The writing seems to be on the wall at the Iowa Legislature, and the days appear to be numbered for the replacement claims to cities, counties, and schools, commonly referred to as “the backfill.”

This has caused a great deal of concern among local officials, who feel the state has gone back on the promise made in 2013, when commercial property tax rollbacks were approved. Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson adds, the timing couldn’t be worse for cities if any legislation to phase out the backfill is passed in the coming weeks. “Cities had to have their budget certified March 15th, so here we are passed the time that we would legally be able to make a change to our budget and go back and do that. So we’ll just have to be reactive, which I don’t enjoy having to do. But if this passes, that’s kind of what we’ll have to go do and go back to the drawing board.”

Peterson says Perry should be relatively secure even if the backfill is eliminated. However, it will still result in around $81,000 less on Perry’s annual budget, while also increasing the burden on taxpayers. “We have done a decent amount of planning, just kind of knowing this is coming down the pipe. But this will have an effect of an increase on property taxes, and/or effects on services that cities, counties, and school districts provide. We don’t have an endless supply of money. I know the state does not either, but this is something that they promised our local governments, and I think it’s something they should stand behind.”

Peterson encourages people to reach out to their local legislators to voice any concerns about the backfill issue.