WAUKEE, Iowa — With the Iowa Legislature back in session, leaders in Iowa’s local governments are watching what comes out of the Statehouse. For a number of years, Waukee Mayor Courtney Clarke has watched the many changes coming as the tax code evolves.

Clarke penned an informational piece for the Iowa League of Cities where she noted the increase in costs of doing business for the City of Waukee.

In 2005, she noted a Fire Department Ladder truck cost $600,000, the cost today is $1.8 million, an increase of 205%.

A 2017 road expansion project cost $9.4 million, today a similar project lists at $12.8 million, an increase of 36%.

In 2018, to send an officer for law enforcement training cost $6,240, today the cost is $14,000. That’s a 124% increase.

“I think our message is that every city that I work with, every mayor that I know, every council member that I know, we are incredibly dedicated to being physically responsible with the resources we have,” said Clarke. “Yet we’re asked to be the growth engine of the state, we are the growth of the state cities. We drive a lot of the economic development.”

Cities like Waukee work with the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

“We cannot be the growth engine of the state if we cannot grow,” said Clarke.

The fear of those in municipal leadership is that of not knowing what they will have in terms of funding to work with.

One proposal calls for a 2% cap on revenue growth.

“We don’t even know what to respond to,” said Clarke. “It’s a lot of uncertainty and there are challenges with the number for sure 2% would be devastating for a lot of cities.”