Mayor holds first coffee session

The Brick & Bell Cafe was host to a discussion from Creston Mayor Waylon Clayton, who created the session as a way to hear from the public about problems in their community. Clayton said the issues of the people brought to him in the session would allow him to focus on what can benefit the public best.

“I’m not going to be able to answer all your questions, I’m new at this,” he said. “What I want to do is create an avenue for you to be able to ask me those questions, and what I’m going to do, I promise you, I will get back to you, and that’s a promise that I can make.”

This is the first in what will be a monthly series of forums. The coffee meetings will continue at a different location, Liberty Hall, located at 111 West Montgomery Street. The first Saturday of every month will play host, with the next meeting on Nov. 2 at 10 a.m.

Clayton described the meetings as “an informal gathering” while also hoping to create “an open dialogue.” Discussion is led by the participants.

Participation of the public in assisting changes for the city was seen as a goal for Clayton. Even with the city emphasizing public hearings, Clayton said he wanted to find ways to inform the public sooner for ordinance changes.

“I want the public involved in the things coming up,” he said. “We have a lot of changes we have to make in the city. A lot of things about all the new laws... there’s a lot of things that the state is putting down on us, and it’s forcing us to tighten our belts.”

Emphasis was made by Clayton to public hearings as the key way for the city to hear from the people, encouraging those to voice an opinion in the public discussion or sending written correspondence to the city, saying it “gives me ammo.”

Clayton gave participants of the meeting a revised proposed tax levy ordinance for Creston. He described the proposal as a “conservative tax levy ordinance” to use a formula-based approach for finding the tax rate.

The tax rate would be found by dividing the annual revenue requirement (all fixed costs, variable costs, and funding for future projects) by the city’s total taxable property value.

In Clayton’s proposal, he gave an example on how the tax rate would be found. “If Creston has $100 million in taxable property, and we need $2.5 million to cover all expenses and projects, the tax rate would be 2.5%,” he said.

The formula approach, according to Clayton, allows for the city to plan accurately for the future while remaining accountable to the citizens, with the formula showing the reasoning why taxes would raise year-by-year.

Clayton also said he’s heard the initial proposal was “stiff,” which he says will help guide changes to the formula. “I’d rather start out in a place where it’s too stiff, hear from you, and then adjust based on what the community is saying,” he said. “People up in city hall, our accountants, everything like that, what [city administrator] Mike Taylor is saying to us, about things like that. We have to take those things in account.”

A major topic introduced early in the meeting was based around nuisance properties and the city’s ability to deal with them. One woman criticized City Administrator Mike Taylor and Councilmember Steve Wintermute in her question for not acting on certain abandoned houses she had called “dumps” and “drug houses.”

Clayton remained firm on allowing the property owner to maintain control of the property, saying “the day I start coming on your property and telling you what to do is a bad day for America,” while also saying he’ll process through existing abandoned property laws.

Diverging from the abilities of the city, Clayton encouraged individuals to build communities between neighbors. “We got to get back to neighbors loving neighbors,” he said. “I see my neighbor struggling, I lend a hand. I don’t sit there and complain about it. I don’t know their issue, I can’t judge them from the way they look... but I have to protect them, as they are a citizen.

Clayton discouraged divisions between neighbors and wished for a return of past ideals. “That’s how we used to be living, instead of pointing at us and them,” he said. “Me and you, against each other, and dividing. How do we pick up the people around?”

Mayor Pro-Tem and Creston At-Large Representative Rich Madison attended the meeting and gave suggestions, including referencing Chapter 657 of Iowa Code, which covers nuisances, as a major factor for how legal proceedings can draw out property acquisitions for the city.

Property taxes received additional criticism by participants of the meeting, specifically in how property taxes rise when a property owner improves the value. Some speakers wished to offer an incentive program to encourage investment into owned properties, one pointing to programs in Stuart as a positive comparison.

Clayton described a grant program currently being created to help encourage those improving properties, but lamented how limited options are for the city.

The mayor closed the session by recommending those interested to run for office for the 2025 elections, using himself as an example of an average citizen who worked to make a change in their community.

“I’m not politically correct,” he said. “I’m blunt, I came from a gutter. I didn’t get all the schooling, I didn’t graduate high school. I learned to read in jail from a King James’ Bible. We’ve got people like that, they have the right ideas, they’re smart, they’re intelligent. You can’t be afraid to speak your mind... One thing I know is I’ve gotten a lot done up there.”