The public comment forum at this week’s Pella City Council meeting at times became contentious as a group of voters encouraging others to vote against extending the Local Option Sales and Services Tax addressed Mayor Don DeWaard and the council.

A few residents pointed their main issues with the special election, namely with ballot language that addresses property tax relief, which is listed at “0%,” which was approved by the Pella City Council this summer — and differs from the 20% listed on the 2011 vote.

FULL AUDIO FROM PUBLIC COMMENTS HELD TUESDAY:

In a response held during the comment section and before a presentation about the LOSST extension, Pella Mayor Don DeWaard and Councilmembers Mark DeJong and Calvin Bandstra discussed ultimately why they feel the exact number listed on the ballot isn’t as important as the action they intend to take, mainly because half of all projected revenue coming from the sales tax will be dedicated to infrastructure projects that would otherwise need to be paid for with property taxes, that the city has demonstrated their dedication to lower taxes after having maintained the same tax rate for 21 years, and that when the Iowa Legislature approved local option taxes, there was no specific definition given to what “property tax relief” ultimately meant.

After public comment, DeWaard held a presentation (click here to view the slides) immediately following those comments highlighting the key points of extending the local option sales and service tax.

AUDIO OF DEWAARD’S PRESENTATION: