The strongest local leaders aren’t the ones chasing headlines or building monuments. They’re the ones who remember who elected them, who they serve, and what government is—and isn’t—supposed to do.
At the recent Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation Local Government Symposium, a message resonated with everyone in the room: local leadership matters—and the taxpayers are watching.
ITR Foundation hosted local elected officials from across the state for a full day of conversations about public service, stewardship, and sound decision-making. From Iowans serving on school boards, county boards, and city councils, attendees heard from policy experts and peers alike. They left encouraged, informed, and reminded of why they serve.
Chris Ingstad, President of ITR Foundation, opened the day with remarks aimed at helping leaders cut through the noise and re-focus their thinking. He challenged participants to think more critically about what government is actually for, and how decisions are made at the local level.
In Iowa, local government is personal. Ingstad shared memories of his grandfather, a city councilman in his hometown of Muscatine. Going out for ice cream or to the park, he’d get stopped every few steps—someone always wanted to talk about city business. It was a reminder that public service, especially at the local level, is deeply rooted in community. People care because they live there. And that’s especially true in Iowa, where residents don’t choose their homes for their proximity to oceans or mountains, but for the values and identity of the community itself.
Ingstad encouraged attendees to reflect on the difference between wants and needs, and to ask the right questions before approving new spending. Not every splash pad or new building is bad. But is it the core role of government? Can the community afford it? Is it really necessary? When dollars are tight and expectations are high, leaders must be willing to say no—or at least, not yet.
He also challenged some conventional wisdom around economic development. Too often, local leaders feel pressure to subsidize growth with tax abatements, TIF incentives, or other corporate giveaways. But he asked: if growth is so expensive, why are we chasing it at all costs? If new development is raising tax bills for existing residents, is that really a win?
More importantly, many projects that receive public incentives would have happened anyway. Ingstad pointed out that collectively, we’ve trained developers to ask, and we’ve trained local officials to give. That needs to change. Taxpayer dollars should support real infrastructure and shared needs—not be handed back to the developer as a bonus.
ITR Foundation’s goal for the day wasn’t to push a one-size-fits-all agenda. We invited local leaders to wrestle with these ideas and take what was useful back to their own communities. In many cases, what elected officials need isn’t just training—it’s encouragement. They’re often outnumbered on boards, facing pressure from staff and peers to go along with “how things have always been done.” Events like this provide clarity, confidence, and connections.
We were proud to bring together officials from communities as different as Burlington and Carroll—people who rarely cross paths but share similar struggles. The room was full of Iowans who wanted to do right by their hometowns. Our job was to help them ask the hard questions and offer a few tools for the journey.
One thing was clear throughout the day: the strongest local leaders aren’t the ones chasing headlines or building monuments. They’re the ones who remember who elected them, who they serve, and what government is—and isn’t—supposed to do.
Print a PDF