Mayor: Council Bluffs missed $4.3 million from Google over utilities ordinance that didn't follow state law

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — Council Bluffs missed out on $4.3 million in revenue from Google in 2024 because of an old utilities ordinance that Mayor Jill Shudak says wasn't even legal. At the mayor's town hall Thursday, neighbors also expressed concerns with the city's management of a 2009 tax abatement for the tech giant. UTILITIES FRANCHISE FEE Everyone who buys electricity pays a franchise fee. That fee, the mayor explained, goes to the city for the use of its land for things such as power lines. Shudak says the fee is supposed to be the same for everyone, but that wasn't the case. "Google's rate was held at 2% no matter what everyone else paid," Shudak said. She says the city's outside counsel determined the 2011 ordinance, which created the carve-out for Google, is not allowed under Iowa law. It was recently corrected by the city council. "Lifting that cap means one rule for everyone," Shudak said.

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