Fort Madison Voters Block Tax Shift

Fort Madison, IA – Fort Madison residents have rejected a proposal to put more money into the city's coffers... 66% to 34%. Voters were asked to shift 80% of the dollars generated by a 1% local option sales tax into the city's general fund. The remaining 20% would have been used for streets. The current ratio is 60% / 40%. The shift was expected to raise as much as $180,000, which city leaders plugged into Fort Madison's budget for next year. Since the property tax rate has already been set, it is likely cuts will have to be made to make up for the proposal failing. The measure was rejected in each of the city's five precincts. Voter turnout was around 10%.