Madison County hearing: board hears public concern as proposed mill rate falls but taxes may rise

MADISON COUNTY — At a public hearing required under Iowa Code 24.2a, the Madison County board held a certified hearing on the proposed property tax levy and heard multiple residents express concern that a lower published mill rate could still increase their tax bills because of higher assessed property values.

The board opened the meeting, approved the agenda (motion by Gina; second by Sam; motion carried), and invited public comment. Mary Catherine Bigelow, identified to the board as a resident who submitted a written statement, said the district’s published mill rate would drop from 16.14 to 15.95 but that rising property valuations mean "this will actually make a 6.79% increase in our taxes," and urged the board to consider a smaller adjustment tied to a 2–3% cost-of-living benchmark.

District administration, speaking in the hearing as the treasurer and superintendent, said the printed taxpayer statement shows the combined levy (four levies: general fund, management, plant/equipment and debt service) and that the published rate is calculated and posted at least 20 days before the hearing. The treasurer/superintendent said staff projects the final rate may be lower than the 15.95 figure published but emphasized, "we can always go lower, but we cannot go higher once it's published." The staff explanation noted that higher assessed valuations (the staff cited a roughly 5.9% increase in valuations) can offset a mill-rate decline and still raise total dollars collected.

The board and staff also discussed the district’s debt service strategy. Staff described an existing debt schedule and the practice of "pre-levying" debt service to capture interest savings; staff noted that some prior bonds were paid off early and that pre-levying has produced savings of more than $1,000,000 in prior years.

Separately, staff said they received a letter from the district’s insurer changing wind and hail claims from a fixed deductible to an out-of-pocket amount equal to 1% of a building’s value, which staff said creates more than $1 million in potential exposure for the district if a catastrophic event affected multiple, closely sited buildings. The treasurer/superintendent said the board instructed staff to "start a reserve in the management fund" to build capacity to cover that exposure over a couple of years; the management fund, staff said, is the levy bucket that covers insurance and similar expenses.

Board members and residents pressed for clarity on how state formulas, assessed valuation changes and levy decisions interact. Officials encouraged residents to attend the district’s detailed budget workshops — including the line-by-line budget workshop previously held and open to the public — for a fuller accounting of assumptions and five-year projections. Staff named district budget staff (Justin and Kimmy) as participants in that work.

No formal adoption of a final levy occurred at the hearing; the certified budget process was described as continuing and the board noted the district must adopt its certified budget by April 30. The record of the hearing will be entered into meeting minutes per the statutory requirement.

What remains: the board will incorporate public comment and staff projections as it finalizes levy decisions and continues budget workshops and related meetings before adopting the certified budget.