Local government still matters amid worldwide events

With national media glued to the U.S. House Speaker standoff, the Israel-Hamas war, the Ukraine-Russia war, and the Donald Trump indictments, it’s pretty easy for people to ignore local government matters.

That urge should be resisted, for very important reasons. Elections for hundreds of public school boards and city governments in Iowa will take place in about 10 days, on Tuesday, Nov. 7, and leaders chosen by voters for those positions will play a key role in the future of all those institutions.

School districts in Iowa are challenged these days in several ways, particularly by their financial conditions. The state has held its funding aid to schools below the rate of inflation for several years in a row. That impacts schools both large and small, both growing and shrinking.

To add to the challenge, Iowa home rule laws grant school districts less power than what’s enjoyed by cities and counties. Local school boards, and their administrators, must be nimble these days to thread their way through burgeoning state regulations and parsimonious state appropriations.

The Greene County Community School District looks to be up to the task. It’s operating with new building principals and a superintendent in his second year here who are undertaking promising new initiatives in several areas, emphasizing academic achievement. 

Three candidates are running for the two seats up for election to the five-member Greene County school board, with the incumbents in those two seats choosing not to run again. Whoever is elected will join a board determined to provide sound education for the district’s youngsters.

The city of Jefferson also has two seats up for election, with four candidates vying for them — one who is an incumbent, and the other three who are seeking a first term. One of the two seats on the ballot is currently held by a councilmember who has chosen not to seek re-election.

Most of the rural towns in Iowa have lost population since the year 2000, and Jefferson is no exception. In our case, that’s despite a number of actions the Jefferson City Council, the Greene County Board of Supervisors, Greene County Development Corporation, Jefferson Matters: Main Street, Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation, and other public and private organizations have taken to shore up the community’s and the county’s future.

The Jefferson City Council for a number of years has cooperated fully in the effort to vitalize Jefferson quality of life, taking the lead on several projects. The city offers a number of incentives for businesses and individuals to locate and prosper here, and has aimed to maintain and improve its own physical and staffing infrastructure. 

A few years ago Greene County Development Corporation conducted a strategic visioning project, with several dozen local young families taking the lead in the discussions. Several of their top priorities have been accomplished since then, including a new high school (with attached career academy) and an enlarged and modernized child care center.

One of the top-level priorities of the visioning project, however, still awaits its solution: significantly more up-to-date housing options. 

The Jefferson City Council listened. A few weeks ago the city submitted its application to state development authorities to be listed as a “Thriving Community.” Selection for that designation entitles housing contractors who build in those cities to be eligible for special state workforce housing tax credits. It’s a huge advantage for both the builders and the selected communities.

Jefferson’s application was one of only 11 in the state to win the designation, out of dozens submitted. As a result, at least four housing contractors from around the state are taking a look at Jefferson for new housing projects here.

One of those has now signed a memo of understanding with the city for a sizable workforce housing project on Greene County Development Corporation land in the north part of town.

The project would offer local rental homes to out-of-county employees of Greene County businesses who have been unable to find suitable housing closer to their places of employment, as well as residents already living in the area. It would provide a route for major employers here to grow their businesses through the influx of additional employees needed both now and in the future. And it would thereby help grow the community’s and the county’s population, as well as school district enrollment.

The median age of Jefferson residents is over 45, and Greene County’s is over 44. That demographic means we can’t grow our own population — we need an influx of residents, particularly young families. To attract them we need suitable homes they can afford, whether they own them or rent them.

As a long-time local community development leader said, referring to rural Iowa’s decline: “We don’t know if what we’re doing will succeed, but we know what will happen if we don’t try.”

The Thriving Community designation is a major achievement by the city and the organizations that helped out. The next logical step for the city council is to follow through with developers that the state tax credits have incentivized to build here.

Jefferson’s voters in the Nov. 7 election deserve to know the opinions of their city council candidates about housing in the community. The present city council is pushing toward growth. I hope whoever is elected will continue that effort.

And whoever is elected deserves to know that their constituents have their back. That goes for the school board candidates as well. A large turnout on Nov. 7 will lend credence to decisions and actions by the city council and the school board going forward. A small turnout, on the other hand, provides little guidance for the newly elected members as to what their constituents want and expect.

There are two additional important issues on the Nov. 7 ballot: a new county jail and continuation of the school district’s voted physical plant and equipment levy (PPEL), which provides necessary funds for school equipment and infrastructure. Taken together, the races for city council and school board and the two ballot issues should encourage a meaningful turnout of local voters.

It’s what our version of democracy is all about.

Rick Morain is a reporter and columnist with the Jefferson Herald.