There is no issue that I get more emails, texts, calls, or hear more about when knocking on voters doors than property taxes. Iowans expect certain public services but at a reasonable cost. Iowans understand they will have to pay some property related taxes, but they believe that amount should be within reason. The question really comes down to – so, what is reasonable?
What is Reasonable?
Many experts believe a reasonable property tax growth rate is one that is close to the combined percent change of inflation and population. Over the last twenty years Iowa has experienced an 8.8% growth in population, and inflation growth at 59.1% over that same period – for a combined reasonable growth rate of 67.9%. However, statewide property tax growth over that period instead has increased by 110.9%, more than doubling property taxpayers bills.
I thought I would take the time dive into the state of property taxes in SE Iowa, particularly the four counties which I represent, as well as four cities in my district with which data is available. As for your county property taxes, they will vary depending on whether you live in a rural area or not, so I decided to focus on the Total County-Wide levies specifically, or those that every county resident pays, regardless of whether you live in town or outside the city limits.
Iowa’s County-Wide Levies
Average General Basic Levy: $3.78478
Average Pioneer Cemetery Levy: $0.00272
Average General Support Levy: $1.91730
Average Debt Service Levy: $0.43138
Average Total County-Wide: $6.17471
As you can see above, the typical county-wide levies include the general basic levy, pioneer cemetery levy, general support levy, and the debt service levy. After the legislature allowed for an EMS specific levy a couples of years ago, some counties have elected to levy for that as well – but none of the counties I represent / analyzed currently have an EMS specific levy, so I did not include it in my analysis.
Muscatine County
General Basic Levy: $3.50000
Pioneer Cemetery Levy: $0.00000
General Support Levy: $2.50000
Debt Service Levy: $0.49289
Total County-Wide: $6.49289
Statewide Ranking: Muscatine County’s total county-wide levy is above the statewide average. Muscatine County ranks 61st out of 99 when it comes to the lowest county wide property taxes in the state.
Over the last ten years Muscatine County has experienced a population growth of -1.5%, and inflation of 30.8% – meaning reasonable property tax growth over that period should be about 29.3%. However, Muscatine County has only seen property tax growth of 15.2%. Experts would say this is reasonable – in fact, property taxes are growing at 14.1% slower than the combined growth of population and inflation.
Des Moines County
General Basic Levy: $3.60000
Pioneer Cemetery Levy: $0.01635
General Support Levy: $1.68000
Debt Service Levy: $1.52236
Total County-Wide: $6.81871
Statewide Ranking: Des Moines County’s total county-wide levy is above the statewide average. Des Moines County ranks 75th out of 99 when it comes to the lowest county wide property taxes in the state.
Over the last ten years Des Moines County has experienced a population growth of -6.6%, and inflation of 30.8% – meaning reasonable property tax growth over that period should be about 24.2%. However, Des Moines County has only seen property tax growth of 13.5%. Experts would say this is reasonable – in fact, property taxes are growing at 10.7% slower than the combined growth of population and inflation.
Louisa County
General Basic Levy: $4.56193
Pioneer Cemetery Levy: $0.00000
General Support Levy: $2.38727
Debt Service Levy: $0.00000
Total County-Wide: $6.94920
Statewide Ranking: Louisa County’s total county-wide levy is above the statewide average. Louisa County ranks 76th out of 99 when it comes to the lowest county wide property taxes in the state.
Over the last ten years Louisa County has experienced a population growth of -6.0%, and inflation of 30.8% – meaning reasonable property tax growth over that period should be about 24.8%. However, Louisa County has seen property tax growth of 29.1%. Experts would say this is unreasonable due to the fact that taxes are increasing 4.2% faster than the combined growth of population and inflation.
Henry County
General Basic Levy: $4.83000
Pioneer Cemetery Levy: $0.03000
General Support Levy: $3.00000
Debt Service Levy: $0.90252
Total County-Wide: $8.76252
Statewide Ranking: Henry County’s total county-wide levy is above the statewide average. Henry County ranks 94th of out of 99 when it comes to the lowest county wide property taxes in the state, or in other words, has the fifth highest county wide property taxes in the state.
Over the last ten years Henry County has experienced a population growth of 0.8%, and inflation of 30.8% – meaning reasonable property tax growth over that period should be about 31.6%. However, Henry County seen property tax growth of 41.5%. Experts would say this is totally unreasonable due to the fact that taxes are increasing 9.9% faster than the combined growth of population and inflation.
