funds.) I am told this is because the consultant could only give them an estimate in terms of the number of radios needed. I would argue that this simply points out that the consultant is likely not worth the money he was paid, and should not be trusted to offer advice on things - such as staffing.

At least now they seem to know how much they have in each account. If I have accomplished nothing else, at least we have that. The Board of Supervisors has requested a quarterly financial report; I hope the cities and other groups do so as well.

Meanwhile, thanks to all of you who have inquired into this venture. We need the public to get involved in these issues; government produces a better product that way. Please continue to pay attention!

The Domestic Violence Intervention Program (DVIP) Souper Bowl event is Thursday, February 4 from 5:30-7:30 at the Quality Inn, Highlander. Tickets are $20.00 at the door.

This annual event is DVIP’s biggest fundraiser, and goes a long ways toward providing shelter to victims of domestic violence in Johnson County.

The Sullivan for Supervisor team will be Bowling For Kids Sake once again this year. We have room on our team for two bowlers… would you like to join the cause? If so, let me know! Otherwise, we would love to have you sponsor us. Just go to the BBBS website at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/johnson/bbbs/

And follow the links.

The Compensation Board met recently to recommend the salaries of our County elected officials. For the record, here is where we stand now:

Johnson County is either the 4th or 5th most populous county. (Blackhawk and Johnson counties have extremely similar populations, both at just over 130,000.) Given that, it seems to make sense that the salaries of elected officials would rank in the #3 to #6 range. If we maintain that type of comparability, we would be doing well.

Office Salary Rank Comparisons

Supervisors 51,107 4 $10,000 behind #3; $5,000 ahead of #5

Attorney 121,246 4 $7,000 behind #3; $12,000 ahead of #5

Sheriff 94,393 6 $2,000 behind #5; $3,000 ahead of #7

Auditor 73,287 5 $1,000 behind #4; $5,000 ahead of #6

Recorder 73,040 4 $1,000 behind #3; $7,500 ahead of #5

Treasurer 73,040 5 $1,000 behind #4; $7,000 ahead of #6

As the chart demonstrates, every elected official in Johnson County ranks between #4 and #6 in salary. In addition, each job pays about 10% more than the next highest paid in the state, the exceptions being the Auditor, who is 7% ahead of #6, and the Sheriff, who is 3.2% ahead of #7.

Then you have the issue of benefits. Elected Officials do not have to punch a clock. They do not have to request sick time, vacation time, or personal days. They come and go as they please. Most county employees – those who break a sweat, punch a clock, and work on the front lines – will be getting a 2.75% raise.

Given all this, I find it hard to argue that elected officials deserve a raise. The Comp Board had 4 members vote for a 2% raise, and 2 people vote for zero. So the official recommendation was 2%.

When it came time for the Board of Supervisors to vote, the motion was made for 1.4%. I asked for less, but three members approved a 1.4% raise for each elected official. So 1.4% it is. More than I would like, but the Board works by democracy.

But let’s also address the fact that some folks see the answer to every budget as no raises for elected officials.

The ten elected officials combined earn about $689,000. A 1.4% raise = $9,646 total for ten people. (Sups will earn an additional $700 each next year.) A $75 million dollar budget cannot be fixed (nor broken) by $9,000.

So go ahead and make the argument that elected officials do not deserve raises. I agree. We both wish the issue had gone differently. Just don’t pretend that $9,000 is a magic bullet.

DID YOU KNOW? Half of Iowa’s 3 million people live in the ten most populous counties. (Polk, Linn, Scott, Johnson, Black Hawk, Woodbury, Dubuque, Story, Pottawattamie, and Dallas.)

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

1-27-10

2010-01-25T16:42:00.001-06:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 1/27/10

I have never before done a special edition of Sullivan’s Salvos. Unfortunately, extreme issues call for extreme measures.

In 25+ years of observing the local government scene, I have witnessed many things that disappointed me. Unfortunately, NOTHING I have seen has been as egregious as the management of the Joint Emergency Communications Center (JECC).

