Rollback Neutralizes Slight Increase In City Tax Levy


The City of Glenwood’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget includes a resurfacing project on north Locust Street.

After weeks of crunching numbers, the city of Glenwood has put together its proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2024, which begins July 1.

The proposed $3 million budget includes a slight increase in the city’s property tax levy but at the same time a slight reduction in actual tax dollars collected.

“The overall arching theme is the levy is going up but I don’t think you’ll see a difference because the amount of money we’re bringing in is less,” Glenwood City Administrator Amber Farnan said in an interview Monday.

The city’s current levy for FY 2023 is 15.52452 (per $1,000 taxable valuation). The proposed levy for FY 2024 is 15.83606. Farnan credits a reduction in the state rollback as the primary reason for the decline in tax dollars collected. The rollback is an adjustment the state makes to limit increases in the aggregate taxable value of residential property in Iowa.

Farnan said the city is collecting  tax dollars totaling $3, 048, 288 in FY 2023. With the projected levy for FY 2024, the city will collect $3, 045, 415. There is a chance the FY 2024 levy could end up being slightly lower, Farnan said.
“The reason we might be lowering it slightly is in the employees benefits column,” she said. “We have a little bit of an overage and we want to use that up. We might decrease it a little bit more.”

Addressing the budget at the April 11 meeting of the Glenwood City Council, Farnan noted that the city’s portion of a Glenwood property owner’s tax bill is 30-35 percent. The Glenwood Community School District gets 40-45 percent and the remaining dollars go to the county and other entities, like Iowa Western Community College.

“Even if our tax rate doesn’t increase, but the school and the county does, then you’re going to see an increase in your taxes overall,” she said.

Farnan’s comment came in response to comments made earlier in the meeting by Glenwood resident Jim Goos. He voiced concerns about the substantial increase in Glenwood property valuations recently determined by the Mills County Assessor’s Office. The assessed value of many properties in Glenwood is going up by 25-35 percent. Goos is concerned the new assessments may force some fixed-income residents out of their homes.

Farnan said she’s hopeful another reduction in the state rollback, possibly to 49 percent next year, will help offset the increase in property valuations.

Several projects included on both the revenue and expenditure sides of the 2024 budget involve state and federal dollars being used for special projects. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds are being utilized for several housing projects in the city as well the Downtown Revitalization program. Additionally, state dollars will be the primary source of funds for a resurfacing project planned for north Locust Street in 2024.

The Locust Street project  is an “80/20” project with the city required to pay for 20 percent of the project.  It was a late addition to the budget because of extra funds that became available in the state program.“That was supposed to be Fiscal Year 26. They had some extra money for FY24 and we jumped on that,” Farnan said. “We’re still getting information on it so it’s still preliminary right now.”

Glenwood residents will have an opportunity to comment on the city’s proposed budget at a public hearing planned for Tuesday, April 25, 7 p.m., at City Hall.
 

The Opinion-Tribune

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