Iowa’s City Levies
Average General Levy: $7.80401
Average Outside Levy: $1.59282
Average Emergency Levy: $0.13117
Average Debt Service Levy: $1.20467
Average Employee Benefits Levy: $1.59131
Average Total Levy: $12.33984
As you can see, the typical levies for cities include the general levy, outside levy, emergency levy, debt service levy, and the employee benefits levy. The only one I did not include in my analysis is the capital improvement levy since none of the cities I analyzed have utilized this specific levy.
Mediapolis
General Levy: $8.10000
Outside Levy: $0.97016
Emergency Levy: $0.27000
Debt Service Levy: $0.00000
Employee Benefits Levy: $2.16636
Total Levy: $11.50652
Statewide Ranking: Mediapolis’s total levy is below the statewide average.
Over the last ten years Mediapolis has experienced a population growth of 5.5% and inflation of 30.8% – meaning reasonable property tax growth over that period should be about 36.3%. However, Mediapolis has only seen property tax growth of 15%. Experts would say this is reasonable – in fact, property taxes are growing 21.4% slower than the combined growth of population and inflation.
Columbus Junction
General Levy: $7.54540
Outside Levy: $1.05310
Emergency Levy: $0.27000
Debt Service Levy: $0.48436
Employee Benefits Levy: $3.33589
Total Levy: $12.68875
Statewide Ranking: Columbus Junction’s total levy is above the statewide average.
Over the last ten years Columbus Junction has experienced a population growth of -3.9% and inflation of 30.8% – meaning reasonable property tax growth over that period should be about 26.9%. However, Columbus Junction has only seen property tax growth of 22%. Experts would say this is reasonable – in fact, property taxes are growing 4.9% slower than the combined growth of population and inflation.
Wapello
General Levy: $8.10000
Outside Levy: $1.52223
Emergency Levy: $0.27000
Debt Service Levy: $2.25768
Employee Benefits Levy: $1.90072
Total Levy: $14.05063
Statewide Ranking: Wapello’s total levy is above the statewide average.
Over the last ten years Wapello has experienced a population growth of -0.9% and inflation of 30.8% – meaning reasonable property tax growth over that period should be about 29.9%. However, Wapello has seen property tax growth of 34.7%. Experts would say this is unreasonable due to the fact that taxes are increasing 4.8% faster than the combined growth of population and inflation.
New London
General Levy: $8.10000
Outside Levy: $0.60914
Emergency Levy: $0.00000
Debt Service Levy: $0.00000
Employee Benefits Levy: $3.91744
Total Levy: $12.62658
Statewide Ranking: New London’s total levy is above the statewide average.
Over the last ten years New London has experienced a population growth of -0.1% and inflation of 30.8% – meaning reasonable property tax growth over that period should be about 30.7%. However, New London has seen property tax growth of 35.9%. Experts would say this is unreasonable due to the fact that taxes are increasing 5.2% faster than the combined growth of population and inflation.
Putting the Taxpayer First
Iowa’s property tax problem is not caused by high assessments, but rather government spending. This year’s property tax reform bill was considered a good first step by many in addressing a complex tax system that most taxpayers do not like nor understand. This year we deliberately changed the focus on property tax reform from ensuring local government budgets were protected to making sure the local property taxpayers’ budget were protected. It is worth pointing out that the legislation passed both chambers with only one “no” vote and minimal controversy.
Recently, an Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation poll found that 67% of Iowans surveyed support the legislature establishing limits on how much a local government can tax and spend in order to control the growth of property taxes. That included 79% of Republicans, 70% of Independents, and even 46% of Democrats.
Finally, my thanks again to Iowans for Tax Relief for compiling all the data that I used in this newsletter which can be found on their new ITR Local Website. For information about property taxes for not only your county and city but also your school district, you can visit their website at itrlocal.org.
Nobody wants to hear it but it’s time to start forcing counties to merge. We don’t need 99 courthouses, 99 county auditors/treasurers/recorders/sheriffs/assessors/engineers/etc. And counties need to be reformed so that qualified people get hired for these jobs instead of the most popular person that chooses to run. People want government to “run like a business” but then we elect the CFO for the county (auditor) rather than make sure we hire someone based on their knowledge and experience. Until we make changes property taxes are going to continue to increase.