FY26 Proposed Budget

The growth in assessed property value has averaged 5.99% over the last ten years. The growth in taxable value has averaged 3.89% in that same timeframe and is due to property tax legislation that has limited the amount of allowable taxable growth.

*Assessed valuations before rollback; military exemptions deducted; includes TIF; excludes gas & electric utilities and Taxable valuations after rollback, military exemptions deducted, includes TIF, excludes gas & electric utilities Tax collection year displayed (Source: Iowa Department of Management)

The State of Iowa limits the portion of a property’s value that is taxable, known as the assessment limitation order or “rollback”. This system is intended to limit the amount taxable value can increase in any one year. Taxable value can differ by property class (e.g. residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial); for City revenue streams, this most notably affects the taxable value of residential properties.

The portion of residential properties’ assessed value that is taxable hit a low point in fiscal year 2009, when forty-four percent of residential property values were taxable. This percentage remained fairly consistent for several consecutive years until fiscal year 2025 when it dropped 9%.

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