GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE
The City has operated under the mayor-council form of government since incorporation. Policy-making and legislative authority are vested in the governing council, which consists of seven members. The City Council is responsible, among other things, for passing ordinances, adopting the budget, setting goals, and approving mayor- appointed committees. The full-time mayor is responsible for carrying out the policies and ordinances of the City Council, for overseeing the day{o-day operations of the City, and for appointing department directors. The mayor and Council are elected on a nonpartisan basis. The Council consists of two council members elected at large and one council member elected from each of the five wards as established by ordinance, elected for terms of four years. The mayor is elected at large and to a two-year term.
ECONOM¡C CONDITION AND OUTLOOK
The City, incorporated in 1854, is located in the northeastern part of the state, has a land area of 28.9 square miles and a population of 39,260. The City is empowered to levy a property tax on both real and personal property located within its boundaries, and has the power by state statute to extend its corporate limits by annexation, which is seldom done, but will be done when deemed appropriate by the City Council.
The economic condition and outlook of Cedar Falls continues to be strong. The Cedar Falls economy was insulated from many of the impacts created by the recent recession due to the growth and stability of the University of Northern lowa and a diverse service business sector.
The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance was formed in the metro area to organize the human resources and generate needed development capital to attract new business and industry to the area and to encourage expansion of businesses already in the area. As a result, many new businesses have located offices and plants in the metro area. Target Corporation constructed a distribution center with an assessed value of approximately $¿S million in FY02 and in FY08 completed a second refrigeration center. The Cedar Falls lndustrial and Technology Park continues to show tremendous expansion.
The increase in new businesses and expansion of established firms has had a positive effect on employment and the City's tax base. Historically, Cedar Falls' unemployment rate has closely followed the State trends, which are significantly lower than the nation's unemployment rate (See Attachment A). This is due to the strong service employment base supported by the state university located in Cedar Falls. Since the devaluation of property in l9B6-1988, Cedar Falls has had steady growth in property values. Assessed values increased in FY14 by $gZ million, and taxable values increased by $229 million (See Attachment B) due to the increase in assessed valuations and the residential rollback.
The City of Cedar Falls maintains a comparatively low tax rate. Cedar Falls has the fifth lowest tax rate per capita of the twenty largest cities in the state of lowa (See Attachment C). Thís low rate can be attributed to the efforts of the City to streamline operations over the past twenty years. This has been accomplished by maintaining the approximate same number of employees, even when demand for service has increased. Cedar Falls had one of the lowest number of full{ime employees per 1,000 residents in FY12. (See Attachment D).
Over the past ten years Cedar Falls' residential housíng sales prices have significantly increased. ln 2002, the average sales price reported was $153,312. ln2012, the average sales pricewas $206,773, which is a thirty-five (35) percent increase in the past ten years (See Attachment E). These statistics indicate that Cedar Falls' local economy is sound and there is a strong market for Cedar Falls homes.
2-
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160