Some background… there are two E911 dispatch centers in Johnson County; one is run by and serves Iowa City, the other is run by Johnson County and serves everyone else. These are being replaced by a joint venture known as JECC.

Several years ago, a confluence of four events led to discussions that ended up in the creation of the JECC. First, the League of Women Voters pushed for consolidation. Second, the terrorist attacks on 9/11/01 demonstrated the importance of public safety agencies being able to communicate with each other. Thirdly, we had own local disaster (the tornado of ‘06) that demonstrated this need on a local level. Finally and most importantly, Iowa City needed to replace its radio system.

It was decided that the two dispatch centers would be combined into one, and every public safety agency in Johnson County would get new and compatible radios. Everything would be funded through a county property tax levy. An intergovernmental (28E) organization was formed, and a 7 member Board was created to oversee the JECC. Then things began to go down hill.

For starters, JECC should have been run by the Sheriff. Since every citizen in the County was paying for this thing, it made sense that an elected official accountable to every citizen have that responsibility. I made this case in E-mails to the JECC Board; I even attended a JECC meeting to make the case in person. I was promptly shut down, primarily by Councilor Bailey, who wanted to “maintain some control” for Iowa City. That “control” has cost you at least $5,000,000 in unnecessary money so far, with more to come!

I tried to explain that the Sheriff represents all the people of Iowa City. In fact, the Sheriff received 28,000 votes in just Iowa City in 2008; the most any City Council candidate has EVER received is 10,000. So people of Iowa City understand what the Sheriff does– their leaders do not.

I then went to a fallback position… if having the Sheriff run the JECC was unacceptable to Iowa City, then let the ICPD run the thing. This, too, was shut down.

Because the JECC Board chose this route, they needed to begin creating bureaucracy. They hired a Director at a hefty salary, which would have been unnecessary under either of my scenarios. And they did not stop there! The unnecessary Director needed an unnecessary Assistant Director. One justification for this is that the Assistant would also provide tech support. Another justification – and I am NOT making this up – is that he will be needed to provide backup when the first unnecessary person is on vacation!

What happens next? They hire an additional full-time tech support person. Never mind that: A) the software vendors are already charging outrageous fees for tech support; B) they said unnecessary guy #2 was a tech person; C) neither IC nor Johnson County currently have a tech person dedicated to dispatch – estimates are that 2-3 hours per week is required right now; D) both IC & Johnson County could provide the tech support on an hourly basis; E) local businesses could provide the support on an hourly basis.

It gets even worse. There is an “Operations Director”. What in God’s name does he do? There is ZERO justification.

Here is another. The JECC is a secure facility. You cannot just drive up, and you cannot get in. But in their wisdom, the JECC Board approved the funding for a receptionist. Who will this person receive? Your tax dollars at work!

The JECC has $20,000 budgeted to replace computer equipment. All the computer equipment is brand new! Can they really be serious? How about $60,000 for negotiations? Johnson County negotiates 6 different contracts with two different unions representing 350 people and it runs about $20,000.

It goes further. Each of three 8-hour shifts will have a “Lead Dispatcher”. This makes sense, but not given the bureaucracy already in place. The number of dispatchers is not being reduced through this consolidation; the number is actually increasing.

The Director even advertised one position before it was approved! And now that these positions have been approved? They will NEVER go away. We will pay unnecessary salaries until the end of time.

The building is too expensive. Stop out and see the three (yes, three) stainless steel refrigerators you bought.

The budget was already outrageous. Now they want to increase it by 28%. That is right… an already bloated budget is going up 28%! Johnson County required all our departments to maintain flat budgets (not including negotiated raises) for the second straight year. These folks answer to no one, so they increase budgets 28%!

Now for the real kicker. The JECC already has $5,000,000 of our tax dollars in reserve. Not only is that amount outrageous, they want $10,000,000! Ten million dollars! For what?

To give this some perspective, Johnson County runs an $80,000,000 annual operation with about $2 million in reserve. Granted, that is a little lower than we’d like. But I cannot imagine why these folks need to sit on 4+ years’ worth of operating revenue. You are being taxed a tremendous amount so they can save 5 times the total County reserves.

