Political Forecast

The polls opened in Polk, Dallas and Warren counties Tuesday morning for residents to vote on a proposed local-option 1 percent sales tax increase that would boost funding for cultural amenities and trails while lowering property taxes in the tri-county region.

The plan, known as Project Destiny, was created by business leaders and local officials in the three counties along with commerce groups like the Greater Des Moines Partnership.  According to Cyndi Fisher of the supporting Yes To Destiny organization, if the Project Destiny proposal passes in all cities and communities in the tri-county region it would raise $75 million in its first year alone.  Should passage occur, the sales tax increase would take affect January 1, 2008.

However, opponents have put up a strong campaign against the Destiny project.  George Davey of the opposition group NoLocalOption.com launched his website to oppose the initiative because of the nature of the tax.  His group claims that the passage of Project Destiny would actually be an overall 17 percent  tax increase on residents in the three counties, via a 1 percent increase of the sales tax.  They argue that a sales tax increase is regressive and hurts low-income and poor citizens the most.  More generally, the burden of paying for the cultural improvements and property tax cuts would fall on the families who would be less likely to benefit from property tax cuts, as they are not likely to be property owners.

The opposition seems to be making the stronger case to residents of Polk, Dallas and Warren counties, however.  A Des Moines Register Metro Poll conducted June 25 to 27 showed that 61 percent of those polled who were likely to vote today would be opposed to increasing the sales tax by 1 percent.  Thirty-two percent said they supported the plan, while 7 percent were unsure.

What remains to be seen are today’s election results.  In the three-county region, 41 of 46 communities will directly be voting on the 28E Agreement, which is Project Destiny.  The other five communities will be voting on something similar.  The 28E Agreement would create a 15-member board that would manage the Tri-County Regional Authority that would manage the sales tax revenue.

“A majority of the voters in the combined contiguous cities must approve the tax before any of the cities can collect it,” Fisher said.  “The tax is collected and redistributed only in the cities or in the unincorporated area of the county where a majority of voters have approved the local option sales tax.”

When asked what future plans existed should Project Destiny fail, Fisher said that community leaders and government officials would likely have a discussion after the election to consider the next steps.

Should Destiny pass, Davey and other opponents are not likely to mount any legal challenges.

“There are many legal issues which could stall implementation, but I would not have the resources to tackle that,” Davey said.  “More people would need to step up to the donation plate for this to happen.”

Davey also added that should only a few communities pass the increase, he expects Destiny supporters to attempt to have a new elections in those areas to seek success.

“We will be there to fight them all the way?” he said.

And should Destiny fail tonight?

“We believe our victory tomorrow will be viewed as a two-point takedown; next we plan to go for the pin.  If they bring it up we will fight it again, and it will be easier to fight it now because we are well organized now.  We also plan to work with the state lawmakers to shore up the local option law because we feel there should be a time-out period after defeat of three or four years.  We also feel they should be restricted to regular elections where voter turnout is higher and more representative of a democracy.”

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. You can find a list of polling locations for your local precinct in Polk, Dallas and Warren counties here.