The Carroll City Council continued its Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget preparations earlier this week by exploring the potential impact of a state error on FY24 property valuation rollbacks. The most recent step in this process was to host a public hearing on the proposed maximum property tax levy, which includes most but not all available levies for the city. Finance Director Laura Schaefer says the published notice appears to show local tax revenues decreasing in FY24.
The published rate for Monday’s hearing was $10.48968 per $1,000 of taxable valuations. With all levies included, the proposed rate for FY24 was $11.89678, but Schaefer says that figure may need to be adjusted due to the state’s mistake.
Officials did not receive any comments from the public during the hearing and voted unanimously to approve the proposed maximum property tax asking. The Iowa Legislature approved a bill yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon that would implement the state’s rollback changes, and Gov. Kim Reynolds is expected to sign it into law quickly. Schaefer says almost every entity in the state that generates revenue through property taxes will be affected by this.
The bill passed by legislators extends the budget deadline by a month to April 30. Early estimates are the City of Carroll will lose between $100,000 and $125,000 in tax revenues due to the change. The council did not indicate how they planned to adapt to the rollback adjustment, but it is expected to appear on the agenda in upcoming meetings.
