Twenty-one local governments are seeking property tax hikes on top of already-elevated assessments.
On September 10, 2024, 13 school districts, two counties, and five cities will place property tax questions before voters in a special election. Eleven school districts are requesting a renewal or an increase in physical plant and equipment levies (PPELs), which generate local property tax dollars for infrastructure and equipment repairs, and two districts are asking for increases to their debt service levies ahead of a bond referendum in November. It’s important to remember that various property tax levies, included PPELs, could be allowed to expire; renewing a levy means voters are choosing to forgo a property tax cut.
Iowa law permits two special election dates: the first Tuesday in either March or September. In March 2024, Iowans saw millions of dollars added to their property tax bills. Now, six months later, local officials want to do it again.
If all of these public measures were to pass, they would collectively increase next year’s property tax collections by $18.5 million. Each of those those increases are scheduled to be in place for 10 years or more. The total taxpayer commitment would be greater than $230 million, and that is a conservative estimate because nobody can predict property valuation increases a decade from now and those factor into the total cost, too.
The following table provides details for each public measure in the 13 school districts.
Clarinda Community School District (CSD) has relentlessly asked taxpayers for increases. Again and again, irrespective of the merit of the projects, taxpayers have made it clear they do not want any property tax increases.
Preparing for its latest attempt, when the school board unanimously decided to ask voters — for a fourth time in 18 months — for more spending and higher taxes, Superintendent Jeff Privia said, with regard to the March election results, “We were really close this last time. We were about six votes short, total, to get to that 51% for a voted PPEL. So, we're going to try to do a lot of the same things. Get out in the community a little more, do some table tents — those kind of things — and see if we can get that voted passed through.”
It is likely that if the voters of a district say “no” that many times, they are signaling to locally elected officials to go back to the drawing board and formulate a fiscal plan that better aligns with that community's desires.
An Iowa law enacted in 2021 allows county supervisors to collect local income surtaxes and/or ad valorem property taxes to be used for emergency medical services (EMS). Voters must approve the tax with 60% support. If an EMS levy is in place, all generated revenue is put into a dedicated trust fund. The tax is valid for 15 years, except in the 11 most-populated counties in the state, in which the tax lasts 10 years. Cities are also authorized to levy taxes, capped at $1.00 per $1,000 in taxable valuation, which compares with counties’ limit of $0.75 per $1,000 in taxable valuation.
Worth County and the five cities within the county are asking for an EMS tax that is levied by special district. In this case, the maximum amount is $1.00 per $1,000 in taxable valuation and the tax will remain until resident eligible voters within the district(s) petition to dissolve the district.
As of November 2023, 12 Iowa counties had received voter approval to levy for EMS programming. Nearly a dozen additional Iowa counties are seeking public support in upcoming elections and/or are working on proposals to do so.
To make the best decision on a PPEL proposal in your district, visit www.itrlocal.org to learn more about how much property tax your school district is collecting and what the current levy rates are.
Print a PDF