Citizen Portal
Sign In

Residents urge property‑tax restraint and more outreach on waste‑handling changes and possible data centers

City of Ames City Council (and Ames Area MPO Transportation Committee) · January 14, 2026

Loading...

AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Michelle Griffin urged the council to consider a 2% annual cap on property‑tax‑supported budgets, citing long‑term tax growth; Caitlin Lian of the Ames Climate Action Team asked for better public education about resource‑recovery changes and cautioned the council to study environmental impacts before inviting large data centers.

Two residents used the public‑comment period to press the council on separate but policy‑oriented issues: property taxes and environmental/community impacts of future developments.

Michelle Griffin urged the council to pursue a 2% cap on property‑tax increases across local budgets, including school and county levies, arguing that Iowa property taxes have risen about 107% over 20 years (citation given to the Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation). Griffin said a 2% cap would protect families on fixed incomes and called on the council to prioritize essential services and constrain nonessential spending.

Caitlin Lian, speaking for the Ames Climate Action Team, asked the council to step up public education after the city decided to end a waste‑to‑energy incineration practice. "I've heard from a couple of residents that think...we're going to be landfilling instead of incinerating," Lian said, and urged staff to clarify that the new facility will still emphasize resource recovery and diversion. Lian also flagged community concerns about data centers — wastewater, heavy electrical loads, and limited local job growth — and asked the council to consider studies and public engagement before allowing large data‑center development.

Council members advised Lian to coordinate with the city's public information officer to improve outreach. On tax concerns, councilors said they are mindful of fiscal stewardship and reminded residents that tradeoffs exist between services and tax levels; staff noted the budget cycle is approaching and invited public input.