Public Works often fields calls and requests throughout the year that include – I pay property taxes; my road should be fixed.
Many Davenport property owners have a misconception about what their property taxes pay for.
Please know we would love to rehabilitate more, or all of the city’s streets, but the reality is the funding just isn’t there. Only 9% of the city’s portion of property taxes fund public works services. None of this revenue is allocated to streets, sewers or other infrastructure services. Nearly all infrastructure and public works service is supported by other revenue sources such as Road Use/Fuel Tax (Streets), the Sewer Fee (Sanitary Sewer System and Wastewater Treatment), the Clean Water Fee (Storm Water System), the Solid Waste Fee (Garbage, Yard, Recycling, and Bulky Waste), and the 1% local option sales tax.
In the case of streets, Road Use Tax Revenue fluctuates from year to year based on revenue collected by the state and the state’s allocation of those revenues. Roadwork is also supported with a portion of the 1% sales tax.
In the coming weeks, we will share more on how streets selected for preventive maintenance, reconstruction and rehabilitation are prioritized and what projects the community should expect to see this year, including a new program which prioritizes funds for residential roads.