When asked about the amount already in reserve, the Board and staff claimed they did not know how much was there, nor how it could be spent. Is this oversight? Shouldn’t those questions be answered prior to a budget being submitted?

The finances of the JECC are completely out of control. And there is nothing the Board of Supervisors can do to stop it. We are contractually obligated to accept the number they put forth. Salvos readers – you know I am not some anti-tax zealot. I believe in government. Unfortunately, this initiative will give local government a bad name.

Who has been responsible for these decisions? Tom Salm, Mayor of North Liberty; Mike Wright and Regenia Bailey, Iowa City Council; Pat Harney, Johnson County Board of Supervisors; Dave Wilson, Emergency Management. All of the above are elected officials except Wilson, who is appointed by a 28E Board similar to the JECC Board. In addition, John Lundell, Coralville City Council, is a new member. Unfortunately, all his votes in his one meeting were for greater spending and greater bureaucracy.

Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek also serves on the Board, but we should definitely not lump the Sheriff with the others. Sheriff Pulkrabek has been on the correct (but losing) side of every important vote the JECC Board has taken, including two recent 6-1 votes. It is ironic, because he is the only member of the JECC Board who has ever run a dispatch center, yet his colleagues refuse to listen to his advice. Keep fighting the good fight, Sheriff!

I’m sure the rest of the JECC Board will tell you they are only doing what their high-priced consultants told them to do. Here is a news flash – the consultants are not elected to manage our money. They are.

There is more blame to go around. I am extremely disappointed in the League of Women Voters on this issue. (As a matter of full disclosure, I am a dues-paying member of the League.) The League got this thing started, then walked away. There is no governmental entity more deserving of scrutiny than JECC, yet the League has taken no interest in the way it is being run. As the premiere watchdog of government in Johnson County, the League has fallen asleep on this one. I urge the League to begin monitoring JECC meetings. I also urge the JECC Board to make audio recordings of their meetings. The minutes as they are done currently say NOTHING.

I am outraged. You should be outraged. So, what can we do? They already ignore everything I say and everything the Sheriff says. I see three options: A) contact these people, and let them know you expect them to run JECC differently. If they refuse, then B) we can look into dissolving the 28E agreement. This would be difficult and costly, but not as costly as allowing the JECC Board members to continue their spending habits. I really hope it does not come to this.

This whole situation is a shame. A very good initiative has spun out of control. I am still a believer in the theory of joint communications, but I cannot support it in practice the way we are doing it here. Please call these folks TODAY and let them know how you feel!

DID YOU KNOW? Audio recordings of Board meetings are available on the Auditor’s web page.

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

1-26-10

2010-01-23T15:53:00.000-06:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 1/26/10

Congratulations to Supervisor Janelle Rettig who won a special election last week to maintain the seat to which she was appointed a few months ago.

Rettig won with 58% of the vote. I was impressed by Janelle’s ability to focus on the campaign given the unfortunate incidents of hate directed her way. Vote against her because of her record. Vote against her because of her opinions. But do not vote against her because she is a lesbian.

Unfortunately, some of the responses to her campaign demonstrated that Johnson County still has a lot of work to do. Meanwhile, the people have spoken (for now). We’ll be right back at the primaries in June!

We have recently witnessed one of the most devastating disasters in world history - the earthquake in Haiti. I hesitate to call it a natural disaster… when an earthquake of similar strength hit more densely populated San Francisco in 1989, only about 60 people perished.

Over 100,000 Haitians have died as a result of this event. Haiti was devastated by this event because of the crushing poverty that envelopes that country. Please do what you can to donate to disaster relief in Haiti.

I want to mark the recent passings of two extraordinary local women.

Dr. Margaret Emmons was a retired MD who lived at Oaknoll. Dr. Emmons was a very accomplished woman who had traveled the globe. Dr. Emmons was a Salvos subscriber, and frequently wrote me to share her thoughts. She often mailed me books or articles that she felt I should read. She was particularly interested in the best way to improve medical care in Africa; she had travelled there more than once.

