Fairfield voters to decide on capital improvements levy

FAIRFIELD – Residents of the City of Fairfield will have the chance to vote on a capital improvements reserve fund levy this November.

The levy pays for capital improvements such as streets, playground equipment and HVAC repairs in city buildings, among other things. The levy is $0.675 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation. It needs only a simple majority of support to pass on Nov. 7, and if it does, it will last 25 years, expiring on July 1, 2049.

Fairfield City Administrator Doug Reinert said this capital improvement levy helps fund a large number of city projects, such as helping to fund playground equipment at various parks and for the HVAC system at the Fairfield Public Library, along with new sidewalks and street resurfacing projects

“Without these funds, we’d be spread thinner, and it would affect our delivery of services,” Reinert said. “Maybe instead of doing one or two capital projects per year, we might be able to do only one project over a couple of years. We might have to wait several years to address an issue, and by then, it would be in a rougher condition.”

Reinert said the city is already struggling to generate enough funds to complete projects, and that’s why it has to do projects in a piecemeal fashion, like replacing sidewalks one block at a time.

“If we lost this levy, it would slow down the process of our infrastructure maintenance,” he said.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com