FY 2020 Budget

outside of the operating budget process. Since the projects identified within the CIP all have funding sources that are independent of the operating budget, this process allows both staff and elected officials the opportunity to study and discuss these projects in greater detail since the process is not competing with the operating budget discussion. The process also allows more time to be spent on reviewing and scrutinizing the operating budgets for each department. The entire 5-year CIP is approved by the Council in coordination with the operating budget, however only the projects that have expenditures identified in Fiscal Year 2020 have been included in this budget. The adopted CIP document can be found on the city’s website or accessed by clicking here. Levy Request & Impact Staff begins the preparation of each new budget with the stated goal of not increasing the overall levy rate above the $11.99 per $1,000 of valuation. The ability to maintain the levy at this rate mainly depends on two factors. The first factor is the amount of new funding being requested by the departments. The second factor is the increase in property valuation as determined by the County Assessor and any applied state modification to valuations. The city experienced 3.59 percent growth in taxable valuation for taxes payable in Fiscal Year 2020. This is on top of the 3.76 percent increase for Fiscal Year 2019. Combination of new construction and overall increases in property values account for this increase. The following chart shows the growth in property valuations the city has experienced the last two years. The valuations are displayed by property class type for both 100% valuation and taxable valuation. Taxable valuation is determined after state mandated rollbacks and any other tax credits or exemptions have been applied.

100% VALUATIONS - ALL PROPERTY

TAXABLE VALUATIONS – ALL PROPERTY

Increase / (Decrease)

Increase / (Decrease)

FY 19

FY 20

FY 19

FY 20

Property Class

537,263,740 541,079,910

3,816,170 (10,370) 3,894,971 591,410 8,341,819

298,830,866 2,031,480 166,923,753 28,228,599 20,801,552 1,914,513 (1,188,984) 518,342,495 800,716

307,971,790 2,088,499 170,429,228 28,760,868 26,067,421 1,983,140 (1,155,648) 536,964,171 818,873

9,140,924

Residential

3,731,040

3,720,670

57,019

Ag Land

185,470,829 189,363,800

3,505,475 532,269 5,265,869

Commercial Industrial

31,365,110 26,414,651

31,956,520 34,756,470

Multiresidential

889,684

909,859

20,175 68,627 33,336

18,157 68,627 33,336

Railroads

Utilities W/O Gas & Electric Military Exempt Valuation W/O G&E Utilites Gas & Electric Utility Valuation Valuation with G&E Utilties

1,914,513 (1,188,984)

1,983,140 (1,155,648)

785,860,583 802,616,721

16,756,138

18,621,676

16,010,991

16,831,408

820,417

6,042,892

6,822,997

780,105

801,871,574 819,448,129

17,576,555

524,385,387

543,787,168

19,401,781

Source: Iowa Department of Management

In terms of levy dollars, this new valuation allows the city to collect an additional $219,825 without impacting the tax levy. So, if the value of a property remained the same for Fiscal Year 2019 and Fiscal Year 2020, the homeowner would not see an increase in their individual taxes paid. The overall tax levy is comprised of several smaller component levies. These levies are used for general operations, property insurance, employee benefits and debt service. A comparison of these levy rates is as follows:

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