Dr. Emmons was a proud Republican, and let me know that. But she was also open to having a friendship with a person of a different sex, different political party, 40 years younger, and I am a better person for it.

Also passing away recently was Peggy Stokes. Peggy was a longtime social worker at the UI Center for Disability and Development. In that role, Peggy made difficult lives a bit easier for thousands of families. When Peggy read research that indicated that siblings of children with disabilities often struggle, she founded the SibShip program. That program has reached out to siblings of children with disabilities for over 20 years now.

Peggy was also a staunch peace activist. You could see Peggy standing on the corner every Friday, holding a sign with some version of “peace not war”. I asked Peggy once if she felt her efforts were making a difference. She sighed, and said that she needed to do SOMETHING because the Iraq War was wrong. Peggy said if she converted just one person to seeing peace as the way, then she had been successful. I think Peggy was a huge success.

On a more positive note, congratulations on your retirements Dan Daly and Speedy Townsend! I wish you both much good health and happiness. Thank you for your years of service!

The “You Earned It. Now Claim It!” campaign will launch on January 31 for its fourth year of operation. This effort supports the financial security of working families by offering FREE tax preparation services.

This program is possible through a partnership involving Johnson County Social Services, the Tippie College of Business, Johnson County AARP, Iowa City Community School District, Iowa City Public Library, Iowa City Housing Authority, Neighborhood Centers, Johnson County Council of Governments, Iowa Legal Aid, and United Way of Johnson County. Funding is provided by the University of Iowa Community Credit Union, Veridian Credit Union, the United Way of Johnson County, & Hawkeye Community Action Program.

Last year over 950 households secured total refunds over $1 million. This service is available for free to people who earned less than $49,000 in 2009. Volunteers are trained to assist working families to get money back through the Earned Income Credit (EIC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and, at the same time, give a boost to the local economy.

For more information on these FREE Tax Preparation sites, call the United Way toll-free at 2-1-1 or visit the Johnson County website at www.johnson-county.com/taxhelp.html.

Some interesting stats courtesy of Mother Jones magazine: to equal the amount of the $14 trillion US bank bailout?

We could provide 10 years of vaccines to all kids in the 117 poorest countries; we could give 10 years worth of $10,000 bonuses to every US public school teacher; we could send all 2009 US high school grads to private college; we could double the research spending on cancer and HIV; we could purchase 10 years worth of carbon offsets for every American; we could meet UN anti-poverty goals; we could pay for 20 years of universal preschool; we could buy a house for every homeless American; we could afford 10 years of helping developing countries address climate change; we could pay for 10 years worth of health insurance for every uninsured American; we could pay of 1/3 of all US mortgages; AND we could buy every person in the world an iPhone!

Please understand – it is not that we could do ONE of the things on that list; we could do ALL of the things on that list! Do the banks owe the American people? Yes, they do!

DID YOU KNOW? Half of the U.S. population is in the eight largest states (California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan).

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

1-12-10

2010-01-17T10:24:00.000-06:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 1/12/10

Monday marks the celebration of the birthday of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior. Like so many holidays, folks often forget to take a moment to recall the reason behind the day off.

I urge everyone to do some reading on the life of MLK. I felt as though I knew a lot about him, then read a new book. I continue to learn fascinating things about this amazing man! He deserves this honor, and we should take some time to consider his contributions.

In keeping with the MLK theme, the University of Iowa is once again hosting a Celebration of Human Rights, with a whole week full of events.

The Opening Celebration will be Monday, January 18 at 6 PM in the 2nd Floor Ballroom of the IMU. The evening includes performances by Voices of Soul, Charism, The Quire, and Idiris Goodwin, and a keynote address from State Representative Wayne Ford.

For a complete schedule of events, see mlk.uiowa.edu

Johnson County residents have an important election coming up on January 19. In my opinion, this election is a referendum on the role of government in our lives. That should not be taken lightly.

