By: Diana Johnsen
djohnsen@kcautv.com
Property taxes.
It's something Black Bear Diner in Sioux City believes is too high in the state of Iowa.
"Oh! We need a reduced property tax for commercial businesses," said Bob Byrne, Black Bear Diner's Operations Manager.
Byrne says high property taxes have been a real issue.
He blames those high rates for the reason they closed the Hamilton Boulevard location last summer.
"It's very hard to compete in this area with the tax base that Nebraska has and the tax base that South Dakota has," said Byrne.
But Governor Terry Branstad has plans to change that.
On Thursday, the Governor visited Sioux City to speak on and answer any questions about his "Condition of the State Address" he gave Tuesday.
In it, he revealed his property tax relief plan.
The plan is to reduce commercial property taxes by 20 percent over four years.
So where's the money going to come from?
The Governor says he plans on paying for it by using the state's current budget surplus of close to $1 billion dollars.
"The government will replace those dollars. We have the money set aside in the state budget," said Branstad.
The Governor has tried to pass property tax cuts before and failed, but he says this time around he plans to pay back local government with those reserves.
"That's what wasn't in our plans in the past and that's the reason why I think this has a much better chance to be approved," said Branstad.
And Byrne thinks so too.
"I'm extremely positive and optimistic," Byrne added.
