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Lee County property taxes (at least in Keokuk) are now higher than the highest taxes in the nation, which is New Jersey. There is a reason that Governor Reynolds made a law to try to control these county governments who do nothing but spend. These increased costs are due to 1. ambulances 2. and IT department (in most big businesses the IT is one person) 3. a Keokuk hospital without doctors, that will not be open 24 hours, has limited ability to do testing and no ability to do any treatments other than what the NP or PA on staff has the ability to do (urgent care level.)

The women who erroneously appraise and assess all properties are a big part of the problem. The assessors and the appraisers in Lee county are 4 women who are unelected and have an incredible amount of control over the citizens' financial lives. It is a shame and not surprising why properties remain in a shambles. Incredibly short-sited thinking.

No matter how hard Keokuk groups and officials work to clean up properties, it will never work because of the overpriced assessments that make the taxes outrageous. Keokuk could be an awesome tourist spot. But it is not. One thing other cities have that Keokuk does not have, is a county government that works with them, not against them.

I bet that hospital that was given 2.2 million dollars will not be open for even 3 years before the company hired claims there is not enough income. But the millions will be gone. Thanks Lee County Supervisors and your little specious assessors and appraisers too!