A strange echo of immunity bounced around courthouses from Washington to Storm Lake last week. Donald Trump claimed before the US Supreme Court that he is immune from prosecution because he was president. Buena Vista County claims it is immune from claims over at least $5 million in tax funds that it misappropriated, and in so doing cheated the taxpayers of Storm Lake. Each claim is laughable. No man is above the law, including a president. If you try to steal classified documents or an election, you may be subject to penalties. In the case of Storm Lake v. Buena Vista County, how is it that the county can misplace at least $5 million in tax funds rightfully due to the city and leave the city with no recourse to correct the error? The coincidence is striking. We can leave it there. The county’s claim of immunity from responsibility for fiscal stewardship, however, deserves further review. At issue is tax increment financing bonds issued by the city associated with Project Awaysis and King’s Pointe Resort. The county started collecting revenue intended to pay off development costs, but sent the revenue to the wrong jurisdictions — the school district or community college, for example, no public accounting has been made. Storm Lake City Hall discovered the error after many years of not paying attention. It alerted the county. They got together with the Iowa Department of Management, and the error was fixed going forward. No accommodation was made for millions in lost tax revenue. Those are real damages. The county ignored the city’s claim. It refused requests for information. Instead of engaging in public discussion of our tax money, the county stonewalled the city. The county violated local ordinance and state law by diverting the TIF revenue to the wrong accounts. There must be a remedy for the city’s loss. Immunity suggests that the county may intentionally deprive the city of funds it is due, and there is nothing that the city taxpayers can do about it. The city should have never let it get this far. The county should be embarrassed for shielding itself in immunity, since the facts already show gross negligence. Each side is spending money on Des Moines law firms that could be used to fix streets or storm sewers. They should settle this case at the first opportunity. The first fault lies with the county for botching things so badly, and then trying to act as if nothing happened while denying the public a full understanding of how things broke down. The second fault lies with the city for being oblivious to its own accounts, and failing to engage the county in a face-saving discussion early on. The only relief for the electors of Storm Lake and Buena Vista County is to vote out elected officials who cannot figure out how to do the public’s business fairly and efficiently. That we have reached such an absurd level of the city suing the county without any real attempt at reconciliation suggests a breakdown of local government built on honesty and trust. If the court cannot save us from inept officials, then the voters must.

---

Replacing income taxes

Iowa voters in 2010 approved amending the state constitution to allow for a fractional sales tax to be devoted exclusively to natural resources. The Republicans in the legislature have refused to enact it, but beware: We suspect that Gov. Kim Reynolds will push the idea of passing that eighth-of-a-percent sales tax to replace income taxes, which she would like to eliminate. Voters approved the amendment thinking it would be used to enhance, not replace, existing funds for natural resources. Our state parks need about $100 million in capital improvements because the legislature refuses to appropriate enough money in order to cut income taxes. Triggering the fractional sales tax solves that problem of neglect. Reynolds tried it before but couldn’t convince her caucus to increase the sales tax. If she can tie it to eliminating the income tax, she might find success the next time around presuming the legislature stays in Republican control. Iowans like their parks. The sales tax can fix things up enough to keep the noise down. If that is how it ends up, the voters will have been cheated. The governor tried it before. She could try it again. She likely will have to, if we are going to eliminate the income tax.