Recent headlines in Central Iowa are focused on an upcoming round of real estate assessments for properties in Polk County. Long-time Polk County assessor Randy Ripperger estimates that residential assessments will increase by 22% next year. We doubt Polk County residents will be the only Iowans experiencing a large jump in their assessed values.
Countless Iowans will be angry about the increasing assessments because they believe they’re going to lead to higher property taxes. And while larger property tax bills may be on the way, the assessors are not the ones to blame. Property tax bills are determined solely by how much money local elected officials decide to spend.
If you want to see for yourself, grab the property tax bill that arrived in your mailbox last month and flip it over. On the back side of the property tax statement, you’ll see the total amount of property taxes levied by the various taxing authorities like your school district, city, and county. It even helpfully illustrates the change in those total taxes from the prior year.
Learn how you can get involved in the process to slow the growth of property tax in your county.
