Fairfield voters renew capital improvements levy

FAIRFIELD – Fairfield voters overwhelmingly supported the renewal of a Capital Improvements Reserve Fund (CIRF) levy during Tuesday’s elections.

Of the 1,723 votes cast, 1,276 (74%) were in favor of renewing the levy for another 25 years. The CIRF property tax levy is $0.67 per $1,000 taxable valuation. Fairfield City Engineer and Public Works Director Melanie Carlson said it comes out to just under $5 per month for the average family in town.

“We are so thankful the citizens of Fairfield entrusted us with another 25 years of CIRF,” Carlson said. “As state legislation continues to change, CIRF will become more vital to maintenance of all the assets that make Fairfield special. We will strive to keep the CIRF, in addition to all city expenditures, transparent.”

In recent years, the levy has gone toward projects such as the new playground at O.B. Nelson Park, the demolition of the former DOT buildings on West Briggs Avenue, and many other projects such as sealcoating streets, snowplow equipment and the city’s portion of paving 227th Street.

Carlson said that some of the projects the city expects to use the CIRF levy on include repairing the parking lot at O.B. Nelson, resurfacing the road inside Waterworks Park, the lane to the airport, resurfacing a couple of the city’s downtown parking lots, and replacing downtown traffic signals.

Fairfield Mayor Connie Boyer, who hosted a town hall on the CIRF levy on Oct. 16 to educate the public about where it goes, said Tuesday’s vote of confidence gives the city some certainty for financial planning.

“We can all appreciate that we don’t want more taxes, but I think the community understands the value of it, to keep up with things,” Boyer said. “For those of us involved in budgeting and having to make the dollars stretch, it’s much appreciated. Now that the election is over, we’re looking forward to getting back on track and putting our attention on getting things done.”

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