Voters in Allamakee County give overwhelming approval to extending Local Option Sales and Service Tax, some with no further expiration

Voters in Allamakee County overwhelmingly approved the extension of the Local Option Sales and Service Tax (LOSST) in a Tuesday, March 5 special election. The one-percent LOSST had first been established in Allamakee County communities in the mid- to late 1990s and has been renewed on several occasions by voters throughout the county, with the last widespread extension vote coming in 2014 and that latest renewal having been scheduled to expire in several areas of the county at the end of this current year prior to the March 5 extension by voter approval.

Last fiscal year, cities and unincorporated areas in the state of Iowa received more than $600 million in proceeds collected through the one-percent sales tax measure. These funds are typically used to help relieve the burden on county and city general funds and are used for items such as roads, streets, water and sewer systems and public safety vehicle and equipment acquisitions.

The overwhelming approval of continuing that one-percent sales tax locally ranged from the support of 85% of voters in the community of New Albin to just under 95% in Waukon and in the unincorporated areas of Allamakee County. The March 5 special election saw a voter turn-out of just over seven percent, as 632 of Allamakee County’s 8,829 registered voters cast a ballot.

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