City Of Glenwood Seeking Approval From Voters To Expand Use For Local Option Sales Tax Revenue

In August 2001, Glenwood residents passed a 1% Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) for the purpose of funding the construction, furnishing and operation of a Mills County Community Center, a facility that came to fruition and operates today as the Mills County YMCA.

Twenty-four years since its passage, the sales tax is still being collected - with the funds being earmarked exclusively for the YMCA and Glenwood Aquatic Center. The use of the LOST dollars would be expanded, however, if voters approve a measure on the ballot later this year.

In November, residents of the city of Glenwood will be asked to pass a measure at the ballot box that would lift the restrictions on what the LOST revenue can be used for.

“Right now, it’s 100% for the Mills County Wellness Center, which is the YMCA and the pool. That’s all we can use it for” said Glenwood City Administrator Mitch Kolf. “We want to still use it for those things, but then add more flexibility and be able to use it for police, fire and other city services as needed.”

Kolf noted that the restrictive nature of Glenwood’s LOST is uncommon in Iowa.

“We’re sort of unique in that our current purpose statement – 100% for Mills County Wellness Center – is pretty restrictive. It limits the 1% sales tax to only the ‘Y’ and the pool,” he said.  “Most cities across the state, the majority of them, have a lot more flexibility in being able to use that fund, which helps them in providing all the services a city needs to provide – police, fire, libraries, streets and parks.”

Construction debt on the YMCA has been retired, but the city still owes around $3.5 million for the construction of the Glenwood Aquatic Center, which opened in 2016. That debt, currently being paid off at a rate of about $340,000 per year, is scheduled to be retired in 2035.

The first year the sales tax was collected in Glenwood (Fiscal Year 2003), it generated $160,895. In FY 2025, which ended June 30, the tax generated $662,411. Numbers shared by Kolf showed the city experiencing a significant increase in LOST revenue in FY 2016 (following the opening of Bomgaars) and in FY 2021 (COVID pandemic and implementation of state law that added local sales tax to online purchases).

The city’s LOST fund balance currently sits at $1.5 million.

Kolf and Mayor Angie Winquist stressed that the city sales tax will remain in place regardless of how the vote goes in November. Residents are being asked to expand and repurpose what the LOST dollars can be used for. A “Yes” vote would expand what services the LOST revenue can be spent on, while a “No” vote would keep the current restrictions in place.

“We still use LOST funds to pay the pool debt and repairs at the ‘Y.’ That’s not going to change – that’s a priority for that tax money,” Winquist said. “Having the ability to have it available for some of these other purposes would be useful.”
Glenwood Police Chief Eric Johansen said he agrees that allowing the LOST revenue to be utilized for other services beyond the YMCA and aquatic center would be beneficial to the city.

“We, the city, are not looking to drain the LOST funds, but only making them available for some other uses that can supplement the city’s general fund,” Johansen said. “Some of the LOST dollars would help offset some of the general fund expenditures that would aid the city in the long run.”

The city’s special measure will be on the November municipal / school board election ballot.