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Riverside bond vote count official after Tuesday’s canvass

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July 3rd, 2013 by Ric Hanson

The Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors have confirmed the results of the June 25th bond election for the Riverside Community School District. The Daily NonPareil reports the votes canvassed Tuesday show turnout for the $15.1-million dollar bond issue was 68-percent. A 60-percent supermajority was needed for the measure to pass. Officials say 1,096 voters approved building a new, 7th through 12th grade facility, 709 voted against it. If just 14 voters changed their minds, a sixth election would have been required if school officials wanted to pursue the matter again.
The district tried but failed to get the bond issue passed, during four previous attempts. The building will be constructed on land purchased by the district at the intersection of U.S. highways 59 and 6. Officials told the paper, the cost of the election was $8,900. The previous election cost $5,000. The increase in cost this time around was attributed to voting centers set up in Carson, Macedonia and Oakland. During the previous election, only one polling place was established in Carson.
An election official said 73-percent of the absentee voters approved the bond measure, while less than 60-percent who actually went to the polls did likewise. It was the absentee voters who allowed the measure to carry over the 60-percent majority needed for the bond issue to pass. The Pott. County Auditor’s office said the bond would raise taxes $2.70 per $1,000 of taxable value, meaning for a house assessed at $100,000 taxes would increase about $124 per year.