I strongly encourage you to learn everything you can about the two candidates, and come to your own decision. Me? I enthusiastically support Supervisor Janelle Rettig. The reasons are many, but it boils down to this: are we in this together or not?

Please do not skip this election. Your voice is important. It is an unusual date for an election, but please get out and vote.

Do not forget, there are plenty of early voting opportunities! For a complete list, see the Johnson County Auditor’s website at:
http://www.johnson-county.com/auditor/voter/1001elec.htm.

I find it amusing when I hear that Johnson County has “one party rule” or that there is a “Democratic Party Machine” that secretly runs things. I laugh when I hear us referred to by David Yepsen as the “People’s Republic of Johnson County”.

Like any persistent myth, there is a kernel of truth there. Other than a Republican Sheriff during the 80s, local partisan offices have been filled exclusively by Democrats since 1960. But what does that mean? What are the actual results? Is this a Socialist heaven?

The Democratic Party in Johnson County is a pretty big tent. It has always had a large conservative wing, and it still does. Many folks from this wing have served as County Supervisors. And THEY have not agreed on all the issues, either!

Furthermore, what does it mean to be a “conservative” Democrat? How about someone who is against abortion rights but pro-labor and pro-gay rights? (I know many people who fit that bill.) What about someone who is an anti-labor, anti-gay, pro-health care environmentalist? (I know several folks like that, too.) Every one of us would like to be in charge of the Official Litmus Test of our respective parties. But the fact remains… there is no litmus test.

Let’s look at any number of so-called Democratic Party issues, and see where the Johnson County Board of Supervisors falls:

Environmental Issues: Boards of the 50s through the mid-90s did not pay much attention to environmental issues. A few specific individuals notwithstanding, these Boards were extremely pro-development. And they were ALL Democrats. Is this some Socialist machine at work?

Labor Issues: Ask any local Labor activist how they feel about the relationship with the Board. Labor is traditionally dissatisfied with the contracts they get with Johnson County. Union Building Trades feel they do not get a fair hearing when it comes to building projects. The relationship is far from cozy. It used to be worse! And the Sups during this 50-year period were ALL Democrats. Is this some Socialist machine at work?

Civil Rights Issues: There have probably only been two or three two-year windows in 50 years where a majority of the Board supported gay marriage. I would stand by the argument that there have NEVER been all 5 Supervisors in favor. And they were ALL Democrats. Is this a Socialist machine at work?

Economic Justice: The Board has consistently preferred sales taxes to property taxes, despite a Party Platform that states the contrary. In 50 years, there have been less than four Supervisors who have spoken out against sales taxes. Scores preferred them. And they were ALL Democrats. Is this a Socialist machine at work?

Those are only a few issues. Given the choice between lower taxes and more human services, lower taxes have usually carried the day. Issues like choice and war rarely come up at the local level, but it is safe to say that most past Boards have agreed more closely with the Republican party line. And they were ALL Democrats. Is this a Socialist machine at work?

50 years of Democrats at the County level have not delivered a Socialist Disneyland. Similarly, the so-called “liberal” Iowa City Council has only had 4-5 two-year periods in 50 years where there was a truly progressive majority. Same thing in Coralville.

I am not arguing that the governments of the past 50 years have been particularly good or bad. There has been a lot of both in 50 years. There have been really good folks of all political stripes; there have been others we could have done without. The point is simply to bust the myth – the Johnson County Board of Supervisors has traditionally not been a far-left leaning body. A simple check of the facts backs that up.

DID YOU KNOW? Johnson County was created on December 21, 1837 by the legislature of the Wisconsin Territory. The county was carved out of territory formerly in Dubuque County, and was not initially provided with a civil government, instead being governed by Cedar County officials.

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

1-19-10

2010-01-17T10:23:00.001-06:00

Sullivan’s Salvos 1/19/10

Johnson County residents have an important election coming up on January 19. In my opinion, this election is a referendum on the role of government in our lives. That should not be taken lightly.

I strongly encourage you to learn everything you can about the two candidates, and come to your own decision. Me? I enthusiastically support Supervisor Janelle Rettig. The reasons are many, but it boils down to this: are we in this together or not?

