The Cedar Falls City Council has voted to slash its commitment to the UNI-Dome renovation project by a third, according to the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. The City had previously pledged $3 million over the course of three years, including $1.25 million this fiscal year. The City says they are pulling out of this funding in order to lower property taxes and to be able to pay for other projects. Mayor Danny Laudick admitted pulling back its commitment will cause some issues but did not go into what those issues may be. Councilmembers have now approved a property tax rate of $12.50 per $1,000 of taxable value, which is a 64 cent increase from the current rate. That is about 30 cents cheaper than it would have been with the full UNI-Dome commitment. Without cutting back, Cedar Falls would have been left with $245,000 to go towards various expenses including the natatorium project at the new high school and the Hearst Center for the Arts remodel or rebuild.
