FAIRFIELD, IOWA -- Voters in Fairfield can have their questions answered regarding the convention center.
A public meeting will be held Wednesday April 28 at 7 p.m. to address the May 4 referendum. The proposal calls for the city of Fairfield to raise $650,000 by bonding 12 percent of future local option sales tax collections.
This would help the city of Fairfield claim ownership of the center and eliminate its debt. The convention center hopes it has won the trust of the voters.
"I really think the last year of our operations has really given confidence to people,” executive director Rustin Lippincott said. “The fear of the unknown is still there. So we're trying to calm those fears. Get the information out, and hope that the people come out and let their voice be heard.”
Fairfield voters recently voted down a referendum proposed by the Fairfield School Board. However, Lippincott says this is different because the May 4 referendum has nothing to do with taxes.
“They're totally separate issues. The difference of the convention center referendum is that it is not a referendum on taxes. It's not a property tax issue. I know the school board issue was a property tax issue. So they're separate.”
The convention center hopes to answer any concerns of questions on Wednesday.
“Everyone's aware of their personal property taxes. I want to make sure that people know that this is not impacting their property taxes. This will be something that is already in place.”