Please do not skip this election. Your voice is important. It is an unusual date for an election, but please get out and vote.

Do not forget, there are plenty of early voting opportunities! For a complete list, see the Johnson County Auditor’s website at:
http://www.johnson-county.com/auditor/voter/1001elec.htm.

Team registration is now open for Bowl For Kids' Sake 2010. Bowl For Kids' Sake is Big Brothers Big Sisters of Johnson County's annual fundraiser. Participants receive a free round of bowling, t-shirt, and the chance to win door prizes. This year's event, which will be held the last weekend in February, will have a Western theme. Team registration forms are available from the agency's website, www.bbbsjc.org.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Johnson County serves over 700 kids annually through its school- and community-based, one-to-one mentoring programs. Revenue from Bowl For Kids' Sake accounts for one-third of the agency's yearly budget. The fundraiser has been hosted by Colonial Lanes in Iowa City since 1984.

The Sullivan for Supervisor team will be bowling once again this year. We have room on our team for two bowlers… would you like to join the cause? If so, let me know! Otherwise, we would love to have you sponsor us. Just go to the BBBS website at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/johnson/bbbs/

And follow the links.

BBBS Bowl For Kids’ Sake – a great cause! Feel free to join us and/or sponsor us!

I have long argued for a greater use of development impact fees. I think there is a great opportunity out there right now that would allow Iowa City, Johnson County, and perhaps Coralville and Tiffin to develop in a smarter and less expensive manner.

Iowa City recently came to Johnson County with a proposal to annex 132 acres north of I-80, just west of Pearson. I believe this annexation makes sense, but only if Iowa City and Johnson County begin charging a development impact fee in the area.

Some background: Planners in local governments have long envisioned Oakdale Boulevard as the primary east-west arterial street north of I-80. Oakdale already serves this purpose through much of Coralville; what most folks do not realize is that Oakdale is penciled out from west of Tiffin all the way to Scott Boulevard in eastern Iowa City.

The fact that the road is planned is great; the implementation has left much to be desired. For example – when Oakdale was taken east of 12th Avenue in Coralville, local leaders should have required that it be connected to Dubuque Street. People who did much of the development in the area claim they would have paid for the road had they been asked. (Of course, that is easy to say now! But local electeds should have forced the issue.)

Some folks saw what was coming. Then-Supervisor Jonathon Jordahl argued that this situation would create traffic problems, and create a disincentive for future development. Jonathon nailed it. Fast forward 10-15 years, and now Johnson County and Coralville are collaborating on a completion of Oakdale from the dead end to Dubuque Street. Taxpayers in Coralville and rural Johnson County are now footing the bill.

Again, this SHOULD have been paid for; developers could have added $2,000 to each of 500 lots and extended the road. Instead, the road was allowed to dead end. Now, instead of $1,000,000 paid by developers, we have $4,000,000 paid by folks who never asked for the development in the first place.

Oakdale will soon reach Dubuque Street on the west. If Iowa City develops according to the plan in the proposed annexation, Oakdale will start moving west from Highway 1. That leaves a big gap in the middle. Who will pay to fill in this gap? If both Iowa City and Johnson County begin to charge a development impact fee now, we can save up enough money to connect the road all the way through. It would then be paid for by the development as opposed to being paid for by taxpayers.

This is particularly relevant to rural folks. County roads are paid for through the Rural Fund. It will be difficult to argue that the area in question is “rural”, yet rural landowners will foot the bill. That just isn’t fair. In addition, a full connection between Dubuque Street and Highway 1 requires crossing the Iowa River. That bridge will NOT be cheap!

I strongly urge elected officials in Iowa City and Johnson County to enter into a 28E agreement, and to begin collecting a development impact fee in this area. Johnson County, Coralville and Tiffin probably ought to be talking about the same thing heading west.

We have an opportunity to do this right. I do not have any desire to look back in twenty years and say I told you so. Let’s do this correctly now.

DID YOU KNOW? The population of Johnson County is about 17% rural.

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod